Posts by Archive Authors

Written by Bamboo

Shot in the Dark is a very well done documentary by Adrian Grenier (before he starred on HBO’s Entourage) about what it means to be a father. The film starts as a series of interviews with random people in New York, as well as Adrian’s friends and family members. Adrian has not seen his father in over eighteen years.  He feels as though he doesn’t know what it means to have a father or how he should feel about not having a father around while he was growing up. Adrian hopes to gain some insight through this documentary.

Most film-goers could identify a Michael Bay film just by the techniques he uses — quick edits, sun drenched color palette, and lots of action. This usually means that Bay is suited more for low-brow action movies as opposed to high-concept films. In Pearl Harbor, Bay proved that he couldn’t handle anything that didn’t explode — resulting in a lopsided film. The first hour was a tedious love story; the last 90 minutes were better — including an excellent recreation of the surprise attack.

There are a good number of people who have labeled Oliver Stone as a fan of conspiracy theories, out to destroy foundations of conservative ideology, while at the same time re-visiting 60’s nostalgic icons. Despite the jokes and the stereotyping, one has to admit that, as a filmmaker, he has helped bring to screen some of the most talked-about cinematic experiences of our time, including Midnight Express, Scarface, not to mention Conan the Barbarian. As a director, his works, such as The Doors, Nixon, JFK and Natural Born Killers, have generated discussion both within and aside from the technical merits

Dirty Tricks stars Martin Clunes as Edward, an underachieving English teacher.  Edward meets an accountant (Neil Dudgeon) and begins an affair with his wife, Karen (Julie Graham). When Karen unfortunately passes away, the aging detective (James Bolam) assigned to the case, suspects Edward is involved. Edward is a charming protagonist at first and suddenly the lies and absurdities begin piling up.

I’m kicking myself. Martin Scorcese’s The Color of Money has long been a favorite of mine, but for some reason I never knew it was a sequel to The Hustler, a film 25 years older and three times better.

Starring a young Paul Newman (Road to Perdition) in a role that earned him his second Oscar nomination, The Hustler is about a cocky pool player hustling his way to the top. When “Fast Eddie” Felson (Newman) challenges undefeated straight-pool champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason,…Requiem for a Heavyweight) to a high stakes game,

The Usual Suspects is a most unusual movie, and in this case, that is a good thing. The Usual Suspects keeps you interested throughout its entirety by making you think and trying to figure out what will happen next. If only today's movies did the same thing!! As this has been one of my favorite movies of all time, the excitement I felt when I received this in the mail today could only be compared to a young child on Christmas morning.

In 1954 several canisters of film were found in a German archive, simply entitled “Das Ghetto”. Inside were reels of film shot in the Warsaw ghetto in 1942, mere months before the zone was shut down and the people sent off to death camps. For years this footage was considered an important historical document, as its raw footage chronicled day-to-day life in the ghetto and was unlike any footage existing at that time.

Some forty-five years later, however, another reel was found that shed new light on the veracity of the original footage.

Highway to Heaven was a television series that ran from 1984-1989.  Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) is an angel on a mission from God or “the boss”.  After quickly finding employment as a handyman, Smith teams up with the ex-cop Mark Gordon (Victor French) to solve problems and help people with their everyday struggles.  This series has plenty of sentimentality, spirituality, nostalgia, and unintentional comedy.  As a newcomer to the series, I found myself unable to look away. 

Adapted from the hit stage musical, Norman Jewison’s film version of Fiddler on the Roof has established itself as a classic over and over again since its release in 1971.

“He loves her. Love, it’s a new style… On the other hand, our old ways were once new, weren’t they?” I’ll hardly be the first to write it, but the reason Fiddler on the Roof, a story about Jewish people and their culture, is so popular, is that its themes have universal appeal.

Phoenix is having a rough night. Her scumbag ex boyfriend has just shown up in her apartment with a gunshot wound and a sack of stolen cocaine and her psychotic HIV positive prostitute sister has also shown up, having just shot a john in the face. Plus there are gangsters after the cocaine who will stop at nothing to get it back. Plus there’s her lesbian friend downstairs whose brother is involved on multiple levels and wants to drag her into a plot to steal and sell the cocaine. Plus it’s her birthday.