In this silly precursor of spoofs like Austin Powers, James Coburn is a private investigator sort hired to puzzle out some weird stuff involving the president. Turns out, the president has been replaced by an actor. One of the funniest lines is when he says to himself, "An actor as president?" It's funnier in this post-Reagan period than in 1967, I'm sure. Anyway, the masterminds behind this are a bunch of women out to take over the world. They plot from a beauty spa/high-tech headquarters in the Virgin Islands. I just said it was funny; I didn't say it wasn't sexist. I thought this movie was very funny. John Wayne is an aging, hard-drinking federal marshal who agrees to track down the murderer of this teenage girl's father. She insists on coming along, as does a Texas Ranger who's looking for the same guy for a different murder. The girl really holds her own, and her presence provides a welcome twist to the standard shoot-'em-up action. (Carly)
What an awful movie. It took itself too seriously to be funny, but it was too ridiculous to keep me on the edge of my seat. Some scientists go off into the jungle, and they encounter killer apes. I found myself almost rooting for the apes, because if they killed off all the people, then the movie would have been over sooner. One scene sticks in my mind: one of the apes kills someone, and then he throws an eyeball from his victim at one of the other scientists. I think this was the only funny part of the movie. (Carly) Errol Flynn has a hidden talent--archery! Watch him show off that and his swordfighting skills in a pretty traditional rendition of Robin Hood. You might be able to pass off a viewing of this as educational--it has a lot more British history in it than other versions I've seen, and you can pick up tips on guerilla warfare and fomenting rebellion. (Carly) This was actually good. I was surprised, because my dad rented it, and we never like the same movies. I'm not saying it was the most fabulous thing I've ever seen or that it had some great message about life, but I was entertained for a couple of hours, and what more can you ask for $2.99? Anne Heche, a prissy city girl, and Harrison Ford, a gritty pilot, get stranded on an island and have to live with each other until they can get back to civilization. I suppose the plot isn't terribly original, but I don't think that takes away from the action.(Carly)Mmmmm, I think I'll rent those James Bond movies with Pierce Brosnan now. This was a very silly movie with a very seventies attitude. Rene Russo is an investigator for an insurance company sent to find the person who stole a valuable painting from the National Gallery. Brosnan is a wealthy art dealer and a suspect. They fall in love because they're both smart and cunning, or maybe because Russo wears see-through dresses and Brosnan's terribly handsome and dashing. Anyway, the plot is lively and gripping. I was fascinated by the incredible realism of the set used for the National Gallery--I thought they had really filmed there, but a note at the end of the film says it was not. (Carly) One of the strongest parts of the remake of this movie is the tension between Brosnan and Russo. Unfortunately, that tension is nonexistent in this film. I never got the feeling that Dunaway had control of the situation. Also, the plot is flatter. McQueen's group robs a bank, not an art museum, and the progression of events is pretty predictable. This movie just lacked the necessary edge for a suspense film. It bored me. (Plus, Steve McQueen's just not a looker like Pierce Brosnan.) (Carly)I just love Michael Keaton. The plot here is a standard comic-book one, and I'm sure I don't need to explain it to you. Jack Nicholson is great as the Joker. After he has his accident that makes him evil, he has some amateur plastic surgery done, and that part always gives me the creeps. One of my favorite parts is when Michelle Pfieffer wakes up in Michael Keaton's bed and sees him hanging upside-down from a bar, sleeping. The plot, while predictable in some respects, kept me interested and entertained. As far as I'm concerned, Michael Keaton is the ONLY Batman. He has the perfect facial expressions for the part. (Carly) I, for one, think Sean Connery's getting a bit old for action films. But other than that, this is a great movie. I've never seen the TV series, so I can't compare it to that, but I think that most of the people who criticized this film did so because they went into it with the wrong attitude. This is a silly movie. Don't expect anything more. But it's absolutely great at being silly. It's not slapstick silly, but straightfaced-spy silly. It's like Batman in a way. Enjoy Ralph Fiennes' impossibly strong umbrella, arrow-stopping bowler, and not-too-veiled admiration for Uma Thurman. Just enjoy Ralph Fiennes. (Carly)
Ugh. John Travolta. Ugh. Action movie. I really like Nicholas Cage, but I didn't like this movie. There's gratuitous violence and way too much Travolta. Anyway, Cage is the good guy-law enforcement trying to catch Travolta. They wind up switching faces, and things go wrong, so Cage gets sent to a maximum security prison while Travolta sleeps with his wife. Cage escapes, of course, and has to work really hard to undo all Travolta's mischief. Yeah, yeah. yeah. Stuff blows up. (Carly)
This movie has gotten a lot of bad press, and I think it's because the critics missed the point: there is no point. Just like the TV show, this is nothing but good 'ol silliness. In classic Jim West style, the film opens with Will Smith seducing a woman. His character is, of course, an amazingly good shot and a master of hand-to-hand combat. Kevin Kline, as Artemus Gordon, has a wardrobe of disguises and an unlimited number of futuristic inventions. Kenneth Branagh is hysterical as the bad guy, and he has definitely mastered the Southern accent. Salma Hayek plays the helpless female at times, but she knows exactly what she's doing. Go to this movie expecting lots of campy shoot-'em-up action and not much historical accuracy. (Carly)I have to agree with Ellen on this one. We watched it on the same night as Grand Isle. We couldn't go to Blockbuster for weeks. We had to undergo intensive Room with a View therapy before we could watch any other movies. (Carly)