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Reviews
The Commish (1991)
Could very well be the best show ever on television!
"The Commish" as hard-hitting, heartfelt, and brilliant ABC dramatic series found and home and met it's end in the early nineties. "The Commish" and "Matt Waters" were cancelled, while shows like "Caroline in the City" and "Suddenly Susan" continue. The world is anarchy.
There is nothing more I can say as I pull back the tears. I loved "The Commish," and I wasn't the only one. We all did. It kept us going.
The Princess Bride (1987)
Perfection!
Brilliant from star to finish, Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" is the ultimate in screen fantasy. Featuring some absolutely mesmerizing performances, especially from Mandy Patinkin and Cary Elwes and with some wonderful comedy thrown in (Billy Crystal and Carol Kane are the most hilarious screen couple in years!), Reiner has created a masterpiece of adventure, camraderie, and true love. Grade: A+
Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1998)
The finest stand-up routine in years!!
Many comedians are funny...not so many are brilliant. Eddie Izzard's "Dress To Kill" has just recently run on HBO and, I must say, there's not a single unfunny moment in the entire hour and a half.
From his hilarious "Cake or Death" riff, mocking the Church of England, to his variations on the name Englebert Humperdink ("Dinglebert Slapteyback"), to his audience mind control after announcing Humperdink's death, Izzard provides the sharpest, most effectively biting comedy on television in years. I thought television comedy was dead when Seinfeld "seined" off. I was wrong. Tape this routine, and watch it every weeknight this fall at eight o'clock, and primetime will be back to brilliance. Grade: A+
Snitch (1998)
"Monument Ave" (the real title) is a surprisingly powerful picture...
I've begun recently to sense something with actor/comedian Denis Leary: I think he can act. In "Monument Ave," Leary is a small, powerless Irish thug. His life revolves around his friends, his family, and his booze. Beginning as a light comedy, "Monument" soon develops into a character study of one man's attempts to bring down the crime lord who's killed those he cares about. There are some great supporting performances thrown in, especially Billy Crudup's coke-addicted ex-con and Colm Meaney Boston boss, but it's Leary's subtle and near-compelling performance that leaves an impression. Grade: B+
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
One of Scorsese's weakest films...
I was able to see the new Martin Scorsese film, "Bringing out the Dead", at a screening on 19th street on August 3rd. (I've supplied this info so that you'll know this review is for real).
Scorsese's new flick is a meandering, plotless film, completely unsure of itself from start to finish. The story is centered around a troubled paramedic (Nic Cage) who's haunted by the ghosts of those he's lost on the job and is, it seems, on the verge of a complete nervous brokedown.
That's the story. At times, "Dead" is quite funny, using a dark-comedy-like strength to carry the picture. But Scorsese's film implodes in its attempts to be compelling. Partly due to Nicolas Cage's dull and lifeless performance, and partly because of Pat Arquette's underwritten and underacted one.
The breathe of fresh air in this fog-filled flick is Ving Rhames, who exudes energy. When he's on screen, the hunger for greatness is gone, but when he's off screen, you're drooling for more. Scorsese gets over-stylish, making his film seem more like a music video and less like the Martin Scorsese that has made some of the finest films of this century. Grade : D+
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Finest Horror Film To Date!
I call this the finest horror film to date as a way of respecting the sheer genius of the filmmaking. Not relying on the typical horror scare tactics, director Dan Myrick and Eduard Sanchez have not only created an amazing psychological terror, but a complex character on the deterioration of three regular people. The situations called for the same reactions the characters gave; a feat seldom accomplished in the sometimes phony, sometimes mesmerizing word of Hollywood realism. This is my favorite American film of the year, thus far. A terrific movie!