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Belles of St.Trinians

starring: Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley, Betty Ann Davies
directed by: Frank Launder

November 09, 1994
"The Belles of St. Trinians" is an old-fashioned wacky school comedy, full of wild kids and clueless adults.  Set in an English private school, the girls of St. Trinians might just have been the first to establish this familiar film genre.

The girls are VERY wild, sometimes shockingly so, brewing up gin in chemistry class and then selling it through a local bootlegger, Flash Harry, or winning field hockey games by putting the opposing team and the referee in the hospital by whacking them with their hockey sticks.   In light of current "PC" times, kids in films just aren't this wild anymore.  Plenty of the humor just comes from seeing these kids in action.

Alistair Sim does good service in his double ... Read More:

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Son of the Morning Star

starring: Gary Cole, Rosanna Arquette, Stanley Anderson, Edward Blatchford, George Dickerson
directed by: Mike Robe

January 01, 1998
The purpose of "Son of the Morning Star," both the book and the miniseries, was to show that George A. Custer is not just a symbol, good or bad, for culural/political causes, but a human being with flaws and attributes. A previous review is a perfect example of the failure to see Custer as anything but as a symbol. To some people, Custer is the embodiment of the evils of Manifest Destiny. It's an ironic fate for someone who died in the most spectacular, albeit temporary, setback for Manifest Destiny.

Custer is a fascinating historical figure because of his symbolism. So many people have such strong feelings about him for what he represents, but so few people really know anything about him. Born the son of blacksmith in a rinky ... Read More:

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Root Into Europe

starring: Pat Heywood (II), Richard Branson, George Cole, Lew Grade

September 11, 1999
The purpose of "Son of the Morning Star," both the book and the miniseries, was to show that George A. Custer is not just a symbol, good or bad, for culural/political causes, but a human being with flaws and attributes. A previous review is a perfect example of the failure to see Custer as anything but as a symbol. To some people, Custer is the embodiment of the evils of Manifest Destiny. It's an ironic fate for someone who died in the most spectacular, albeit temporary, setback for Manifest Destiny.

Custer is a fascinating historical figure because of his symbolism. So many people have such strong feelings about him for what he represents, but so few people really know anything about him. Born the son of blacksmith in a rinky ... Read More:

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Every Which Way But Loose

starring: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Beverly D'Angelo, Walter Barnes
directed by: James Fargo

August 01, 2000
Fantastic film which represents a by-gone era in films. The films of the 1970's were simply better because while Hollywood was still interested in making a buck, they still wanted to make good films. Now it's all about the buck, who cares if it's good as long as it turns a profit. Pick this one up and keep it in your library as a monolith of better times gone by.

By the way, it is my understanding the original Clyde died of natural causes. The "donut beating" story has been circulated by the PETA Extremists for their hate filled fodder.

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I Wonder Whos...

starring: Pearl Shear, Marjorie Bennett, Marvin Miller, Steve Franken, Joanna Barnes
directed by: Steven Hilliard Stern

May 28, 1998
Fantastic film which represents a by-gone era in films. The films of the 1970's were simply better because while Hollywood was still interested in making a buck, they still wanted to make good films. Now it's all about the buck, who cares if it's good as long as it turns a profit. Pick this one up and keep it in your library as a monolith of better times gone by.

By the way, it is my understanding the original Clyde died of natural causes. The "donut beating" story has been circulated by the PETA Extremists for their hate filled fodder.

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The Vampire Lovers

starring: Ingrid Pitt, George Cole, Kate O'Mara, Peter Cushing, Ferdy Mayne
directed by: Roy Ward Baker

September 05, 2000
Fantastic film which represents a by-gone era in films. The films of the 1970's were simply better because while Hollywood was still interested in making a buck, they still wanted to make good films. Now it's all about the buck, who cares if it's good as long as it turns a profit. Pick this one up and keep it in your library as a monolith of better times gone by.

By the way, it is my understanding the original Clyde died of natural causes. The "donut beating" story has been circulated by the PETA Extremists for their hate filled fodder.

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Horror of Dracula

starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh
directed by: Terence Fisher

July 28, 1998
Special Features? A Travesty!A letter to Warner from a film buff and a plea to Directors Martin Scorsese and John Carpenter.

Generally, I'm in total agreement with the many fine reviews listed here, and I need to add two important caveats... Firstly, where are the interviews, film stills, lobby posters, not to mention commentary tracks and possibly isolated music track?!?

Secondly, with such a fine print, why is the colour balance slightly off, especially noticeable in the red-orange bias of the colour of blood? (Warner got it right with their DVD release of The Curse of Frankenstein and their VHS release of Dracula; why not here?)

Lack of Special Features: Horror of Dracula is considered to be one of the finest examples of British filmmaking as opinioned ... Read More:

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Cats Dont Dance

starring: Mark Dindal, Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, Natalie Cole, Ashley Peldon
directed by: Mark Dindal

March 09, 1999
Well, it's been a while since I've seen a musical cartoon not produced by Disney. The movie is about a small town cat who moves to Hollywood to try and become a star, but in Hollywood animals are not considered good enough to be actors. It's good for all ages and the music is great too. I would recommend buying the soundtrack as well.
And in my opinion I really see nothing wrong with this movie...but it doesn't leave you in awe or anything so it gets 4 out 5 stars from me. : )

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Cleopatra

starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown, George Cole
directed by: Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph L. Mankiewicz

March 15, 1995
Cleo's have come and gone. There have been many films and books depicting Cleo as she really was to great melodramatic Cleo. Three other popular Cleo's were the Claudette Colbert (1934), Vivien Leigh (1945), and Leonor Varela (1999). There were many more variations between those years.
The one Cleo that will always stand out and lets not forget Mark, is the one staring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1963). I was old enough to enjoy it on the big screen. Rex Harrison made a good Caesar; watch him have a similar attitude in "The Honey Pot" (1967).
Enough time, thought, and money have been put into this production that I am bound to overlook a few of the most important items about this film. The movie is more than just the actors are. The characters are very well portrayed. The set and costumes ... Read More:

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Whose Life Is It Anyway?

starring: Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti, Bob Balaban, Kenneth McMillan
directed by: John Badham


This film could have been great, except for some serious scripting and characterization problems. Many of the characters are stereotypical, wafer-thin portrayals, particularly the head doctor who wants to keep Dreyfuss's character alive. The "party scene in the hospital basement" is not only cliched, but nobody got fired or got in trouble (the Jamaican nurse in particular) for smoking dope in a hospital, and taking a quadraplegic patient out of their bed without permission in the middle of the night? Give me a break!

Finally, Dreyfuss's decision to "remain in the hospital to die" at the end... the judge's ruling was specifically that he be released (writ of Habeus Corpus), not that he be allowed to die without treatment in the hospital!

These serious problems (particularly ... Read More: