IN OUR TIME, NO FOREIGN ARMY HAS EVER OCCUPIED AMERICAN SOIL. UNTIL NOW. When joint Soviet-Cuban forces invade the United States after a nuclear strike, a group of teenagers in Colorado flee into the woods and organize armed resistance. Criticized for its violence after the premiere, this film has much greater problems than that. The … Continue reading Red Dawn
YOU’VE NEVER SEEN ACTIVITY LIKE THIS. Jody and Dan Sanders (Ashley Tisdale, Simon Rex) reluctantly agree to take care of a couple of feral children who are related to them, but they don’t know that they’ve also invited “Mama” into their home. The fifth chapter follows a well-worn formula but reaches a new level of … Continue reading Scary MoVie
NEW LOOK. NEW YORK. NEW MADEA. After finding out that the company where he’s CFO is actually a Ponzi scheme, George Needleman (Eugene Levy) and his family enter a witness protection program… and move in with Madea (Tyler Perry). The first Madea film not based on a play is a straight farce without Perry’s usually … Continue reading Madea’s Witness Protection
THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR IS INNOCENCE. After serving in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star as well as a Purple Heart, Oliver Stone came back to the United States in 1968. Disgusted with the way the war was portrayed by John Wayne in the now infamous Green Berets that year, Stone wrote down his experiences. Even though … Continue reading Platoon: Taking the Pain
LEISURE RULES. High-school teen Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) pretends to be sick and spends the day with his best friends (Alan Ruck, Mia Sara)… but the Dean of Students (Jeffrey Jones) is on to him. This John Hughes comedy has become a classic, much-loved even by many critics. I can certainly see the charm, but not … Continue reading Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
LEAVE YOUR COMFORT ZONE. Peter Highman (Robert Downey, Jr.) is trying to get home in time for his pregnant wife’s delivery in Los Angeles, but his accidental companion on the road, Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis), keeps getting him into trouble. An obvious rehash of Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) that nevertheless earns its laughs thanks … Continue reading Due Date
As the 2008 recession is beginning to wipe out parts of Wall Street, a young trader (Shia LaBeouf) loses his mentor… and America’s favorite corporate raider (Michael Douglas) is attempting a comeback. Much like the original, this sequel to Wall Street (1987) catches the mood of a specific era in the history of capitalism and there is gloom … Continue reading Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
EVERY DREAM HAS A PRICE. As the credit crisis of 2008 risks putting an end to the world as we know it (at least judging from the grim newspaper headlines), it is high time to take a new look at Oliver Stone’s 1987 film about greed on Wall Street. It came on the heels of … Continue reading Wall Street: Days of Bloodsucking
JUST DEUX IT. When a U.S. rescue team is taken hostage by Saddam Hussein in Iraq, retired Navy veteran Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) (now a Buddhist monk) is brought back into action. The first movie targeted Top Gun (1986) primarily, the sequel goes after the last two Rambo flicks, complete with a very welcome cameo … Continue reading Hot Shots! Part Deux
THERE’S SOMETHING FUNNY IN THE AIR. Still suffering from a crippling trauma caused by his father’s demise, former fighter pilot Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) returns to the Navy for a secret mission. The success of The Naked Gun (1988) re-energized the spoof genre and parts of Hot Shots! reconnected with the old glory days. Top … Continue reading Hot Shots!
THE FOURTH AND FINAL CHAPTER OF THE TRILOGY. Cindy (Anna Faris) moves into a haunted house and familiarizes herself with the neighbor (Craig Bierko)… but then aliens attack Earth. Director David Zucker’s second stab at this franchise mainly spoofs War of the Worlds (2005), but includes many other parodies, such as one of The Village (2004) that is … Continue reading Scary Movie 4
Producer Gary David Goldberg was responsible for Family Ties, one of the most popular TV shows of the 1980s, which also became a breakthrough for actor Michael J. Fox who played precocious teen Alex. The couple reunited in 1996 for another hit TV show, Spin City, and it looked like Alex was making a comeback. The new … Continue reading Spin City: The New York That Never Was
YOU’LL DIE TO SEE THESE RINGS. Finally, they got rid of those Wayans brothers and hired the people who virtually created this genre, including David Zucker. Primarily it is The Ring and Signs that are being spoofed here, as a reporter (Anna Faris) finds out that a deadly videotape has something to do with circles in crop fields. But … Continue reading Scary Movie 3
