Reviews

I gotta tell ya, I really enjoyed this movie. It's well-made, the script is solid, the acting is quite good...yup, I really enjoyed it! A big thumbs up to all involved!

It's absolutely heartbreaking to see what has been happening to these poor cats (this includes domestic cats, lions, and tigers). As we all know, some humans can be pretty unfeeling and barbaric all in the name of the almighty dollar. Well, boys and girls, I'm happy to report that the money train is rolling toward its final stop thanks to the lovingly heroic efforts of the wonderful folks who produced this most enlightening documentary. Wow, I never knew declawing was so crippling. I have a feeling YOU never knew this either. If you love cats--or even if you don't but would never want to see any animal suffer--please see THE PAW PROJECT.

I saw this film when it was released in 1971 (when I was eight) and it made quite an impression on me. Some really nice acting, great music, and an interesting (yet simple) story. It's amazing how it has stayed with me all these years. But meaningful films tend to do that. I was lucky enough to see this film again tonight. Though I viewed the film through 42 year-old eyes, it still had an impact. I was saddened to hear that Barry Robins (who played "Cotton") passed away in 1986. He was quite an amazing actor. (It's interesting to note that Robins, who played a 16 year-old, was 26 when the film was made!) He reminded me of Sal Mineo, another fine actor who left us far too soon. Anyway, I just wanted to comment on this fine little gem of a film. If you get a chance to rent it, I hope you will...and enjoy.

I'm usually pretty forgiving when it comes to movies, but when this much time and talent is put into a film and it just comes out sooooo wrong, well, I have to speak up. David Mamet must been on medication when he came up with this one. Boy, what a contrived, incomprehensible mess. Sure, the movie looks good and the acting is fine (for the most part), but...argggghhhh, how did this piece of garbage get made?? (Actually, I know exactly how it got made. David Mamet wrote the script. And because it's David Mamet, it has to be good, right?) I was 45 minutes into the movie and I still had no idea what it was about! And when I finally determined what the plot was, I didn't really care; I just kept looking at the clock, waiting for it all to end. In the words of Felix Unger (as played by the wonderful Tony Randall), "What a jip!"

I really wanted to like this movie. Really, I did. But I didn't. I usually love movies like this... when they're done properly. But I found "Secondhand Lions" to be overly melodramatic, contrived and trite. I didn't get involved. I guess I wanted to dig deeper with the characters, feel something for them. Instead, the filmmakers only scratched the surface. Sure, sure, a couple of touching moments here and there and a few smiles along the way, but that's about it. Hailey Joel Osment has turned out to be, well, a pretty lousy actor; and his looks... let's just say he's not a cute kid anymore. Michael Caine and Robert Duvall are good (they always are), but this movie just didn't do it for me. Again, I really wanted to like "Secondhand Lions", but I have to give this one a big thumbs down.

There's a place called film school. It's where you learn how to write a movie script, learn how to shoot a film, how to edit the film, etc. Unfortunately, the makers of this film must've dropped out of school after the first few days. Ugggghhhh! This is a really bad movie. Bad acting, bad directing, bad script (no story!), just an awful, monotonous, tedious mess! But hey, I'll give the filmmakers credit for knowing how to thread film through the camera. Ugh! I want my money back!

This film has two fine performances from the great Spencer Tracy and the young Robert Wagner. The story is taut, suspenseful, and the climbing scenes are fantastic. If you haven't seen this film, check it out (it's shown regularly on American Movie Classics here in the USA and is also available on video). If you truly have an appreciation for good films and solid acting, you won't be disappointed.

Sure, Anthony Hopkins was good, even with the thin role he was given, but the rest of the cast was pretty dreadful. The young actor who played "Bobby" needs to go back to acting class. Boy, talk about overacting! He's supposed to be an 11-year-old kid and he's carrying on like a 40-year-old. And the story (which was by Stephen King): I admire screenwriter William Goldman, but he really blew it on this one. Bad dialogue, a lackluster story I could care less about -- I'm still scratching my head over it. A BIG thumbs down.

Boy, what a waste of time, talent and motion picture film. This was the most annoying flick I've seen in a long, long time. There's no real story here, just a bunch of overdressed, gabby, ditzy women and poor Richard Gere stuck in the middle of it all. I firmly believe Robert Altman has gone senile. (Sorry, Bob.) Well, at least the shots were in focus. Uggh!

The film starts off okay. Not great, just okay. Mia Farrow is nice to look at; the English countryside is lush and cozy. There are one or two kind of fun, slightly scary moments, but that's about it. The movie ended and my jaw dropped. That's it? No explanation as to who the killer was. No motivations. Nothing. I mean, was there a reel of film missing? And Elmer Bernstein's music (which is always terrific) didn't fit. All I can say is...watch this movie if you have absolutely nothing better to watch. (Hey, you can always watch "Plan 9 From Outer Space.")

Boy, talk about a lousy movie. Bad script, bad direction, just bad bad bad. I don't think I laughed more than twice during the entire thing. (If you're a teenager or in your early 20s, I'm sure you'll find this mess fairly amusing.) The first "American Pie" was clever, fun and quite funny. But this sequel isn't worth the DVD it was printed on. A BIG thumbs down.