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Reviews
Luminarias (1999)
A whole lotta heart!
It's evident that this film is a labor of love! I think any one from any culture can relate to it. We're all dealing with cultural fusion and as we encounter diverse cultures and fall in love, we all have to stretch ourselves and gain appreciation and understanding of each other.
I found it sweet, charming, funny, engaging, and it's beautifully filmed and performed by a dynamite cast.
Does Scott Bakula EVER age?! He looks great, as always. It's nice to have him and Robert Beltran in one movie--two of my favorites. What a treat!
Other great movies in this vein: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Catfish in Black Bean Sauce".
The DVD commentary about the "making of" is also engaging. This film is a "Mom and Pop" venture, with the lead's real-life son as her movie son. That relationship adds a wonderful dimension to their scenes together.
The Latino community pulled together to get it made, so it's really from a grassroots effort straight from the heart of a community that needs it voice. Bravo!!!
I Spy Returns (1994)
Affectionate Homage to a Classic Series
This flick is PRICELESS. I'm in the after glow here from watching it three times.
I'm taking back my rental and getting my own copy.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Culp & Cosby are really syrupy in love with each other in real life, because that's the sense I get from the whole project. Their chemistry is spot on and genuinely heart warming.
Cosby is credited as one of the Exec. Producers which means he partly bank rolled it, which is really nice, because it's really a lovely send off and tribute to a great, classic series and a rare chance for the actors to pay homage to Kelly and Scotty.
The humor is terrific. Culp and Cosby spend some quality time together--making fun of each other and their age mercilessly. But, in a sweet, affectionate way.
You feel all their history, and their regard for one another. Their initial meeting after 25 years is PRICELESS!!! The duo pokes fun at the way the spy biz and world has changed. Kelly's gone right along with it, adapting computers and gadgets while Scott has settled into his comfy professorship, complete with elbow patches on a tweed jacket. There are some cute gags which play upon Kelly and Scotty's style.
If Sheldon Leonard had planned this as a pilot for a new series, I think George Newbern has a James Spader thing going on. As Kelly's son he just didn't have the charisma to pull it off, but the casting makes perfect sense for the reluctant spy. I'd like to see Vincent Ventresca as the Kelly character, or Joseph Culp, who is the spitting image of his father. Salli Richardson is very good, but she's no Cosby replacement. But, that's immaterial. I just enjoyed the whole movie.
The dialogue is well written and the ad libs are always enjoyable. Even the villain, Jonathan Hyde as Cesar Baroodi, has some priceless lines.
There's a nod to the "locked room" scenarios that Kelly & Scotty always ended up in. They just kicked it up a notch and it gave them something to play off of. The Head of Field Ops just doesn't look so formidable under those circumstances.
Nobody loves and respects these characters and I Spy like Culp & Cosby. Watch and ENJOY the masters at work and play.
Night Stalker (2005)
NOT Night Stalker
May Contain Spoilers**** Disappointing as named. Did they even bother to WATCH the original show? We already have X-Files, and it was far superior to this X-erox.(sic) Too bad. The actors are fine--for a different type of show--they're all very pretty. If the show wasn't parading itself under the banner "Night Stalker" it might even have potential, but it's hard to get past that.
The original show had character in itself and had CHARACTERS--great character actors playing interesting roles. It was fun, entertaining. The new version is dreary and depressing. The new show uses the old saw about the the murdered wife and her unsolved crime...Are you kidding me? The Fugitive, Monk, First Wave...Stealing from the stuff they already stole, huh?
And, since when does Kolchak have anyone around him who believes a word he's saying? Like two, sexy cohorts.
A huge disappointment, since expectations are not met. Maybe some day, some one will get it and remake the series properly.
Millennium Man (1999)
Painful and depressing
Another insult AND injury from Glen Larson.
In the 1950's the Evil Monster Robots would clutch the blonde girl in their "arms" as depicted on the movie posters. Now they have taken to raping her outright with all the grunts and details instead of cut-aways.
Larson's previous wretched runs of science fiction were harmless at best, just kid stuff--talking cars, a good guy cyborg, goofy Cylons, Boxey and (oh gawd!)Twiki. All fit for lunch boxes, comic books, toy lines and other ephemera. This flick must be from his dark side; it makes Battlestar Galactica look good.
The only bright spot is the wonderful Shannon Kenny (Invisible Man, 2000) who still shines despite the material she is handed.
The Greatest American Hero (1981)
Great Fun
I think Stephen C made this on a dare..."Hey, Stevie! Bet you can't take all the pop culture of our time and turn it into one show!" And then he said "Just watch me!" So, he put "Superman", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Welcome Back Kotter", and an FBI man, into a creative soup and came up with Greatest American Hero. If you're looking for high art and pithy content, no, you won't find it here but this show really is a good time. It was one of my not to be missed shows in its time, and I miss it very much.
Robert Culp is at his very best as the quirky 2nd rate FBI guy. Culp adds interest to Bill Maxwell with clever turns of phrase and blustery bravado.
I'm certainly looking forward to owning this one on DVD.
The Apple (1980)
Good GRIEF!!!
Not just an affront as a Science Fiction film, but it's a full on MUSICAL. We need MST3K to give this it's proper treatment. So bad it's...um...well worth a look see so you can laugh yourself silly.
Evidently, in the future (i.e. 1994), we will all be wearing metallic lamee and singing songs like "I'm Coming for You". Disco will reign supreme and music stars will be the center of our lives.
Must we? Are we so doomed? What atrocity have we committed, what sin, what transgression have we enacted for this fate to befall us? Have we tampered in God's domain again? Can this course be stayed?
For the answers to these and other questions about the future, don't miss "The Apple".
Purgatory Flats (2003)
Good Solid Flick
After spending five years in prison, Dr. Thomas Reed, played by the incomparable Vincent Ventresca, exiles himself to Purgatory Flats and winds up tending bar. He soon meets the luscious, angel-faced Sunny (Alexandra Holden). "You are wicked." he tells her. "You have no idea." she replies as she sips her Slo Comfortable Screw and languidly drags on her cig. Reed finds himself entwined in the violent troubles of her family and the femme fatale story unfolds set against the desolation and desperation of the oil-drained western town.
Canny direction. Great performances. Superb entourage work. And some lust scenes that sizzle like the sun in Purgatory.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Still one of the Greatest!
Despite all the flash and trash that has been foisted upon an unsuspecting public since 1951, this film is STILL light years beyond the rest. Many have tried, but few have equaled the simple, but masterful strokes of this tale.
If only more contemporary science fiction film and TV makers would take their cues from The Day the Earth Stood Still, science fiction would not be thought of so poorly--many times, justifiably so.
Bravo and Stand O's for Robert Wise, cast and crew!