Change Your Image
mattstengel
Reviews
Empire Records (1995)
Plotless
Going into Empire records, I admit that I had high expectations. Having just come off of a High Fidelity buzz (Record store movies were kind of a theme that night), I decided to watch Empire for the first time and afterwards I was very let down.
So many people I know talk about this movie as if it were some kind of a god-send or something. To me it was just mediocre at best. The beginning starts off very funny with Lucas' debacle, and I would think that they would really take that and build a decent plot around it; but the writer and director failed...miserably.
The problem is that this movie is way too outlandish and indecisive. No one person is the central focus, the movie is comprised of several little sub plots, and this gives the audience no real connection to any of the characters and caused me to not give a d-mn about any of them. What little plot the movie has is just too weak to hold up, and so many unrealistic situations happen.
As far as being funny, there were few moments where I genuinely laughed. And as far as being dramatic, I couldn't feel for any of the characters because of the lack of attention focused on any one of them. Empire Records is at best an average "teen flick" and couldn't keep me interested. Want a better movie involving a record store? See High Fidelity. It has much more meaning than this shallow movie.
Fudge: Fudge-a-mania (1995)
Above average children's adaptation.
When I was in my elementary years (which was the early to mid 1990's) I had discovered some truly unique books in Judy Blume's "Fudge" series which started with "Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing". For the time in my life, I enjoyed each of these novels about growing up, siblings, and gender wars. Fudge-A-Mania, which is a television film adaptation of the final book in the series, is definitely worth viewing for the younger audiences.
Bob Clark directs a film which is reminiscent of his neo-classic "A Christmas Story". The script for FAM was not terrible, counting it was adapted from a national author's book. The movie itself appealed to the younger audience but without having to resort to cheap, gimmicky or "popular" comedy (ahem...Kangaroo Jack). Darren McGavin is again put into the role of the old-but-wise character and performs admirably. The child actors, namely Jake Richardson and Luke Tarsitano each do a decent job of portraying their respectable characters; Richardson plays the pre-teen male and Tarsitano as the annoying little brother.
So if you are looking for some good, clean, half decent entertainment for your children, you cannot go wrong with Fudge-A-Mania. And for their reading pleasures I recommend any of the titles in Judy Blume's "Fudge" series which include "Tales of A Fourth Grade Nothing", "SuperFudge" and "Fudge-a-Mania".
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Fantastic...even better if you are a 'heads fan.
The Talking Heads were one of the most unique bands during the '80s. And unlike other bands of the decade, their music is appreciated by people everywhere. This documentary, directed by Jonathan Demme, is equally unique and provides an interesting view of the band in live form which is essential for fans who missed seeing the talking heads live. Demme uses excellent camera work with high quality audio recordings of some of the band's best songs live such as "Psycho Killer" presenting the audience with a very entertaining concert documentary. Kudos to a genius director and his experimental dive into the band's talent.