Celluloid Heroes

In The Client, Brad Renfro burst onto the scene with quite a good performance. I mean he was only 12, and he could have been excused for just about anything. In reality he did well. The years haven't been particularly kind to his acting career.

Teaming up with Nick Stahl (post-Sunset Strip, pre-Carnivale), they wander through South Florida in this teen movie where Bobby (played by Stahl) regularly beats up on everyone, but most notably "best friend" Marty (played by Renfro).

Read All of "Bully (2001) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 30, 2006 in Drama

This movie was a bit odd in that it was enjoyable from a family perspective - that is to say the kids enjoyed it and it wasn't too bad for them to watch it - but it didn't really fit together all that well. It starts off well enough, with Will Ferrell falling short of his father's expectations (played well by Robert Duvall).

And the laughs start in right away, but then he starts falling into a bit of a funk as his son is benched on the dad's championship team. You know where it's going, and that isn't a big deal, really, but it's how it gets there that leaves you wanting a bit. It's no surprise that the dad uses the ringers to get the team all the way to the finals. It's no surprise that he comes around in the end and the team pulls together to win.

Read All of "Kicking and Screaming (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 29, 2006 in Family

This movie doesn't exactly have the most quickly unfolding plot line, but the end is a decent one.

The story has a woman (Mira Sorvino) getting a job as a waitress at a mob-influenced restaurant, where she quickly makes friends with the other two waitresses who work there. As it turns out, one of the waitresses is an undercover police officer and the other (Mariah Carey, in one of her few acting roles to date) is involved in some of these mob dealings.

Read All of "Wisegirls (2002) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 21, 2006 in Drama

This retelling of the Batman tale isn't quite as cool as the 1989 version with Jack Nicholson and his "Did you ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light", but let's be honest - if you don't have Jack, how can it be? So keeping that in mind, it's not bad.

Borrowing a page from the George Lucas playbook with the inclusion of Liam Neeson as a philosophical mentor to a younger hero works here, as Bruce Wayne rises from a Chinese prison to assume a role within Wayne Enterprises, the titanic corporation his father created years before.

Read All of "Batman Begins (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 21, 2006 in Action

Lou Gossett Jr. may not be a high-brow actor, but he usually at least picks movies that are entertaining. The 80s-style earring and strange eye coloring in this one, along with the bad script make this one aspire to be entertaining.

The only other marginally recognizable name, Amy Locane, is perhaps left wishing that Melrose Place hadn't been canceled.

Whatever the case, it is Locane's father, an archaeologist obsessed with the tomb of an Egyptian queen, who has suddenly taken ill with some strange markings on his wrist. We are to find out later that these are actually fingernail scratches - seven of them, from the dead queen herself, who had seven fingers on one hand.

Read All of "Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy (1997) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 20, 2006 in Horror

This isn't as much fun as George Clooney's other late-90s romp, Out of Sight, but it's not bad, all things considered.

For one, it's a lot lighter, involving two single parents and their kids, and what happens one day when they both end up having to actually care for the kids - a state neither of them is used to experiencing. Typically they are more wrapped up in their careers and just let the kids go to school or they are taken care of by someone else. For another, the situations revolve around more wholesome pursuits and less around criminal activity.

Read All of "One Fine Day (1996) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 19, 2006 in Romance

It is remotely possible that the Child's Play franchise is finally dead. After 5 movies, you'd think we might have made it. But it's also possible that we're just entering an entirely new era of the family slasher flick.

We start off in England, where we meet Glen (or perhaps Glenda), likely an homage to none other than Ed Wood, that most horrible of Hollywood directors. Anyway, Glen (or Glenda) is a dummy in every term of the sense, acting out at a circus sideshow, and is wondering where his parents are - or if he even has any.

Until, that is, he sees Chucky and Tiffany on the telly one night on an entertainment show as they make their movie. So he packs himself up and ships himself to Hollywood to introduce himself.

Read All of "Seed of Chucky (2004) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 13, 2006 in Horror

While this is probably classified as a family film, it really has some fairly dark moments. One of them comes in the very early moments as Flipper and another dolphin are swimming merrily through the ocean and the Bad Guy shoots Flipper's friend not once, but over and over. You don't see blood in the water or anything, but there's no question that he's hurt. Then he shoots again and again and there should be no question that the other dolphin is dead.

There are certainly some lighter moments in the movie, but there's also plenty more darkness, like dead fish floating around the toxic waste, and a near-dead Flipper who returns after eating some of the infected fish to boot. So it's not all fun and games, but there are some of those as well. Just probably not really for the younger set.

Read All of "Flipper (1996) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 13, 2006 in Family

Samara has returned for another go-round at the land of the living, and to try and stir up some trouble in the world above. Unlike the first movie, this one is a bit less frightening, as it's a little more focused on one person, and there is a bit more idea of what is going on.

This time around, Samara has decided that she wants to live as a real child, and so she tries to take over the body of Aidan (David Dorfman). Unfortunately, his mom sorta likes him, so she fights to keep Samara from doing so. Naturally, no one wants to believe her.

Read All of "The Ring Two (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 7, 2006 in Horror

This is movie is absolutely made by Wanda Sykes. Without her one-liners, it wouldn't be half as good. And without the five minutes near the end with Elaine Stritch, it would have been even worse. But with those two, it wasn't bad.

Jennifer Lopez plays Charlie, a perpetually undecisive, dog-walker and doctor's office receptionist, who meets Kevin (Michael Vartan) several times in a couple of days. Unfortunately, his mother (Jane Fonda) isn't keen about the idea of her talented son being taken away from her by this woman who is so obviously beneath her.

Read All of "Monster-in-Law (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 6, 2006 in Romance

Nicole Kidman stars as UN translator Silvia Broome in this political thriller from Sydney Pollack (who also has a smallish role in the film).

Early on, we find out that Silvia has overheard someone speaking an obscure African dialect about murdering a visiting dignitary. Even stranger, that dialect is spoken in her country of origin, a fact pointed out by Sean Penn, playing haunted secret service agent Tobin Keller.

Read All of "The Interpreter (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 6, 2006 in Drama

This film chronicles the struggles of a teenager in Hell's Kitchen. The neighborhood isn't a bad setting for a film, or even an uncommon one. Though perhaps not advertised as much, Daredevil was set there, as was Sleepers. What you do with the setting is what matters, and they didn't do much with this one.

Claude (short for Claudia) is trying to find herself, and her best friend Ellen is helping - until Ellen finds Mark. Mark takes Ellen's time, and also seems to have a problem with the fact that Claude and Ellen sleep in the same bed, both literally and figuratively. Then things really take a turn for the worse when it seems that Mark may have killed Claude's new friend, Luke.

Read All of "All Over Me (1997) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 5, 2006 in Drama

In The Client, Brad Renfro burst onto the scene with quite a good performance. I mean he was only 12, and he could have been excused for just about anything. In reality he did well. The years haven't been particularly kind to his acting career.

Teaming up with Nick Stahl (post-Sunset Strip, pre-Carnivale), they wander through South Florida in this teen movie where Bobby (played by Stahl) regularly beats up on everyone, but most notably "best friend" Marty (played by Renfro).

Read All of "Bully (2001) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 30, 2006 in Drama

This movie was a bit odd in that it was enjoyable from a family perspective - that is to say the kids enjoyed it and it wasn't too bad for them to watch it - but it didn't really fit together all that well. It starts off well enough, with Will Ferrell falling short of his father's expectations (played well by Robert Duvall).

And the laughs start in right away, but then he starts falling into a bit of a funk as his son is benched on the dad's championship team. You know where it's going, and that isn't a big deal, really, but it's how it gets there that leaves you wanting a bit. It's no surprise that the dad uses the ringers to get the team all the way to the finals. It's no surprise that he comes around in the end and the team pulls together to win.

Read All of "Kicking and Screaming (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 29, 2006 in Family

This movie doesn't exactly have the most quickly unfolding plot line, but the end is a decent one.

The story has a woman (Mira Sorvino) getting a job as a waitress at a mob-influenced restaurant, where she quickly makes friends with the other two waitresses who work there. As it turns out, one of the waitresses is an undercover police officer and the other (Mariah Carey, in one of her few acting roles to date) is involved in some of these mob dealings.

Read All of "Wisegirls (2002) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 21, 2006 in Drama

This retelling of the Batman tale isn't quite as cool as the 1989 version with Jack Nicholson and his "Did you ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light", but let's be honest - if you don't have Jack, how can it be? So keeping that in mind, it's not bad.

Borrowing a page from the George Lucas playbook with the inclusion of Liam Neeson as a philosophical mentor to a younger hero works here, as Bruce Wayne rises from a Chinese prison to assume a role within Wayne Enterprises, the titanic corporation his father created years before.

Read All of "Batman Begins (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 21, 2006 in Action

Lou Gossett Jr. may not be a high-brow actor, but he usually at least picks movies that are entertaining. The 80s-style earring and strange eye coloring in this one, along with the bad script make this one aspire to be entertaining.

The only other marginally recognizable name, Amy Locane, is perhaps left wishing that Melrose Place hadn't been canceled.

Whatever the case, it is Locane's father, an archaeologist obsessed with the tomb of an Egyptian queen, who has suddenly taken ill with some strange markings on his wrist. We are to find out later that these are actually fingernail scratches - seven of them, from the dead queen herself, who had seven fingers on one hand.

Read All of "Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy (1997) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 20, 2006 in Horror

This isn't as much fun as George Clooney's other late-90s romp, Out of Sight, but it's not bad, all things considered.

For one, it's a lot lighter, involving two single parents and their kids, and what happens one day when they both end up having to actually care for the kids - a state neither of them is used to experiencing. Typically they are more wrapped up in their careers and just let the kids go to school or they are taken care of by someone else. For another, the situations revolve around more wholesome pursuits and less around criminal activity.

Read All of "One Fine Day (1996) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 19, 2006 in Romance

It is remotely possible that the Child's Play franchise is finally dead. After 5 movies, you'd think we might have made it. But it's also possible that we're just entering an entirely new era of the family slasher flick.

We start off in England, where we meet Glen (or perhaps Glenda), likely an homage to none other than Ed Wood, that most horrible of Hollywood directors. Anyway, Glen (or Glenda) is a dummy in every term of the sense, acting out at a circus sideshow, and is wondering where his parents are - or if he even has any.

Until, that is, he sees Chucky and Tiffany on the telly one night on an entertainment show as they make their movie. So he packs himself up and ships himself to Hollywood to introduce himself.

Read All of "Seed of Chucky (2004) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 13, 2006 in Horror

While this is probably classified as a family film, it really has some fairly dark moments. One of them comes in the very early moments as Flipper and another dolphin are swimming merrily through the ocean and the Bad Guy shoots Flipper's friend not once, but over and over. You don't see blood in the water or anything, but there's no question that he's hurt. Then he shoots again and again and there should be no question that the other dolphin is dead.

There are certainly some lighter moments in the movie, but there's also plenty more darkness, like dead fish floating around the toxic waste, and a near-dead Flipper who returns after eating some of the infected fish to boot. So it's not all fun and games, but there are some of those as well. Just probably not really for the younger set.

Read All of "Flipper (1996) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 13, 2006 in Family

Samara has returned for another go-round at the land of the living, and to try and stir up some trouble in the world above. Unlike the first movie, this one is a bit less frightening, as it's a little more focused on one person, and there is a bit more idea of what is going on.

This time around, Samara has decided that she wants to live as a real child, and so she tries to take over the body of Aidan (David Dorfman). Unfortunately, his mom sorta likes him, so she fights to keep Samara from doing so. Naturally, no one wants to believe her.

Read All of "The Ring Two (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 7, 2006 in Horror

This is movie is absolutely made by Wanda Sykes. Without her one-liners, it wouldn't be half as good. And without the five minutes near the end with Elaine Stritch, it would have been even worse. But with those two, it wasn't bad.

Jennifer Lopez plays Charlie, a perpetually undecisive, dog-walker and doctor's office receptionist, who meets Kevin (Michael Vartan) several times in a couple of days. Unfortunately, his mother (Jane Fonda) isn't keen about the idea of her talented son being taken away from her by this woman who is so obviously beneath her.

Read All of "Monster-in-Law (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 6, 2006 in Romance

Nicole Kidman stars as UN translator Silvia Broome in this political thriller from Sydney Pollack (who also has a smallish role in the film).

Early on, we find out that Silvia has overheard someone speaking an obscure African dialect about murdering a visiting dignitary. Even stranger, that dialect is spoken in her country of origin, a fact pointed out by Sean Penn, playing haunted secret service agent Tobin Keller.

Read All of "The Interpreter (2005) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 6, 2006 in Drama

This film chronicles the struggles of a teenager in Hell's Kitchen. The neighborhood isn't a bad setting for a film, or even an uncommon one. Though perhaps not advertised as much, Daredevil was set there, as was Sleepers. What you do with the setting is what matters, and they didn't do much with this one.

Claude (short for Claudia) is trying to find herself, and her best friend Ellen is helping - until Ellen finds Mark. Mark takes Ellen's time, and also seems to have a problem with the fact that Claude and Ellen sleep in the same bed, both literally and figuratively. Then things really take a turn for the worse when it seems that Mark may have killed Claude's new friend, Luke.

Read All of "All Over Me (1997) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on May 5, 2006 in Drama