Author:   Ken Hanke

Showing 316-336 of 5225 results
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson, Richard Conte, Joey Bishop, Akim Tamiroff

Ocean’s 11

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Quite the best thing about the 1960 Ocean's 11 is that it formed the basis for Steven Soderbergh's 2001 Ocean's Eleven. That's a statement that's likely to wring the withers of fans of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, but the truth is the original movie just plain isn't very good, unless you're…
Starring: W.C. Fields, Kathleen Howard, Jean Rouverol, Julian Madison, Tommy Bupp

It’s a Gift

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Generally considered — along with The Bank Dick (1940) — the best of W.C. Fields' movies, It's a Gift (1934) presents the Great Man as Harold Bissonette (pronounced Biss-o-nay), the owner of a small grocery store in Wappinger Falls, N.J. His great dream is to own an "orange ranch" in California, something that…
Starring: James LeGros, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Paua Irvine, Samantha Phillips

Phantasm II

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: In honor of the late Angus Scrimm, best known for playing "The Tall Man" in this series, the Thursday Horror Picture Show is running Don Coscarelli's Phantasm II. This is one of those rare sequels that's as good as — in some ways better than — the original. In fact, the only thing…
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Kali Hawk, Fred Willard, Mike Epps, Affion Crockett, Jane Seymour, Florence Henderson

Fifty Shades of Black

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: An attempt at a parody of last year's Fifty Shades of Grey. The Lowdown: So spectacularly unfunny that it makes the movie it's trying to spoof look like a "laff riot." A strong contender for worst of the year. Very strong.
Starring: (Voices) Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, James Hong, J.K. Simmons, Jackie Chan

Kung Fu Panda 3

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Po the Panda must find his inner "chi" to defeat a new threat. The Lowdown: Great to look at and blessed with clever lines and a reasonable amount of warmth, this latest series entry nonetheless shows signs of fatigue before it's over.
Starring: Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, David Gulpilil, John Meillon, Robert McDarra

Walkabout

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: This is a makeup showing for the Jan. 22 screening that fell prey to the snow. Prior to Walkabout (1971) Nicolas Roeg had co-directed (with Donald Cammell) only one film, the astonishing Performance, so a good deal was riding on the cinematographer-turned-filmmaker’s second outing. Could Roeg pull off a solo film? Indeed, he could. In…

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler January 13-19: Norm of Benghazi Ride Along — and Farewell to Major Tom

Posted on by Ken Hanke

In Theaters.  And you thought last week was bad? At least last week you got the expansions of Carol and The Revenant. This week — No such luck. In fact, no luck at all. It is so exceedingly grim that…well, you’ve certainly noticed by now that the featured image is from a movie made 40 […]

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler December 30-January 5: This Is the Way the Year Ends

Posted on by Ken Hanke

In Theaters.  So here we are celebrating the end of the year with exactly one new movie to choose from (not that there aren’t some pretty choice choices already out) — and because it’s from the Weinsteins, they’ve played around with when we’ll get it because…well, they’re the Weinsteins and they can. You may recall […]

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Rufus Sewell

The Holiday

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Just why this is being run is a concern quite beyond my comprehension. Saying this is the best (read: least obnoxious) film in Nancy Meyers' oeuvre is one of those judgment calls on a par with picking the best Martin and Lewis picture. Any way you look at it you lose. One thing I…
Starring: Franco Interlenghi, Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Leopoldo Trieste, Riccardo Fellini, Leonora Ruffo

I Vitelloni

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Long before Judd Apatow turned the 30-something-man-boy into a cottage industry (in fact, long before Apatow was even born), Federico Fellini made I Vitelloni (1953), which remains probably the best such look at emotionally stunted males. It's a film that has been all but overlooked because of the fame of Fellini's La Strada…
Starring: David Bowie, Candy Clark, Rip Torn, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: To mark the passing of David Bowie, the Asheville Film Society is showing Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Despite the fact that this is every inch a Nicolas Roeg film, it is also a film that is unthinkable with anyone other than Bowie. The film is based on a…
Starring: Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Russell Johnson, Leslie Bradley, Mel Welles

Attack of the Crab Monsters

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Roger Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) is a perfect — and perfectly enjoyable — example of the type of movie that was being churned out in the late 1950s. Surprisingly, it's also frequently stylish and has a remarkably well-written screenplay. Bear in mind, however, that we’re talking well-written within the context of movies about…

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler January 20-26: Dirty 5th Anomalisa Boy — and Those Oscar Noms

Posted on by Ken Hanke

In Theaters.  Count your blessings for movies that are still playing, movies that are being brought back, and Charlie Kaufman. Otherwise, this looks like a week that might challenge last week for sheer dreadfulness and maximum awfulness — and utter suckage. Last week could indeed go down in history. And not in a good way. […]

Starring: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, Randy Quaid, Jose Luis Gomez, Michael Lonsdale

Goya’s Ghosts

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Chances are you've never heard of this 2006 release. Then, it's even money that you'll look at the fact that it's from Milos Forman, and that it stars Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgård, and wonder why you've never heard of Goya's Ghosts. A couple of hours with the film will pretty…
Starring: Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, David Gulpilil, John Meillon, Robert McDarra

Walkabout

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Prior to Walkabout (1971), Nicolas Roeg had co-directed (with Donald Cammell) only one film, the astonishing Performance, so a good deal was riding on the cinematographer-turned-filmmaker’s second outing. Could Roeg pull off a solo film? Indeed, he could. In so doing, he established himself as a filmmaker with a unique, if not always completely penetrable,…
Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, Cary Grant

Devil and the Deep

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: A legacy from that brief period when Paramount was determined to make Tallulah Bankhead into a movie star (they gave up after this one), Marion Gering's Devil and the Deep was also meant to introduce the movie world to Charles Laughton. Back in 1932, it wasn't especially effective at either, but today it plays as deliciously overheated…
Starring: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning, Bill Finley, Lisle Wilson, Barnard Hughes

Sisters

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Sisters (1973) is by no means the first Brian De Palma film, though it might fairly be called the first De Palma film as we know them. The theme is, in part, voyeurism — so we're right at home from the onset. The tone is set as much by Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) as it…
Starring: Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Eoin Macken

The Forest

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story:  A girl searches for her twin sister in Japan's notorious "Suicide Forest." The Lowdown: Whether or not the Aokigahara Forest prompts people to commit suicide, chances are good that this first release of the new year will put you to sleep.