Movie Reviews

The Story: An unauthorized, but very obvious prequel to the 1939 Wizard of Oz. The Lowdown: Good-looking, likable, but hardly the definitive Oz film it wants to be — and one that suffers from largely efficient, but faceless direction, and the usual longer-than-needed running time.

In Brief: Rouben Mamoulian's final film is a delightful version of the Ernst Lubitsch's 1939 classic Ninotchka — updated for the late 1950s and with a raft of Cole Porter songs added to make it a musical. Fred Astaire — in his last leading man role — stars as a movie producer fighting pretty Soviet…

The Story: A pair of self-proclaimed psychic investigators find themselves in the position of saving the world — regardless of the possibilty that one of them might or might not be dead. The Lowdown: A wild ride of intelligent, splattery horror comedy that offers what may be an illegal amount of bizarre fun. It's not…

In Brief: A mechanic — or hitman — ill-advisedly takes the son of one of his victims under his wing as an assistant in training. Pure 1960s-'70s action thriller of the Charles Bronson kind, The Mechanic benefits from ultra-stylish direction by Michael Winner. It may not make it exactly good, but it makes for a…

In Brief: The first — and in many ways still the best — of the all-star movies, Edmund Goulding's Grand Hotel (1932) -- presented here in a beautiful restoration that probably looks better than the film did in 1932 — is a richly rewarding drama of life, love and death taking place in Berlin's Grand…

In Brief: Somewhere in between history and Shakespeare with a dollop of house-brand horror (this did come from Universal Pictures, after all) is Rowland V. Lee's Tower of London. Despite the presence of Boris Karloff and the score from Son of Frankenstein (also directed by Lee), this a reasonably non-horrific offering — but certainly not…

In Brief: A bitingly satiric — but good-natured — look at a 1930s sex-symbol movie star (Jean Harlow), her dysfunctional household, her love-life and her trials with the studio publicist (Lee Tracy). Fast-paced, funny, risque in the pre-code manner and quite possibly Jean Harlow's best vehicle.

In Brief: The title pretty much says it all. This is a 1950s insect-fear film (of course) about a giant praying mantis (what else). In its favor, the effects work is pretty good and the solid — if not exactly exciting — cast manage to take it all very seriously. You may find yourself having…

The Story: It's "Jack and the Beanstalk," but with a romantic interest, extra characters and enough giants to qualify as a spectacle. The Lowdown: A purely pleasurable modern retelling of the old fairy tale that doesn't rely on snark and pop culture references, but instead relies on writing, performances and direction to create an engaging…

The Story: The further demonic possession travails of the girl from The Last Exorcism. The Lowdown: An unnecessary and pretty darn bad sequel to a pretty good horror film. Its biggest sin is that it's dismally dull.

The Story: The story of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's investigation into whether or not to try Emperor Hirohito for war crimes at the end of World War II. The Lowdown: Surprisingly gripping entertainment can be found in this historical drama, thanks to a solid script, strong direction and an array of impeccable performances. The year's first…

The Story: Two buddies surprise their best friend from high school on his 21st birthday and alcohol sends their plans quickly awry. The Lowdown: A generally unfunny comedy that tries to be about growing up, but is just too damn obnoxious to work.

The Story: A Soviet submarine captain nearing the end of his career must stop a group of rogue KGB agents who look to ignite nuclear war. The Lowdown: Professionally made, well-acted and occasionally literate, but also occasionally confusing, silly and pointless.

The Story: Documentary about climate change and the melting of the world's glaciers. The Lowdown: Beautiful and sometimes terrifying images abound, but the film perhaps spends too much time on the man behind the project rather than the project itself. Still worth a look for the breathtaking views.

In Brief: Victor Fleming's Red Dust is the kind of classic movie that makes nonbelievers like classic movies. It's a deliriously trashy romantic melodrama set in steamy Indochina with large servings of raw pre-code comedy and undiluted sex — thanks in no small part to Clark Gable and Jean Harlow at the height of their…

The Story: When his son receives an aburdly long sentence for a drug violation, a father goes undercover to help reduce his kid's sentence. The Lowdown: It's way longer than it needs to be. It does nothing new. It has no sense of humor. It's just plain not good.

The Story: A documentary focusing on America’s continually growing hunger problem. The Lowdown: Well-intentioned and informative, but never quite manages to be as engrossing as it needs to be as entertainment.

The Story: Strange events keep happening to a suburban family in this tepid alien abduction movie. The Lowdown: A dull, lifeless sci-fi folderol of the conspiracy-theory kind crossed with a Paranormal Activity vibe.

In Brief: Olivier Assayas' critically-acclaimed TV mini-series (that also saw a theatrical release), Carlos, is being shown over three weeks in three installments (totaling 330 minutes) by World Cinema. Covering 20 years and taking place all around the world, the story of Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (aka Carlos) is an exhaustive (and occasionally exhausting)…

In Brief: Lew Grade's 1978 TV version of Les Miserables with Richard Jordan as Jean Valjean and Anthony Perkins as Javert is a reasonably solid version of the book that hits the main plot elements and adds more backstory. Apart from Tony Perkins as a twitchy Javert, it's pretty much a kind of "Classics Illustrated"…