Everybody’s Fine
February 19, 2010
Welcome to the end of Robert De Niro’s career, which just so happens to dovetail rather coincidentally with the demise of Miramax, the little studio that became a major player in the 1990s. However, with the departure of its founders, Harvey and Bob...
Stardust
December 18, 2007
Novelist and comic book writer Neil Gaiman hasn’t had much success with getting his work adapted into films. Terry Gilliam has been trying to get Good Omens made for years and Hollywood has been circling his most famous creation, Sandman, for some time....
Inside the Actors Studio: Leading Men
October 25, 2007
The latest collection of Inside the Actors Studio DVDs feature several acting legends from three consecutive decades: from the 1970s, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, from the 1980s, Sean Penn, and from the 1990s, Russell Crowe. The number of Academy Awards...
Taxi Driver: Collector’s Edition
August 15, 2007
Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) captures the sense of disillusionment that people felt towards the Vietnam War, racial hatred, and dishonest politicians like Richard Nixon in the 1970’s. His film is an emblematic document of its time and...
The Good Shepherd
April 3, 2007
The Good Shepherd (2006) has been a long-gestating project for screenwriter Eric Roth but then again pitching an epic biopic about the creation of the CIA must’ve been a tough sell for studios interested in making crowd-pleasing blockbusters and not...
Backdraft: 2-Disc Anniversary Edition
October 11, 2006
At the time of its release, Backdraft (1991) was regarded by some critics as an admirable if not flawed homage to the profession of firefighting. Of course, compared to the recent Ladder 49 (2004) it seems downright gritty and hard-hitting but still doesn’t...
Ronin: Collector’s Edition
May 12, 2006
Most big budget spy movies are often cartoonish action films with an emphasis on spectacle (explosions, gunfights and car chases) and very little intelligence or interesting characters. Aside from the smart, visceral Jason Bourne films, the only mainstream...
Casino: Anniversary Edition
December 29, 2005
Casino (1995) was Martin Scorsese’s first attempt at a big budget, studio-backed epic. He would take the style and structure of GoodFellas (1990) and expand it on a much more ambitious level. Many criticized Casino as GoodFellas Part 2 but this is merely...
Hide and Seek
December 4, 2005
Remember when Robert De Niro used to make good movies? Now, he seems content to star in formulaic comedies and cliched thrillers like this “gem.” Hide and Seek (2005) marks a new low for the veteran thespian. You know your career is in trouble when...
The Godfather Part II
November 18, 2005
Fresh from the phenomenal success of the first Godfather film (1972), Francis Ford Coppola quickly followed it with Part II (1974), a sequel that many consider superior to its predecessor. However, over the years the two parts meld together so seamlessly...
