Late producer Debra Hill, who passed away a couple years ago at the age of 54, left a legacy of such notable classics as The Fisher King, The Fog, and the original Halloween. The one film, however, that should deservedly appear toward the top of her film credits is a movie that was a box office bomb in late 1985 but has since gained a strong cult status over the last two decades. Clue, written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, and based on the Parker Brothers board game, is one of the most whimsically hilarious and charmingly over-the-top comedies of the 1980’s.

Six strangers who all incidentally work for the government in 1954 New England receive letters that tell them to meet at a mansion one stormy night. Given aliases by the butler Wadsworth (Tim Curry), the six individuals—Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn), Mr. Green (Michael McKean), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), and Miss Scarlett (Lesley Ann Warren—spend a night attempting to solve mysteries as more and more people in the mansion start getting killed.

Clue has several delights, but the most surprising one is (more…)

Here’s an example of a famous horror film, one that features great atmosphere, a handful of memorable scenes, and one of the most iconic performances in the history of film, that really isn’t all that good of a movie. The film works as more of a classic piece of history that influenced a lot that came out after it, especially work in the horror genre, and especially anything involving vampires. Bela Lugosi became stuck to this part for the rest of his life, and the director Tod Browning would never again make anything as famous (although Freaks has gained a cult status). But looking at it as a movie, just a single solitary movie, it must be pointed out that, especially considering how well James Whale’s Frankentstein holds up, Dracula is a bit of a disappointment, with its share of mis-steps.

I had seen this movie once before when I was a lot younger, and all I remembered was the tremendous scene where Renfield (Dwight Frye) goes up to Transylvania to spend the night with Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), who’s looking to buy some property in England. Their initial meeting and following discussion, still the best thing in the movie, reeks of (more…)

1931… ahhh, the first year of the Universal monsters. One of my favorite “genres” of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s is the monster movie, specifically all the Universal monster movies. Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, The Creature From The Black Lagoon. And all the sequels. These are classics through and through, marvelously entertaining. I haven’t seen some of them, and those I have seen I have little to zero memory of. There are three films, however, that I have a pretty good memory of, and they are Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and Dracula. I’ve often called The Bride of Frankenstein one of my favorite films, and I’m excited to watch it again in coming weeks. Dracula I remember being a sumptuous gothic feast… I will be looking at it soon.

Taking a look at Frankenstein again after all these years was an interesting experience. There are some movies that are so iconic it’s hard at times to just forget everything you know about it and just watch it as a movie. When I thought back on Frankenstein, I thought of the classic scenes… the creation, the monster’s entrance, the little girl by the lake, the destruction of the wind mill. And they all still work very well. What surprised me in watching the movie again is (more…)

There is about a third of a brilliant classic comedy in the outrageously funny Superbad, most of which is in the first 30 minutes. Starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as two high school loners who are on the verge of college and distancing themselves from each other after a lifetime of friendship, Superbad gets a lot right, with a few truly funny moments, hilarious dialogue, and a handful of terrific performances. I just wish the comedic energy of the first act had kept up for the remainder of the movie.

The first six or seven scenes are some of the funniest in a movie in recent years. Before there is anything remotely resembling a plot, writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and director Greg Mottola allow Hill and Cera to walk around and banter about girls, sex, alcohol, dicks. There’s nowhere this movie’s dialogue doesn’t go. It’s absolutely refreshing to hear high school kids actually talk to each other, and in an honest, uncensored manner. There’s a scene where Hill and Cera just roam around a supermarket and talk, and it may be the most entertaining scene of most any film this summer. When talk of blowing your load a la Orson Welles was mentioned, I practically lost it. And that’s followed by the amazing scene where Hill mouths off on his teacher, followed thereafter by telling Cera a story about what he did as a kid that made him “unusual.” All of this stuff is absolute comedy gold, and I felt like this would be one of the ten best movies of the year.

Unfortunately, once an actual plot comes into play, especially when Hill and Cera become separated, the movie goes (more…)

Paul Greengrass, the brilliant director of The Bourne Ultimatum, is such a breath of fresh air. He should be able to make any movie he wants. I can’t even imagine what he could do with a daring, original screenplay. He takes a movie like this, which could’ve been a rather uninteresting chase movie in the hands of a different director, and turns it into pure gold, delivering some of the best rough and tough action scenes I’ve seen in a long time. This movie almost seems like an after thought compared to his last movie, the absolutely enthralling masterpiece United 93, which rightfully got Greengrass his first Oscar nomination and was my pick for the best film of 2006. Even so, The Bourne Ultimatum is a lot of fun and probably the best action movie so far this year.

This final (?) chapter of the Bourne series wraps up questions we’ve had since the first movie, and it features plenty of dual personalities, the good and bad and morally corrupt of the CIA. Jason Bourne has always wanted nothing more than to go about his life not being pursued by the CIA, but he’s back in the limelight this time when he wants to find out exactly how and why he became a killer and who he was before this tortured life.

This may be the first time Matt Damon has actually scared me on screen. Well, the first time since Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back anyway (”Don’t you look at me, don’t you fucking look at me!”). He’s a mean (more…)

Sooooo much fun!! I am a huge fan of the movie musical genre, and there hasn’t really been a good one since Rob Marshall’s Chicago. Last year’s Dreamgirls was OK but lacked energy, and the new version of The Producers was stagy and flat. I was a little worried about this movie for two major reasons… One, it’s a movie based on a Broadway musical based on a movie (a John Waters movie, at that!). Two, John Travolta plays an overweight mom. All of these worries came to pass, however, when I saw the finished product. And, oh man, is this a great movie!

In 60’s Baltimore, Maryland, High school student Tracy rushes home every day after school to watch the Corny Collons Show, a program that allows kids her age to dance their hearts out. She’s in love with one of the young crooners on the show, Link, and when one of the stars leave, she goes to auditions being held to find the replacement. Tracy makes it on the show, and she uses the little power she has to integrate black people with white people on the show, and she also makes an effort to get her mom Edna out of the house and find herself in this new 60’s world!

A film like this makes it or breaks it based off the actual songs themselves, (more…)