The speculative investigation into the death of Superman -- i.e., the man who played him on television, George Reeves -- by gunshot on June 16, 1959, divides itself into the present-tense, but in no other sense tense, nosing-around of a shady private eye (Adrien Brody) and a past-tense review of …
Martin and Lewis, in their last film together, on a cross-country trek to get an eyeful of Anita Ekberg in Tinsel Town. The stretch done in the style of glossy postcards is sublime. The rest is above the team's average. Directed by Frank Tashlin.
Bugs Bunny selling war bonds, Constance Bennett sharing her "Daily Beauty Rituals," James Dean expounding on safe driving, Shirley Temple pitching for the Red Cross and Bette Davis for the G.E. dishwasher. Not much of this is what most people have in mind as out-takes: those unusables spoiled by the …
A custom vehicle for black actor Robert Townsend, produced, directed, and co-written by him. It casts him as an aspirant for the lead role in a street-gang epic for Tinsel Town Pictures, and by means of the TV knob and some Walter Mitty-ish fantasies it allows him also to play …
Penelope Spheeris was the director of the punk-rock documentary The Decline of Western Civilization -- a rather hysterical and hyperbolic documentary, but a documentary nevertheless -- and because of that, one tends to give her the initial benefit of doubt on a fiction film ("based," to be sure, "on actual …
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Holmes and Watson, respectively. Directed by Etan "What a Difference an 'H' Makes" Cohen (Get Hard). Elemental, my dear moviegoers.
Following his embodiment of American foreign policy in Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks looks to embody American economic policy as Alan Clay, a man who once voted to move Schwinn’s bicycle production to China, and who now finds himself trying to hawk IT for an unbuilt city of the future in …
Pablo (Paul Rodriguez) is a con artist seeking a new way to make money by deceiving people. Alongside his friend "Güero" (Jay Mohr), they discover that an ex-convict is masquerading as a successful preacher, the renowned "Willy Dollars" (Aries Spears). With Willy's assistance, they create their own show, achieving incredible …
When the last of the sisters of St. Suzanne’s face forced retirement, they take matters into their own hands. A last-minute dash to New Zealand’s stunning South Island leads them to an ex-nun-turned-lawyer who can defend their rights. A young Māori boy jumps onboard to help, but has a secret …
A very level view of the impoverished Extremadura area of Spain, still under Franco. It is a view of social inegality ("We're here to serve" is the peasants' motto) characterized more by chagrin than by anger. The camera is stolid and steady, and the look and pace of the depicted …
Visited by impure thoughts, a yeshiva student in Tel Aviv drops in at the Love Boat strip club, and within five minutes has fallen head over heels for "Sasha," a Ukrainian hooker. Tawdry tale with earnest intent, including a nod at Mideast politics. The male actors consistently come up short. …
In 2008, French director Leos Carax directed "Merde," the centerpiece segment of the film Tokyo! The story featured a trollish redhead in an ill-fitting green suit who popped out of the sewers at odd moments to nastily harass the general populace. Apparently, Carax wasn't finished with this charming creation (played …
Religious persecution of Jews, by Catholics, in 16th-century Mexico -- handled without the usual Joan of Arc histrionics, moral victories, and rooting interests. Directed by Arturo Ripstein with a surrealist's inscrutable poker face, and photographed by Jorge Stahl with a clear, sculptural light bathing the stiffly costumed figures and the …