Movie Review: The Paper (1994)

Genre: Dramedy  

Director: Ron Howard  

Starring: Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, Marisa Tomei, Glenn Close, Randy Quaid, Jason Robards  
Running Time: 112 minutes  

Synopsis: In Manhattan, Henry (Michael Keaton) is the dedicated Metro editor at the scrappy Sun newspaper. He is embarrassed when his team fails to cover a late-night and seemingly racially-motivated double-murder. Nevertheless Henry is being interviewed for a role at the prestigious Sentinel paper, a career move encouraged by his pregnant wife Martha (Marisa Tomei), a former reporter. Meanwhile Henry spars with rival editor Alicia (Glenn Close), who is dealing with personal financial issues, and managing editor Bernie (Robert Duvall), who has health concerns. When two innocent black youths are arrested in the double murder case, Henry sacrifices everything to uncover the truth, but he only has a few hours before the next edition goes to press. 

What Works Well: Taking place over roughly 24 hours, this is a madcap, high-energy, multi-storyline, humour-infused celebration of newspaper office dynamics. A malfunctioning air conditioning system, complaints about office chairs, petty coverage of parking disputes, career decision points, personal and family pressures, debates about which stories to cover, and the scramble to obtain photographs, all get in the way - or provide fuel for - the business of uncovering the truth and reporting on the biggest stories of the day. Ron Howard maintains a remarkably firm grip on the barely organized chaos, and an excellent cast invests in the disparate characters inhabiting the newsroom.

What Does Not Work As Well: A few too many long tracking shots within the newsroom creep into the final cut, and some of the attempts at humour degenerate into unbecoming physical slapstick or just pure shouting.

Key Quote:

Henry: A clipboard and a confident wave will get you into any building in the world!



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Movie Review: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Genre: Teen Comedy  

Director: Gil Junger  

Starring: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Allison Janney  

Running Time: 97 minutes  

Synopsis: Anti-social Kat (Julia Stiles) and her younger flirty sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) attend the same Seattle-area high school. Their over-protective father (Larry Miller) stipulates that Bianca can only see boys if Kat is also dating. Classmate Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his rival Joey (Andrew Keegan), a self-absorbed but rich teen model, are both desperate to get close to Bianca. They decide to pay bad-boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) for the trouble of trying to get Kat interested in dating.

What Works Well: This busy reimaging of Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew does not lack in ambition: multiple well-drawn characters energetically compete for space and time in pursuit of romance, high-school style. Most of the humour is sharp, Heath Ledger finds a highlight commandeering the public address system at the school's stadium, while Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are other future stars shining in early roles. The conceited Joey strikes impressive poses in pursuit of oily villainy, and the energetic soundtrack features an eclectic rock mix.

What Does Not Work As Well: The obstacles placed in the path of Kat and Bianca's happiness by their father are contrived mechanisms to activate the plot. Director Gil Junger has trouble finding and maintaining cohesive focus: Cameron is introduced as the initial protagonist, but is eventually sidelined in favour of Patrick, who is late to join the proceedings. Cliques are introduced for no useful purpose, while Allison Janney as the dismissive guidance counselor fades away completely.   

Key Quote:

Patrick (to Cameron): See, first of all, Joey is not half the man you are. Secondly, don't let anyone, ever, make you feel like you don't deserve what you want. Go for it!



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Movie Review: Moonlight And Valentino (1995)

Genre: Drama  

Director: David Anspaugh  

Starring: Elizabeth Perkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kathleen Turner, Whoopi Goldberg  

Running Time: 105 minutes  

Synopsis: College poetry teacher Rebecca (Elizabeth Perkins) is devastated when her husband is killed by a car while jogging. She receives emotional support from her neighbour Sylvie (Whoopie Goldberg); younger sister Lucy (Gwyneth Paltrow); and ex-stepmother Alberta (Kathleen Turner). Sylvie's marriage is in trouble, Lucy is a morose loner with body image insecurity, and Alberta is an unlikeable Wall Street executive. The months pass, and Rebecca finally perks up when a handsome housepainter (Jon Bon Jovi) appears in the neighbourhood.

What Works Well: The talented cast delivers reliably steady performances, achieving small victories for quiet moments of discomfort and dry humour. The idyllic wealthy suburban setting is quaint.

What Does Not Work As Well: Based on the autobiographical book by Ellen Simon (Neil's daughter), this is an aimless and listless drama. Beneath the soft focus packaging is an unconvincing exploration of grief involving poorly defined characters who fail to transition from glib to genuine. The pacing is languid, few if any insights register, and some late-in-the-day revelations appear out of nowhere and smack of narrative desperation. 

Key Quote:

Alberta: I'd rather imagine a man than know him for sure.

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Movie Review: Teen Wolf (1985)

Genre: Creature Comedy 

Director: Rod Daniel  

Starring: Michael J. Fox  

Running Time: 91 minutes  

Synopsis: High schooler Scott (Michael J. Fox) is noticing some uncomfortable changes in his body. An average basketball player on the school's lousy team, he ignores the attention of girl-next-door Boof and pursues the more glamorous Pamela, although she already has a boyfriend. When Scott discovers that he can transform into a werewolf, his father explains that this is a family legacy. Scott-as-a-wolf is an awesome basketball player, and his team becomes dominant, but fame and popularity come at a price.

What Works Well: Michael J. Fox brings a winning personality to the central role, and rides the hairy ups and downs with natural appeal. The school society's easy acceptance of a werewolf in their midst provides a cool undercurrent, while Coach Finstock (Jay Tarses) maximizes the impact of his few scenes by mastering low-energy comic irreverence. 

What Does Not Work As Well: This defanged extrapolation of An American Werewolf In London and Michael Jackson's Thriller leverages the popularity of werewolves at the lowest possible budget. Here the creatures are reduced to a bad mask and a bit of fur on the hands, and they otherwise go about their business like everyone else. Director Rod Daniel has one surfing-on-top-of-a-van trick up his sleeve, and deploys it twice, to the same music. The "be yourself" theme is handled with the subtlety of incessant howling at the moon, while the antics of Scott's friend Stiles are sometimes funny but ultimately irrelevant and occupy excessive time and space.

Key Quote:

Coach Finstock: There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.

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Movie Review: Hackers (1995)

Genre: Crime Dramedy  

Director: Iain Softley  

Starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, Lorraine Bracco  

Running Time: 107 minutes  

Synopsis: As an 11 year-old, computer genius Dade unleashed a virus that disrupted financial networks worldwide. Now 18 and recently relocated to New York City, Dade (Jonny Lee Miller) meets the hacker community at his new school, including Kate (Angelina Jolie), Phreak, Cereal, Nikon, and Joey. While hacking a global conglomerate to prove his credentials, Joey inadvertently exposes the criminal activity of a computer security officer known as The Plague (Fisher Stevens), who has high-level contacts with the Secret Service. Dade, Kate, and their friends have to join forces to help Joey and expose the conspiracy.

What Works Well: This hybrid techno crime thriller romance includes doses of knowing humour, and is packaged within a distinctive cyberpunk-meets-skatepark milieu, the surreal outfits and set designs evoking surplus Blade Runner inventory. The Rafael Moreu script provides Dade with a decent-enough backstory.

What Does Not Work As Well: Hacking is reduced to cartoon-level pop-up screens and abstract video game imagery, while beyond the rad look of high-schoolers competing to out-cool each other, the plot is both incomprehensible and preposterous. The performances are just the one notch above high school year-end play material.

Key Quote:

Dade: Mess with the best, die like the rest.



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Movie Review: Cocktail (1988)

Genre: Buddy Drama 

Director: Roger Donaldson  

Starring: Tom Cruise, Elisabeth Shue, Bryan Brown  
Running Time: 103 minutes  

Synopsis: Brian Flanagan (Tom Cruise) leaves the Army and heads to New York City with dreams of making big money. But lacking any college education, he fails to land a corporate job. Veteran bartender Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown) gives Brian an opportunity as a bartender, and the two men become friends, developing an energetic rapport behind the bar. Brian pursues college business courses, but after a falling out with Doug, he relocates to Jamaica where romance blossoms with the wholesome Jordan (Elisabeth Shue).

What Works Well: Director Roger Donaldson injects energy into the ultimately absurd spectacle of bartender showmanship. Aside from the juggling bottles act, the Doug Coughlin character is an intriguing study in complexity, manipulation, and false wisdom, while the thorny friendship between Doug and Brian exposes the pitfalls of male camaraderie when fueled by the warped metrics of greed and lust. 

What Does Not Work As Well: Seemingly packaged for the primary purpose of promoting soundtrack and poster sales, this is a superficial drama built upon unlikeable characters consumed by narcissism and meanness. Instead of exploring the dangers of the darkness within, Brian is presented as a celebration-worthy central character, despite never maturing beyond a toxic mix of selfishness and juvenile aggression. In a milieu rich with equal opportunity self-absorption, the women who enter the lives of Doug and Brian are either vapid, conniving, or possessing spectacularly poor judgment.

Key Quote:

Doug: The luck is gone / the brain is shot / but the liquor we still got.



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Movie Review: The Golden Child (1986)

Genre: Fantasy Adventure  
Director: Michael Ritchie  
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, Charlotte Lewis, Victor Wong  

Running Time: 94 minutes  

Synopsis: In Tibet, satanic forces commanded by Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance) kidnap the Golden Child, who possesses magical powers and is the long awaited savior of humanity. In Los Angeles, Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) locates professional child finder Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) and informs him that he is the Chosen One tasked with rescuing the Golden Child. Although deeply skeptical, Chandler is drawn into the web of mystery and magic, setting up a confrontation with Sardo.
 

What Works Well: Charles Dance successfully dominates his scenes as the personification of evil. The relatively short running time ensures the action is efficiently hustled along with sustained energy, and although mostly silent, young J.L. Reate is endearing as the Golden Child.

What Does Not Work As Well: Eddie Murphy's brand of improvised and foul-mouthed contemporary humour never settles within a milieu of ancient cultures and cryptic beliefs. The script artificially force-feeds urban edginess and sarcasm into a grand story of good versus evil, leaving director Michael Ritchie flailing in search of narrative coherence. Most of the humour falls flat and serves to emphasize American obtuseness towards other cultures, while the generic synth music is just as contextually oblivious. The unconvincing romance fares no better, with Charlotte Lewis as Kee Nang having no business falling in love with Murphy's Chandler. 

Key Quote:

Chandler: The Chosen One. I'm the Chosen One. Why? Tibet? Why can't somebody choose me to go to the Bahamas? I got to get chosen to go to Tibet.

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Movie Review: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)

Genre: Monster Horror Comedy  

Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui  

Starring: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Hilary Swank, Paul Reubens  

Running Time: 86 minutes  

Synopsis: In Los Angeles, popular cheerleader Buffy (Kristy Swanson) is enjoying a typical teenager's life when she is approached by the mysterious Merrick (Donald Sutherland). He informs her that she is the Chosen One, the latest in a series of heroines with unique abilities to kill evil vampires threatening to conquer Earth. After a period of intense training Buffy starts tangling with vampires led by Lothos (Rutger Hauer) and his sidekick Amilyn (Paul Reubens), while at the same time falling in love with fellow student Pike (Luke Perry).

What Works Well: This anthem to female empowerment benefits from a wicked sense of humour and a steady stream of quotable zingers courtesy of a whip smart Joss Whedon script. The action is buoyed by a bloodless determination to not take anything seriously; acceptance that vampires can mix with teens in Los Angeles; and the natural conclusion that a cheerleader can become a cold-eyed slayer. Underneath it all is a message that girls are more than capable of rising above frivolities and confronting the real challenges of a big bad world. Kristy Swanson bring plenty of zest to the title role, Donald Sutherland anchors the one solemn character, and Paul Reubens finds immortality in an epic to-die-for scene.

What Does Not Work As Well: The limited budget is evident in the short running time, clunky set-pieces, and a lack of courage to venture into coherent universe-building or thematic complexities. One casualty is Rutger Hauer, who is wasted as a superficial villain-in-chief.

Key Quote:

Pike: You know Buffy, you're not like other girls. 

Buffy: Yes I am.

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Movie Review: My Salinger Year (2020)

Also Known As: My New York Year  

Genre: Biographical Drama  

Director: Philippe Falardeau  

Starring: Margaret Qualley, Sigourney Weaver  

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Synopsis: In 1995, aspiring writer Joanna Rakoff (Margaret Qualley) abandons Berkeley college (and her boyfriend) and moves to New York City. She lands a job at an old-school literary agency as the assistant to the demanding Margaret (Sigourney Weaver), who represents legendary but reclusive author J.D. Salinger. Joanna is tasked with sending form response letters to Salinger's fans, but does not abandon dreams of becoming a writer. In her personal life she enters a relationship with socialist Don (Douglas Booth), and as she delves deeper into Salinger's mystique, life gets more complicated.

What Works Well: Based on writer Joanna Rakoff's actual experiences as recounted in her book, this is an intimate and heartfelt journey into a dusty corner of the literary world. Carrying echoes of Working Girl and The Devil Wears Prada but with softer analog edges, Joanna finds herself unwittingly occupying a front row seat to the Salinger enigma. Her well-meaning attempts to treat his fans with more respect backfire into a few episodes of humour and fantasy, while personal growth and the sharpening of life's ambitions flow naturally from exposure to office dynamics and leaning into professional challenges. Margaret Qualley is an engaging lead, and Sigourney Weaver adds texture as the technophobe boss stoutly defending the past.

What Does Not Work As Well: The few attempts at broader philosophical musings cannot hide the deeply personal and ultimately narrow application of the material.

Key Quote:

Margaret: Writers make the worst assistants. Get to work.



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Movie Review: Music Of The Heart (1999)

Genre: Musical Biography  
Director: Wes Craven  

Starring: Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett, Cloris Leachman  

Running Time: 123 minutes  

Synopsis: When her husband leaves her for another woman, Roberta Guaspari (Meryl Streep) has to raise her two sons alone and start life over again. Her only skill is teaching the violin, and her friend Brian (Aidan Quinn) connects her with Harlem inner-city school principal Janet Williams (Angela Bassett), who gives Roberta a substitute teaching opportunity. The kids react well to her relatively stern methods, but after the violin teaching program takes off, new challenges await.

What Works Well: Wes Craven leaves behind suspense and horror to direct this edge-free, competent, and familiar biography. Meryl Streep ensures a base level of excellence in the central role, and allows Roberta's frailties and imperfections to round the character. The disadvantaged-kids-inspired-by-a-dedicated-teacher is a well-worn narrative device, but still delivers the desired feel-good vibes. 

What Does Not Work As Well: The structure is a mushy combination of episodic, repetitive, and predictable, and ultimately prolonged into an interminable final act hampered by a foregone conclusion. Aidan Quinn as the love interest, Cloris Leachman as Roberta's mom, and Angela Bassett as the well-meaning but overworked principal are all efficient but strictly linear. The kids are unusually passive for this sub-genre.

Key Quote:

Roberta (to her students before a big concert): I want you all to play from your heart.



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