The Player An unconventional yet brilliant satire of the vapid shallowness that embodies Hollywood’s development process, Robert Altman crafts a unique piece of entertainment that showcases Tim Robbins in perhaps his best role ever. Starting with the fourth wall breaking clapperboard into an awe-inspiring tracking shot around the studio (while the Fred Ward character comments […]
Pleasantville Taking its cue from the bland, boring whitebread sitcoms of the 50s such as Leave It To Beaver, Father Knows Best, and Ozzie And Harriet, the fictional sitcom within the movie basically has its formula subverted when two modern day teens (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspon) find themselves magically transported into this world only […]
Point Break The best action movies are generally widely thought of as being total adrenaline (and testosterone) fueled thrill rides, where the head long rush of excitement is what really matters the most over good writing, story, and character development (even as the films that also includes those things almost always rises to the top […]
Police Academy How ironic is it that one of the most seminal and definitive comedies of the 1980s is also one of the most maligned and misunderstood as well? Perhaps because it spawned a long running franchise with its low cost lineup of B and C character actors which literally became recognized as almost being […]
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment The best strategy in order to make a quality sequel and a quality franchise is that it’s always best to change things up in each film, utilizing a different style or approach while the most valuable assets (the returning characters) are still featured prominently. This 1985 follow up to […]
Popeye Robin Williams spent much of his career in television, movies and stand up comedy honing a performance style that came to define him as such: a manic, motormouth funnyman capable of throwing out ad libs quicker than some viewers’ minds could discern them, something that was most definitely at play in nearly every comedy […]
Porky’s Notable as being one of the most raunchy comedies not only of the 80s, but maybe ever, this is also significant for probably having the BLANDEST ensemble cast of young actors ever seen in any major production. It’s kinda amazing how NOT ONE of its stars ever had any kind of a career beyond […]
Porky’s 2: The Next Day The incredibly smart decision to allow Bob Clark to return to direct the sequel to his raunch classic is probably the best thing about this movie. The pace and the flow are nearly as good as the original, and the reference to Clark’s own Christmas Story (involving the “major award”) […]
Poseidon Adventure Disaster films that were so popular in the 1970s essentially were what they were, movies that featured epic scenes of wanton destruction while basing their stories on people trying to survive, but always with a big, all star ensemble of names who had all pretty much accepted the fact that winning an Oscar […]