Category: movies

      There is some decent, even thought-provoking dialogue in Thief, a 1981 semi-action production that has James Caan’s name all over it. He’s a tough guy, he’s a […]...

      Red Dawn is more than a shoot ‘em up movie. Red Dawn (1984, rated PG-13, 114 minutes) is all-American stuff—the mountaineering teenage heroes, with Boy Scout gear […]...

      Sure, you can figure out real quick how Pretty Woman is going to end, but Edward (Richard Gere) and Vivian (Julia Roberts) don’t figure it out until […]...

    Medicine Man (1992, rated PG-13, 106 minutes) is a completely predictable story about a man and a woman chasing each other as they close in on finding a […]...

    Maybe you’ve never heard of this movie (or the 1954 book by William Golding). Try the book first. Its sustained drama shames the movie. Half of the movie […]...

    Charlotte Gray (2001, rated PG-13, 121 minutes) is a pedestrian World War II tale based on Sabastian Faulks’ eponymous novel that completes his war trilogy (see The Girl […]...

    There is an utterly familiar plot line in To Serve Them All My Days (TV mini series, 1980-1981, 11 hours, 13 minutes): a Welsh coal miner’s son survives […]...

    The Words (2012, rated PG, 102 minutes) is vigorous drama (but no guns, no car chase!) with some heart throbs and some lachrymose moments. There are two morals […]...

    Maybe you haven’t watched The Wizard of Oz in a while. It’s not just for kids. There are grown-up songs, introduced by Over the Rainbow, and probably you […]...

    This justly famous short story by Paul Gallico is surprisingly simple in its construction and densely emotional in its impact. There are familiar plot elements: ugly old man […]...