Jake Kasdan’s feature directorial debut, Zero Effect, marks its 25th anniversary since the mystery-comedy’s theatrical release in 1998. In terms of plot, Kasdan’s script draws on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s third short story featuring detective Sherlock Holmes, “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Daryl Zero (Bill Pullman) is the world’s most private detective while Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller) is his Dr. Watson. Zero is a misanthropist so Arlo does the heavy work. It’s not often that you…
"Zero Effect Marks 25th Anniversary"Tag: Bill Pullman
Spaceballs finally reaches ludicrous speed with today’s Kino Lorber release of a new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray of the classic Mel Brooks spoof. The celebrated Star Wars spoof hits 4K with a number of bonus features. Unless noted, all bonus features appear on the Blu-ray disc and not the 4k UHD disc. What follows is my film review from the 32nd anniversary: Planet Spaceball–led by the inept President Skroob (Mel Brooks)–is out of clean air…
"Spaceballs: Mel Brooks Spoof Arrives on 4K UHD"
Sleepless in Seattle, a timeless classic, marked the second pairing between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in the Nora Ephron film. New York City may be the city that never sleeps but there’s no sleeping in Seattle. I kid, I kid. But seriously though, this film is recognized as one of the top romantic comedies of all time. The film hits all the basic genre beats while featuring the classic ending on top of the…
"Sleepless in Seattle: A Classic Rom-Com"
A League of Their Own is a beloved comedy which not only celebrates women in baseball but continues to serve as an inspiration to women today. The 1992 baseball classic recently recieved an upgrade to 4K Ultra HD. This came in part due to the film being included in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 1. Columbia has a vast library but this is an inspiring film to include. It comes with a…
"A League of Their Own Is Still Beloved"
Dark Waters is a warning for All Americans and shows what happens when the federal government allows corporate regulation to go unchecked. A corporate environmental defense attorney from Taft Stettinius & Hollister is probably the last person to take on Big Chem. Yet this is exactly what Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) did. While he was originally doing something as a favor to an acquaintance of his grandmother’s it became bigger than anyone could ever have…
"Dark Waters: A Warning For All Americans"
Independence Day may be the typical Roland Emmerich disaster film but Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum lift it up. “We will not go quietly into the night!” President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) declares. Whitmore’s speech will go down in history as one of the greatest presidential speeches of all time. All across the world, mankind must come together to find for survival. As with any presidential speech, David Arnold’s score gives the film the…
"Independence Day Remains A Classic" Spaceballs, Mel Brooks’ celebrated classic spoof of Star Wars and similar sci-fi films, marks its 32nd anniversary this year. Planet Spaceball–led by the inept President Skroob (Mel Brooks)–is out of clean air so they’re heading to planet Druida to suck all the fresh air. As soon as the opening crawl finishes, the camera tracks Spaceball One from the start of the ship all the way to the rear. The ship is so huge to the…
"Spaceballs: Mel Brooks’ Star Wars Spoof Marks 32 Years"
Mixing both comedy and western, Trouble features a whole lot of funny in this contemporary family feud. Ben (Bill Pullman) and Maggie (Anjelica Houston) are a pair of siblings living in Vermont. Maggie still lives on the family farm that they grew up on. When she discovers Ben with a bulldozer one day, stakes heighten beyond belief. They’ve made it beyond clear that they don’t like each other. Don’t shed any tears for this dysfunctional…
"Trouble: A Classic Western in Contemporary Vermont"
It’s surprising that Equalizer 2 is the first sequel in which Denzel Washington revisits any of his previous roles. The fact that this hasn’t happened already is astonishing in its own right. It bares noting that I went into the sequel’s screening without having watched the original 2014 film. Let me tell you from the get go, I don’t recommend seeing sequels without their predecessor. It won’t be the first time nor will it be…
"Equalizer 2: More Equalizing"
LBJ is a film that is wholly unnecessary because it’s already been done by way of the 2016 HBO movie, All the Way, starring Bryan Cranston. Woody Harrelson’s performance as Lyndon Johnson is strong, but there’s no way around comparing the two. It has been well over a year since the premiere of director Rob Reiner’s film at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival but it’s just as well that the film was held until…
"LBJ Is An Unnecessary Biopic"