Catching Charlie. Jerry Lewis at last pulls even with one of his heroes – the great Charles Chaplin – as he fulfills all the roles that Charlie used to fill in his movies: writer, director, producer, editor, star. And SILENT. THE BELLBOY is a triumph for Jerry Lewis – in all the disciplines cited above. Though he had worn various … Read More
VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET
The Shrinking of Gore’s PLANET. There are parts in VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET where Jerry Lewis astounds us with his physical art, yet that is not enough to save this attempted comedy from an atrocious script that exudes astronomical ignorance, and by that I mean: ignorance in astronomy… or maybe, also…? Jerry is Kreton, from an alien race that … Read More
OCEAN’S 11
Koo-Koo Eleven. They’re not master thieves – they’re ex-paratroopers. And they’re going to rob five Las Vegas casinos. Koo-koo, baby! Frank Sinatra is Danny Ocean in OCEAN’S 11, a breezy heist flick that is too cool for its own Camel filtered cigarette, too slick for its own Brylcreemed pompadour, too koo-koo kutchoo for its own swingin’ hep cats. Like his … Read More
THE LOST WORLD 1960
Stay Lost. Dinosaurs! Uh, no, just komodos and iguanas with horns and spikes duct-taped to them…. Didn’t matter when you were ten. And THE LOST WORLD (the second film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle‘s 1912 novel) is definitely FOR ten-year-olds, seemingly made BY ten-year-olds. Been decades since I read the book, but screenwriter-director Irwin Allen takes Conan Doyle’s exciting meat … Read More
INHERIT THE WIND
…And the Wind Cries Jesus. He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind; And the foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart. — Proverbs 11:29 Video stores in Kansas must have burned their copies of INHERIT THE WIND. (Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.) Back when fundamentalist Christians used to carpet-hymn the … Read More