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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
20948 |
| Total Ratings: |
230773 |
| Total Reviews: |
23666 |
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| HUGH HEFNER: PLAYBOY, ACTIVIST AND REBEL |
"Brains behind the bunny"
brianorndorf says... "The documentary “Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel” aims to rise above traditional pit stops of jiggles and giggles while recounting the tale of Playboy Magazine’s founder and editorial icon. This is an investigation into a man who consistently pushed the envelope in the name of freedom; a gentleman baffled by repression, who sensed an incredible opportunity to create a magazine that catered to the curious and the liberal, personifying a sexual revolution that lasted for decades. Yes, there’s nudity and plenty of footage exploring the heyday of Playboy parties, but the picture is more concerned with the man behind the ears, who built an empire while changing the world." (more)
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| CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE |
"It was worth a nine year wait"
brianorndorf says... "It’s been nine years since the release of “Cats & Dogs,” and I don’t recall hearing anyone openly request a second installment. Fresh from the file of needless sequels comes “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” which doesn’t quite sequelize as much as rework the central premise of household pets as international spies. Handed a fresh generation of special effects, a worthless 3D bath, and a new cast, “Kitty Galore” gets about as far as the original, working itself into a lather that generates zero laughs and even less excitement." (more)
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| DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS |
"A very long meal"
brianorndorf says... "“Dinner from Schmucks” is the type of comedy that doesn’t understand the proper time to take a bow and exit the stage. It’s a funny picture that pays careful attention to the rituals of dumb guy cinema, but if there ever was a film that could’ve been a multiplex miracle at 80 minutes, it’s this movie. Instead, matters meander for nearly two hours, diminishing a pure expression of stupidity, carried out by a prepared, skilled ensemble." (more)
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| CHARLIE ST. CLOUD |
"The ab whisperer"
brianorndorf says... "There’s something painfully off about “Charlie St. Cloud” that causes it to miss most of the dramatic points it endeavors to make. It’s a well-intentioned tearjerker, but the film appears to have been whittled down rather harshly in the editing room, leaving a picture of little personality, but perceptible ambition." (more)
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| SMASH HIS CAMERA |
"Blasting 'em for decades"
brianorndorf says... "Art versus personal invasion is the premise that drives the documentary, “Smash His Camera.” A portrait of celebrity photographer Ron Galella, the film confronts the compulsion of paparazzi culture, isolating the experiences of its most famous member to explore the business of blasting the famous, showcasing a man who craved as much attention as his subjects. It’s an irresistible, illuminating documentary on a subject once thought glamorous, but now often resembles madness." (more)
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| EXTRA MAN, THE |
"Sock paint and the comfort of panties"
brianorndorf says... "I wouldn’t classify “The Extra Man” as particularly motivated, but it definitely reaches for a level of eccentricity that’s just barely within its grasp. It’s a character piece, adapted from the novel by Jonathan Ames, delivered in an iffy fashion from filmmakers unsure of what they hope to achieve from such roving storytelling. Still, there’s a satisfying range of actors presented here who don’t exactly provide comfort, but they have a heck of a time feeling around the film for peculiar character beats." (more)
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| DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS |
"Check, Please!"
Peter Sobczynski says... "“Dinner for Schmucks” is a strained and fairly unfunny farce that takes what would seem to be an absolutely foolproof comedic premise and then proceeds to do absolutely nothing with it. For those of you with longer memories and a predilection for foreign films, this news will not come as much of a surprise because it is based on “The Dinner Game,” a 1998 French film that itself was a strained and fairly unfunny farce that took what seemed to be an absolutely foolproof comedic premise and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it. What may surprise those viewers is the fact that not only does the Americanized version make many of the same mistakes as its Gallic predecessor, it actually manages to muck up some of the things that it actually got right the first time around. You know how there are some movies that don’t quite work in the theater as a whole but which have enough going for them so that you might stop and watch it on cable for a few minutes if you stumbled upon it while channel-hopping? This is the kind of movie that seems to be destined to be one of those that gets immediately hopped over in the search for something more interesting." (more)
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| DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS |
"Who Invited Francis Veber To The Party?"
Erik Childress says... "Comedy is supposed to be an international language. Or is that love? No matter cause whenever Francis Veber is involved, something somewhere is going to go horribly wrong. He is the French filmmaker responsible in some manner or another for inspiring or being directly involved with American remakes such as Three Fugitives, Pure Luck, My Father the Hero, The Man With One Red Shoe, the Billy Crystal/Robin Williams disaster, Father's Day, and the Richard Pryor film, The Toy, where a rich white man buys a black man to be his son's plaything. Some could say Veber's brand of farce gets lost in the translation, even though they were handled by such competent directors like Ivan Reitman, Richard Donner and Mike Nichols, whose The Birdcage remains the least scrutinized of the bunch. Veber's 1998 comedy, The Dinner Game, was a huge hit in its native country (second only to Titanic at the time) and is the latest attempt at Hollywood not learning its lesson in getting involved with this guy's work. Despite a promising cast and writers clearly recognizing where the original needed extensive improvement, they can't entirely get away from the Veber curse and it infects the middle hour until its almost impossible to recover." (more)
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DVD REVIEWS FOR 7/30: “THIS IS HELL AND I’M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE GUIDED TOUR.”
by Peter Sobczynski |
| "Although big-name titles may be in short supply this week (especially if you are looking for big-name titles that are worth watching), there are quite a few interesting items appearing this week that are coming in under the radar including a couple of cult favorites, entries from Europe ranging from the sublime to the sleazy and the long-awaited debut of one of the all-time classic TV sitcoms." (more) |
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BOOK REVIEW: RYAN REED'S GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO AND MOVIES
by Charles Tatum |
| "Video and film guides are nothing new. I remember picking up Leonard Maltin's thick paperback way back in junior high school, before internet and IMDB. Roger Ebert still releases books, including collections of his reviews. Back in the video explosion of the 1980's and 1990's, everyone seemed to be releasing guides, from the Videohound to the Phantom of the Movies." (more) |
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ALWAYS LATE TO THE PARTY - THE E.T. II: NOCTURNAL FEARS STORY TREATMENT
by Brian Orndorf |
| "Midway through the summer of 1982, there was no one absorbing more power in Hollywood than Steven Spielberg. With his sci-fi masterpiece, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” Spielberg not only had a smash hit flexing unreal box office muscle, but a motion picture that won over every audience it played for, burrowing straight into total cultural consciousness. The success of the picture guaranteed many changes for Spielberg that summer, but two matters were most certain: he would attain world cinematic supremacy and the studio would demand a sequel." (more) |
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CRITICWATCH - DOGS AND PUSSIES & A TOUCH OF SALT
by Erik Childress |
| "Last week's Criticwatch took a more direct approach at singling out those - not normally on our radar as quote whores and blurb sluts - who are simply unworthy of calling themselves a critic. If you don't like Inception and can back it up, fine. But you cannot make that argument in the same weekend where you recommended The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the second of the Bruckheimer Factory released this summer to suck imagination out rather than plant it in our minds. Even the whores who slurped up the latest from Jon Turteltaub seemed smart enough to believe Inception was better. It's a strong opinion, maybe infuriating for some, but one to stand upon in the age of the "educated" Armond White who thought that Grown Ups and Jonah Hex were superior to Nolan's work. But this week it is back to something hopefully we can all agree upon. Studios are not helping themselves by favoring the same old quote-meisters." (more) |
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'HE MUST HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS WHITE BOY DAY. IT AIN'T WHITE BOY DAY, IS IT?'
- Drexl Spivey, True Romance
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