No Escape (1994) – Martin Campbell

I don’t know what is about Martin Campbell movies. Outside of his entries in the James Bond franchise, they kind of just fizzle for me. They generally have solid casts, and at least the potential for a good story, and he knows how to orchestrate a shot and stage a sequence, but they never really…

Unlawful Entry (1992) – Jonathan Kaplan

Kurt Russell, Madeline Stowe and Ray Liotta star in this early 90s thriller that puts three stellar actors into a halfway decent script and hopes that their charisma and charm will see it through. For the most part, it succeeds, not least of which because they are all great actors. Russell and Stowe are Michael…

Cocaine Bear (2023) – Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks settles into the director’s chair again and delivers a mostly entertaining comedy thriller, which is loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear. Featuring an all-star cast led by Keri Russell, the film swings from working brilliantly to just falling a little flat. But damn if Banks doesn’t swing for the fences. There…

Muppets From Space (1999) – Tim Hill

I’m not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised by Muppets From Space. I remember seeing some of the trailers when it was first coming out, and to me it looked like a big silly misstep. The muppets had really figured something out by interpreting literary classics with a Henson twist, but this seemed like…

Hannibal (2001) – Ridley Scott

Anthony Hopkins returns to his iconic role of the cannibalistic doctor, Hannibal Lector in the sequel to the brilliant The Silence of the Lambs. This film shows up in Ten Bad Dates with De Niro on a list of films that it is painful to like. Jodie Foster and director Jonathan Demme elected not to…

Goodfellas (1990) – Martin Scorsese

Goodfellas is the final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Godfather. Here’s the thing, the gangster genre has never been my favourite, or even high on my list of films I enjoy. But, I remember reading the original non-fiction book written by Nicholas Pileggi back…

Field of Dreams (1989) – Phil Alden Robinson

  The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Raging Bull is this beautiful and highly enjoyable film from Phil Alden Robinson who wrote and directed the film based on the book Shoeless Joe Jackson by W. P. Kinsella. Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa…

Trailer Tracks: Field Of Dreams – Phil Alden Robinson

  Still another entry on my Top 10 of All Time list is Field Of Dreams.  I saw this in the theatre almost by accident.  Wasn’t sure what to see that night, and someone came out of an earlier screening and told me to go see that one, so in we went.  From the opening…

Muppets: Most Wanted (2014) – James Bobin

Every now and then, when I find things aren’t going as well as they could, a dose of nostalgia tends to help me get back on track. One of the things I most love from my childhood, is The Muppets. It doesn’t seem to matter how old I get, those bunch of lovable pieces of…