One of the stranger BIG box office hits from the early seventies, WILLARD is infested with rodents, but very few scares. A very young Bruce Davidson stars as Willard Stiles, a timid young accountant who suffers daily, cringing in the wake of Martin (Ernest Borgnine) his loud, demanding boss. Willard lives at home with his aging mother Henrietta (Elsa Lanchester) in their crumbling, big old Victorian house. Browbeat by his boss, trampled on by life, Willard begins to make friends with the rats in his basement, calling out a large white one for being especially smart and naming his hairy buddy Socrates. It's hard to get a handle on Williard. In some scenes he seems more like Wendy The Slow Adult than a shy accountant. He speaks in cringe-worthy baby talk to his rodent friends and he teaches the rats words simply by repeating them and holding up an object. The genetically enhanced chimpanzees in the latest "Planet of the Apes" film series don't have anything on Willard's common rats. The film seems to imply that they are not only understanding human language in short order, but applying reason and emotion as well. It's, in a word, stupid. Thankfully the b-movie makers understand the more action they throw at us, the less we will try to understand the story. Willard is soon having mobs of his rat friends invade his bosses back yard house party and helping him rob houses. Borgnine is pretty good as the ultimate sexist, arrogant and demeaning boss in an office that may have single handedly inspired the HR departments of the 80's. Sondra Locke appears here as a beautiful young temp that sees the good in Willard. She's a standout in the cast, a few years before she went on to be Clint Eastwood's co-star in life and films such as "The Outlaw Josey Wales", "The Gauntlet" and "Sudden Impact". Davidson is OK in a strangely written part and the special effects are laughable. It's all too apparent that when Willard the white rat and Ben the black rat and friends are attacking folks that they are being thrown through the air by stage hands onto the actors. When I was 10, this movie rocked and I remember reading the paperback version and loving it as well. Oh my, that was a long time ago! It's strange that this low budget, silly little movie became such a big hit, but it did, driving a sequel the following year called BEN. With over $19 million in 1971 dollars at the box office, it was a thing of legend. It also inspired an entire herd of American International "when animals attack" movies that lasted the entire decade. As for , its all rats and no scares. Like Willard's accounting skills, it gets a D.

Rose Byrne delivers a powerhouse performance as a woman stretched to her limits and far beyond in IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU . It's the darkest of comedies and the most lethal of dramas wrapped in a relentless fever dream. This is not a fun night at the movies and Writer/Director Mary Bronstein isn't interested in spoon feeding you a tidy narrative. Bronstein and Byrne craft a very tough and delicate woman in Linda. She takes no shit off anyone as her life spins ever so slowly out of control. Her daughter is battling a unnamed medical situation, fed through a tube every night and unable to gain weight. Bronstein plays Dr. Spring, who's growing frustrated with Linda's seeming inability to commit to mandatory meetings and counseling. Is Linda doing everything she can to help her daughter? Linda and her daughter arrive home to their apartment one night to discover a massive leak that renders their home unlivable. Their unseen landlord seems very reluctant to commit any real effort to fixing a massive whole in their ceiling. Linda's sessions with her therapist bounce all over the place. I loved the way these sessions were written, a living breathing peek into the way Linda's mind is working. (or not?) Her therapist is played by a shockingly good Conan O'Brien in his first big screen role of this magnitude. I am a huge Conan fan for decades and his ability to disappear into the role was a jaw dropper. More evidence that comedians often make the best dramatic actors. Linda and her daughter end up in a fleabag motel near their home. Linda's daily routine is work followed by setting up all the medical equipment around her daughter and waiting for her to go to sleep. Some of the choices that Linda makes while her daughter is sleeping in this dump of a property inspire anger and frustration. A few doors down, a young guest named James (well played by A$AP Rocky, who I loved in "Highest 2 Lowest" last year) is an unassuming positive presence in Linda's orbit. But her orbit is a dangerous place to be. Linda's husband (Christian Slater) is an unseen presence for most of the film, away (on business?) and wondering why Linda seems to have no focus. The film is a nearly two hour journey into mental illness. Bronstein serves up some major surprises throughout with supporting characters that are best discovered on your own. I loved her structure choices, creating a sense of everyday repetition and trial that slowly drives Linda mad. Her visual choices are just as strong, with everyday moments spinning off into wild, otherworldly moments. It's one of the strongest depictions of mental instability I've seen as Byrne begins to lose her grip. We never see Linda's husband Charles (Slater) until the final act. His presence explodes the film as his presence tears down the mental house of cards that Linda's built around her. You never see her daughter's face until the final moment of the film in a powerful closing shot. The film's sound design team led by Nick Caramela creates an aural assault that slides in and out of the film. From quiet initial intrusions to all out, "Eraserhead" level audio barrages of confusion and panic, we hear the scenes in Linda's brain. The heart and core of the film is Rose Byrne as Linda. What a performance. She is nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars this Sunday and I think she deserves the win. Byrne breathes a hair trigger into Linda that shocks you over and over again. Watch how anxious she is to please her therapist when he starts telling a story. Her scene at the family support group with Dr. Spring and a group of other Moms is a powerhouse. I didn't connect why she was so angry in that scene until I remembered her self diagnosis to O'Brien's therapist. This is a superb film packed with great acting. It's also very difficult to sit through, especially during the final 45 minutes as Linda's mind begins to descend deep into a black hole of despair, her hope vanishing. This is a movie that will test your limits. The last movie I saw that dealt with mental illness, psychological drama and maternity on this level was Daron Aronofsky's 2017 film, "Mother!" which I detested. IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU is a film I have great admiration for, thanks to its rich portrayals of people you can recognize, versus the absurd, self important creatures in Aronofsky's film. Byrne is brilliant and deserves that Oscar. Period. The powerful combination of Byrne and Bronstein earn an A.

Take everything you love about 80's action flicks, douse it in everything you loved about the original "Predator", throw in a hint of "Aliens" military action and you get WAR MACHINE , one of the purest thrill rides I've enjoyed in ages. This thing is a beast that I never saw coming. Alan Ritchson (Reacher, The History of Ungentlemanly Warfare) is a giant of a soldier. As the film opens, we meet him in the middle of Afghanistan military ops, where he and his brother (Jai Courtney) face an ambush in the desert. Flash forward years later to Ritchson arriving at US Army Ranger training in the middle of Colorado. New Zealand spectacularly subs for Colorado throughout, the scenery is jaw dropping. Dubbed "81" upon his arrival, he will stop at nothing to make the squad and be accepted into the rangers. The first half hour or so of the film is a character study of a broken man who only wants to pass the finish line of training. 81 has no interest in making friends or comraderie, which his First Sergeant Torres (Esai Morales from "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning") and Senior Officer Sheridan (Dennis Quaid) note, but as a kick-ass soldier, 81 has no peer. It's almost like a modern day "Office and a Gentleman" or "Full Metal Jacket" as 81 battles himself and his haunted past as his greatest physical limitation. As the final Ranger test, 81 and his squad are dispatched to survive a 24 hour final mission. They succeed, they're in. But the film moves from an army movie to classic 80's sci-fi mode when a massive, alien war machine emerges from the ground in the middle of the mission. It's a deft blend of Cruise's "War of the Worlds" and Phil Tippett's police robots from "Robocop", updated with all the Dolby Atmos, 4K CGI available. The film takes off at this point and never stops running, providing more action thrills and actual, palpable suspense than I've felt in a good while. I'm shocked how much I enjoyed this one. So often lately, a good set up leads to a disappointing third act. Not here. It's slam bang action with really enjoyable and creative special effects in every scene. Ritchson is everything you want him to be, as immovable as Arnold was in 1984's "Predator" and loaded with all the ammo and guts you want. Maybe I enjoyed it so much as it's a throwback to the unabashedly macho Schwarzenegger/Stallone action flicks we all loved back in the day. There is no apologizing, no woke BS, no pandering. It takes me back to John Milius' screenplays for "Conan the Barbarian", "Red Dawn" or "Clear and Present Danger". And that is a refreshing thing indeed. Aussie Writer/Director Patrick Hughes (The Hitman's Bodyguard) has one clear and present agenda here, and that's to entertain. Mission accomplished. The special effects are first rate, taking great advantage of the scale and beauty of the landscapes and the hardware. Acting kudos to Blake Richardson as "15", the whiny Bill Paxton/Private Hudson of the ensemble, the team member we love to hate and also to composer Dmitri Golovko, whose killer, full orchestra music score echoes Alan Silvestri's "Predator" score in all the right ways. It's pulse pounding, loud and as intimidating as that big ass alien attack vehicle. The battle gore is graphic, the stakes are high and damned if our military vehicles can't take quite a beating. The ending is pure fun and chest pounding in its patriotism and pro-military stance. Who would have thought that would ever have to be described as refreshing?! WAR MACHINE is exactly that, a surprising, pedal to the metal action flick machine with taut thrills and edge-of-your-seat suspense that earns an A. If Mad Max was ever in the military, it would look a lot like this. I'm all in on a sequel and based on the first four days of views, I'm betting one will soon be greenlit. Rangers lead the way!!

It's incomprehensible that Disneyland could have built in one year. Yet that's exactly what Walt Disney and his team did, as seen in the fascinating documentary, DISNEYLAND HANDCRAFTED . The film is created solely out of rare archival footage, personal home movies and Walt's weekly TV series, documenting everything from the first bulldozer running through an orange grove to opening day in 1955. Walt Disney's labor of love overcomes seemingly impossible odds to hit the opening day deadline. Can you even imagine trying to get anything done in that time frame with all the ridiculous layers of bureaucracy and California state government waste in place today!?! Emmy & Oscar nominated Director Leslie Iwerks (100 Years of Warner Bros, The Imagineering Story) is the granddaughter of famed Disney animation legend and designer of Mickey Mouse, Ub Iwerks. Her Disney cred runs deep. The film is fast paced and exciting, dropping you directly onto the site. Seeing 1955 sedans drive through what would become the river of the Jungle Cruise to decide where to plant exotic trees is an unexpected peek into the past. The construction of the Disneyland Railroad, the authentic steam engines that navigate it and the pure Americana that is Main Street USA is a hugely enjoyable blast from the past. We see Walt himself on TV every Sunday evening, where he offers updates about the construction. While he may admit it's a challenge on his show, the behind-the-scenes paints a clear portrait of his quest and a man making the biggest bet of all time on himself and his ability to bring his vision of a family theme park to life. The world had never seen anything like Disneyland. It's also fun hearing just how far the Anaheim location was from the city in 1955. "Who's going to drive THAT far?" is a common refrain. Credit Walt for being smart enough to know the public would tune in to see his dream come to life and for hiring some great cameramen to document every day of the construction. All that film is reassembled into a fast paced, chronological tale that dives into key timelines while serving up some fantastic sped-up visuals of how that orange grove became the Happiest Place on Earth. It's an incredibly immersive 79 minute dive into what true vision and teamwork can accomplish on a grand scale. The final portion features extensive, terrific footage from the LIVE TV Special detailing the opening day, exactly one year after breaking ground. Amazing. Bob Cummings and Art Linkletter host the TV special, with cameras all over the park showing the massive crowds that arrived on opening day. We're not talking the handheld TV cameras of today, either! That's a LOT of cable. Hollywood predicted that the park would be a flop. Park visitors proved them very wrong that day, and every year since. It's a lot of fun seeing just what rides were in the park opening day that are still in place today. And watching crews hose down streets, paint and try to get bathrooms working as the sun comes up opening day is wild. It also takes me back to see how all the customers are dressed in their Sunday best, dresses, shirt and ties. Another time, well captured. One of the best documentaries of the many good ones on Disney+, DISNEYLAND HANDCRAFTED is jaw dropping. One year from construction start to opening day. HOW! WHAT??? Check it out. It gets an A. And you can watch the entire documentary here:

We are a long way from Emily Bronte's classic in Emerald Fennell's new adaption of WUTHERING HEIGHTS . Wild, sexy, funny, tragic and sometimes just bonkers, Fennell's screenplay infuses Gothic romance with a whole lot of modern sensibilities. Is there some lineage between classic director madman Ken Russell and Emerald? Margot Robbie is Cathy, stunning, impatient and saddled with a decrepit homestead and an alcoholic father, Mr Earnshaw, well played by Martin Clunes (Shakespeare in Love, Doc Martin). Earnshaw is abusive to his staff, especially a local orphan who he welcomes to their home. That young boy grows up to be Heathcliff, played with plenty of repressed longing by Jacob Elordi (Guillermo Del Toro's "Frankenstein"). We meet Cathy and Heathcliff as kids, where we first see her self-centered attitude and his undying devotion to her. Owen Cooper, who was so brilliant in last year's "Adolesence" is terrific as young Heathcliff. Once the film progresses and they are played by Robbie & Elordi, we find Cathy longing for some wealthy prince to take her away, and Heathcliff quietly longing for Cathy. The film is all over the map in its middle section. Sometimes its a tawdry Harlequin Romance that's laughable in its gothic repression and sexual longing, with Fennell finding every way possible to get Heathcliff shirtless and Cathy clad in something that inspires bodice ripping. The tone is maddening in its uneven approach, but like the aforementioned Russell, Fennell slaps so much style and unique polish to it, it is always seductive. As Bronte fans know, a wealthy single man buys the property a few miles away and builds a massive mansion. The new neighbor, Edgar, is well played by Shazad Latif (Nautilus). Cathy manages a very goofy first meeting that lands her staying at Edgar's brand new, palatial estate for weeks. One of the best scenes in the film for me, the one that brought me into the film, was Cathy's return to Wuthering Heights after that time frame, with Heathcliff spying at her from a rooftop. She returns in splendor, having found the life of her dreams. Ah, but who's the man of her dreams? The generations of fans of Bronte's classic novel know well what happens next. I remember reading the novel as part of a literature class in school, but have no memory of it now. I'm fascinated now to discover just how far Fennell's take diverts from the original text. Some changes are obvious, especially Charli xcx's unexpectedly solid songs added to the soundtrack. She manages to add a great deal to the moody atmospherics of the film. Fennell and Charli are clearly in sync, as the songs weave into all the windswept, rainy clifftops, crumbling castles and gaudy mansions. Heathcliff's transformation into a man of wealth is handled perfecly by Elordi. He's lately been rumored to be near the top of the list of possible new James Bonds. There were at least four scenes here that made me think, "Yeah, I get it". He could definitely fill the role with style. (Although my personal OO7 pick remains Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Elordi is a chameleon, emerging as one of the most versatile young actors in today's mix. He's terrific here from start to tragic finish. This is also one of Robbie's best roles in years, my favorite since her performance as Sharon Tate in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" in 2019. She IS Cathy, with all her maddening flaws and unbridled passions. I went into WUTHERING HEIGHTS ready to roll my eyes. That happened, more than once. But Fennell's creative style is intoxicating. Her film bombards all your senses, elevating what could have been a goofy take into a mad take on classic literature that pays homage, while simultaneously tearing it apart and reassembling it into something wholly new. Those looking to plumb the depths of the characters within need to seek out the original 1847 Bronte novel. Fennell is far more interested in making you feel them. Fennell's passion for the project is as undeniable as the bind between Cathy & Heathcliff. Doomed gothic romances have rarely been this spirited. WUTHERING HEIGHTS gets a very surprising B.

The Russo Brothers have plundered all my built up goodwill with their ridiculously predictable, daft new pirate movie THE BLUFF . How can a film so packed to the top of its treasure chest with action be so dull? I can't fault the two leads, who do everything they can with two underwritten roles. Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico, The Matrix Resurrections) is here to kick ass as Ercell, the wife of a sea captain raising a teenage girl and boy. Their little home on a stunning tropical island (the film was shot in Australia standing in for the Caymans and it looks amazing) appears idyllic as the era of the pirate comes to a close. But her husband, Captain T.H. Bodden (perfectly cast in Ismael Cruz Cordova) has just had his ship plundered in the film's opening sequence by a huge pirate ship four times the size of his vessel. It's a visually stunning set piece that's the best in the film, owing as much to John Carpenter's "The Fog" as it does "Pirates of the Carribean". It looks great and sets a tone that the rest of the film never comes close to matching. The evil leader of that huge pirate ship is Captain Connor, the last of his breed and an infamous presence across the seas. Karl Urban ( Star Trek, The Boys) is terrific as Connor, a revenge obsessed madman. He arrives on the island, looking for Ercell, who turns out to be more The Bride from "Kill Bill" then quiet homemaker. The arrival scene is decent, with Connor and his murderous crew spreading real terror in their quest to find our heroine, but shortly after that scene on the beach, the movie bogs down into a predictable mess of exposition and one too many pirate movie stereotypes and some pretty run-of-the-mill CGI crocs. In addition to Chopra-Jonas and Urban, there are some good moments in the adventure, mostly thanks to the cinematography of Greg Baldi (The Grey Man) and the lively non-pirate like music by Henry Jackman (X Men: First Class, Captain America: The Winter Soldier). He manages to avoid everything you'd expect in a sea shanty score, with multi levels of modern action music highlighting the brawls. Chopra-Jonas also obviously trained like mad for all her fight scenes, which are well staged, bloody as hell and pack a punch. New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison (The Mandelorian) is a standout as Connor's Quartermaster Lee. He manages to convey some powerful storytelling and owns the screen whenever he's on it. Maybe if the screenplay had invested just a moment or two more in the backstory, I would have had some connection to the characters. As it sits, I'm just wading through the sandy beaches and dark caves for the next action scene. Urban manages to get some of the best dialogue in the film and has no groaners, but poor Pryanka is saddled with some one-liners that would have made Arnold roll his eyes in the 80's. If you want to see a great film climax staged on a cliffside in 2026, run to see Sam Raimi's hugely enjoyable "Send Help". Sadly, a film actually called "The Bluff" can't manage one surprise moment in its big climax near the edge of the island. The Russo Brothers have delivered some of my favorite action spectacles of the past 20 years, including "Avengers: Endgame" and "Captain America: Civil War", but this is the second film in a row as producers that shows no signs of any storytelling spark behind the visual effects. Their last movie, "The Electric State" was one of the worst films of 2025. Sadly, their new pirate flick will surely be wallowing in the brig in competition for those honors in 2026. THE BLUFF is all booty (not the money variety) and no treasure, floating a bloody trail of chum all the way to a D.

One of my favorite guilty pleasure films of the early 80's, CAT PEOPLE is loaded with visual style, dark sexual undertones and terrific music that could only have been born in 1982. Writer/Director Paul Schrader had just made "American Gigolo" and decided to tackle his own dark take on a b-movie classic as his next film. It would not receive the same response as his previous blockbuster hit. At least at first. Nastassia Kinski (Tess) stars as Irena, arriving in New Orleans as the film opens, coming to meet her brother for the first time. Her sibling Paul is perfectly played for creeps and maximum inappropriate sexual desire by Malcolm McDowell (Time After Time, Blue Thunder). Meanwhile, a wild, hungry black panther begins prowling the Big Easy, showing up in seedy hotel rooms to slaughter hookers. Why is that every time the Panther appears, Paul goes missing? Hmmm... We meet Zookeeper Oliver, well played by John Heard (Home Alone), his girlfriend Alice (Annette O'Toole) and their co-worker Joe (Ed Begley Jr.) as they track down and capture the panther. Meanwhile, Irena finds herself drawn to the zoo, Oliver falls for her and lust emerges from every corner. Oliver for Irena, Alice for Oliver, Paul for Irena and the panther for human blood. New Orleans is the perfect setting, you can almost feel the humidty, sweat and lust that Schrader keeps piling on, layer by layer. When his story hits a lull, he just piles on nudity and gore or throws us back in time to an ancient world where huge, sleek cats mate with beautiful natives, surrounded by the coolest fantasy sets of the 80's by Ferdinando Scarfiotti (The Last Emperor, Last Tango in Paris, Scarface). It makes virtually no sense, but is so beautiful to look at and hear, who cares? The dream sequences are stunning. Lather a rich, beat-heavy music score by Giorgio Morodor on top of the production design and throw in a David Bowie favorite made for the film "Putting Out the Fire with Gasoline" and you have one of the strangest films of the era. I loved it from the first time I saw it, but if you can't roll with a film that's much more about visual grace and style than it is storytelling, run for the hills. It's way more David Lynch than Alfred Hitchcock. There are violent animal attacks, buckets of artery pumping blood, graphic nudity and sex, along with layers of Schrader's patented vision of morality, sexual desire and human weakness. It's a bloody erotic feast. It bombed at the box office but found new life in the early days of DVD as audiences discovered it and made it a cult favorite. Tarantino loved it and used Bowie's song in the critical Nazi movie theatre sequence that serves as the finale for his brilliant "Inglorious Basterds". This is one twisted, dark little adventure and I love its complete disregard for anything appropriate. Schrader never disappoints. Revisiting it every few years, I'll give CAT PEOPLE a purrfectly revolting B.

A dismal, woke excuse for a documentary that inexplicably takes the side of men preying on underage kids, PREDATORS is a self-righteous mess that drowns in its own slimy, bizarre posturing. NBC's "To Catch a Predator" series on Dateline was a ratings bonanza wrapped in a cautionary tale. It was such a huge hit that host Chris Hansen became a part of the national zeitgeist. We'd all tune in every week to watch Hansen work with local police to set up stings for predators seeking sex with underage children. The shows popularity even became fodder for satire and comedy shows. If you're in a house and Chris Hansen walks into the kitchen, you've made some seriously twisted life choices. The first twenty minutes of the film is a decent recap of the show's origins, how it was filmed and just how big it became in America. I remember watching it and, along with everyone else I know across the country, loving watching these twisted morons get busted. It's made very clear to all these felons that the girls or boys are underage. That doesn't stop these guys from showing up to meet them at their house loaded down with everything from condoms and booze to candy while they thing Mom and Dad are away. After Hansen talked to them, the idiots usually assumed they were free to go and waltzed out the front door to a police team ready to take them down. Of course, there were a couple of these morons that you just had to shake your head at, too young or just too damn stupid to grasp the consequences. But that didn't lessen the impact of what they did in recorded texts, conversations and on camera for anyone I know. But wait. Director David Ost has a different perspective. He seems to take offense to what Hansen and the police did. In the ultimate showcase of toxic empathy, he feels bad for those poor little sexual predators. Ost's performative compassion conveniently ignores the damage to real children in the grasp of these lowlifes. WTF? The film spirals into a very uncomfortable take, diving deep into one of the arrested men who commits suicide. If only Ost took the same time to dig into the harm that sexual predators cause in young lives. But no, he's got an agenda and spends the last hour of the film trying to convince you that these poor predators deserve your pity. No thanks, I'll focus on the rights of the victims. Ost creates a convoluted ending in which he invites an unsuspecting Chris Hansen for an interview in Manhattan. He sets up cameras outside the office to show Hansen arriving. Oh I get it! Its a super clever, meta take to put Hansen in the same position as the subjects of his hit show! See! He's pulling up outside for the meeting while the cameras wait inside for his ambush. Oh, how smart! How clever! HOW STUPID . The staging of this entire sequence is so awkward, painful and self indulgent that you can feel Ost begging for artistic recognition. Poor Hansen sits there waiting for something smart to be asked, but Ost is too busy trying to capture what he thinks is a "gotcha" moment, that the film is aimless, boring and offensive. The only person I felt bad for was Chris Hansen, getting bamboozled into wasting an afternoon with this talentless hack. I hope you at least got some lemonade, Chris. Ost should have called this crap "Why Pedophiles Aren't THAT Bad", to express his real message and also so I could have saved the 96 minutes I wasted watching this offensive garbage that lands with a thud from a light year outside of left field. PREDATORS gets an F.

"If you ever say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I'm gonna get that gun of mine... And I'm gonna change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot!"-Dolly Parton as Doralee Just as funny today as it was in 1980, 9 to 5 is a hilarious showcase for Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and someone named Dolly Parton making their film debut. Dolly's Oscar nominated Title Song welcomes us to montage of office life in the opening year of the eighties. Think shoulder pads, pantyhose, high heels and a whole lot of good old boys running the show. What the film gets 100% right is it's enjoyable satire of the way things use to be, loaded with some sterling comeuppance in the final act. Jane Fonda is Judy Bernly, arriving at the office on her first day on the job. She's been thrust into the workplace by a recent unexpected divorce, after many years at home. She meets Violet, perfectly embodied by the unique and brilliant Lily Tomlin in one of her best film roles. Violet helps Judy avoid the landmines, most of which were planted by office manager Roz (Elizabeth Wilson from "The Graduate" and "Quiz Show"). Roz rules with an iron fist, constantly sucking up to the big boss, Franklin Hart Jr. Dabney Coleman (Tootsie, War Games) is a wild man as Hart, spending most of his energy trying in vain to bed his vivacious secretary, Doralee (Parton). Writer/Director Colin Higgins created some hugely enjoyable box office hits in this era, including "Foul Play" with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn. He also wrote "Harold and Maude" and "Silver Streak". This film continued his hot streak. As our three women become friends, they begin to fantasize about murdering their boss. Higgins manages to show us each of their fantasies, amped up by the joint they are casually passing around. It's a great scene and tees up the madcap comedy of the film's second act, in which the women kidnap Hart after a freak accident and hold him up in his own house while his wife is halfway around the globe. These ladies can do slapstick! Coleman joins them for some of the best physical comedy of his career. A garage opener has never been used so creatively. Film legend Sterling Hayden (Dr. Strangelove, The Godfather) makes a grand entrance in the finale to tie everything up with a bow. He's the Chairman of the Board and his take on everything happening at the office serves up a priceless final act. Some comedy is timeless and it's great to see Fonda and Tomlin spar so brilliantly 35 years before they reunited with "Grace and Frankie". Tomlin's film legacy is spotty, only because it was hard to find film vehicles worthy of her unique talents. When the movies elevated to meet her, like Altman's "Nashville", Carl Reiner's "All of Me" or Higgins "9 to 5", they stand tall. She's a comic genius. It's fun to see Dolly in her film debut. She is, at first, a tad reserved and shy, but by film's end, she is clearly having just a good time as we are. I really enjoyed seeing the Original Broadway Cast when Dolly adapted the film as a new Broadway musical in 2009. Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty, and Marc Kudisch were all well cast as Violet, Judy, Doralee and Hart and it was a hell of a lot of fun. Dolly wrote all the music and lyrics based on the original film. In 1980, this was the first female-centric film to crack the $100 million mark at the box office! It's impossible not to have fun when a cast is this good and clearly enjoying what they're doing. Fonda enjoyed working with Coleman so much that she lobbied for his casting as her new husband in "On Golden Pond" the following year. Listed at 74 on AFI's list of 100 greatest American comedies, 9 to 5 holds up beautifully. Looking for some big laughs? Go ahead, punch the timeclock and revisit this comedy blockbuster. Recalling the zany screwball comedies of the 30s and 40's in its 80's take on sexism,it gets an A. Check out this goofy trailer that shows very little of the actual film!

Jumping on the DaVinci Code express back in 2004, Nicolas Cage delivered plenty of adventure and laughs in NATIONAL TREASURE . I had not seen it since it's opening weekend in theaters, so it was a blast to see it back on the big screen on a recent Disney cruise. Out of the gate, you KNOW this is a Jerry Bruckheimer film. The mega producer of "Top Gun", "Pirates of the Carribean" and "Bad Boys", he delivers a big budget thriller that keeps you on your toes while it hops from one fantastic location to the next. Washington DC has never looked so ripe for treasure hunters. Cage is at his best as Benjamin Franklin Gates, a historian who has spent his life chasing the legend of a Masonic/ Knights of the Templar lost treasure across the globe. Gates latest wealthy benefactor behind the search is Ian Howe, perfectly played by Sean Bean of "Game of Thrones" and "Goldeneye" fame. We see generations of the Gates family and realize that their quest has painted them as goofballs, with nothing to show for their multi-generational quest. I don't know about you, but if my Grandpa Gates was played by Christopher Plummer and told me to believe, I'm with Ben, I'm all in! Of course, Ben's dad, Patrick (a great Jon Voight) tells him that its all a myth, a road to nowhere that he's wasted his life on. In flashbacks, we see the fantastic treasure in ancient Egypt, then on its journey to America, where the founding fathers apparently hid it in their new national Capitol. It's a fun premise, well executed. But are the flashbacks real or just wishful thinking by ten generations of the Gates clan? Diane Kruger (Inglorious Basterds) is Abigail Chase, a high profile guardian of Washington DC's secrets who gets sucked into Ben's wild plan. Justin Bartha (The Hangover) is hilarious as Riley, Ben's young assistant who's appetite for adventure doesn't quite match his bosses. Bartha and Kruger serve up a lot of laughs as the wild quest unfolds and she did nearly all her own stunts, even in that wild car chase! Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction) is at his mellow best as well, playing a Detective on Ben's elusive trail. Cage is in his mainstream prime here, creating a character we can't help but cheer for, especially when he decides to steal the Declaration of Independence to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Nobody creates a chase/caper/action flick quite like Bruckheimer and every bit of his $100 million budget is right here on screen. When the film grossed nearly four times that, a sequel was assured. Sean Bean and Cage stage quite a duel as two men who will stop at nothing to get the Templar Treasure, dragging everyone in their orbit into the action. I had forgot just how great the madcap conclusion was, blending Indiana Jones with a bit of James Bond. Kudos to Director John Turteltaub (While You Were Sleeping, The Meg) for delivering fast paced fun that the whole family can enjoy together. He and Cage re-teamed three years later for the even bigger box office bonanza, "NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS, which I need to watch again soon. The original NATIONAL TREASURE serves up plenty of mystery and fun, along with wall-to-wall action and laughs, earning a very solid B+. After two decades, it was a pleasure to enjoy all of it's secrets revealed yet again.

Some quiet films cast a spell. In a magical alchemy of beautiful settings, quiet thoughts and masterclass acting, they pull you into their almost silent world. MIDWINTER BREAK is a fine example, sinking us into the everyday life of a couple who have been married for a very long time. The critical, formative action and tragedy in their marriage happened a very long time ago and the two never speak about it. They have found comfort in routine, but can that last forever? Lesley Manville (The Phantom Thread) plays Stella, who we first meet on Christmas Eve as she prepares to leave for a nearby Catholic Mass. It's clear that her husband Gerry (Ciaran Hinds) has no interest in joining her, as he relaxes in a lounge chair, a symphony playing on his headphones. Their goodbye is comfortable, everyday, sweet. We watch Stella walk from her home to the nearby church, through those perfect, wet Scotland streets and the comfort of small town outside Edinburgh. She comes alive in her generic interactions with fellow churchgoers. Returning home, she finds Gerry asleep in his chair and the camera follows her through the small home on a lonely Christmas Eve that inspires her to shake things up, gifting Gerry a vacation for them both to Amsterdam. The loneliness in that scene is palpable, pouring off the screen for long moments. It's as unsettling to us as it was Stella. Her surprise gift seems to be an inspiring thought and just what they needed. Never in a hurry, the film watches as they head to Amsterdam, check into their hotel, explore just a bit and then slip into familiar patterns. We begin to feel that Stella needs more. A lesser film would find immediate fault in Gerry and reward Stella with a magnificent new chapter of discovery in her later years. But is life really that simple? What happened to this couple many years ago at the start of their marriage? Is it possible for a couple to know nothing & far too much about each other at the same time? A mature film that asks for your patience, emotions portrayed feel raw, pained and long pent up when they surface. Hinds and Manville are old pros and create two very very different people living under the same, small roof. Gerry and Stella feel like people you've seen across the room for a very long time. I could watch these two actors in anything, they are both superb. Neither Stella or Gerry are perfect, both are flawed. The scene in which Stella joins a stranger named Kathy (Niamh Cusack) in her flat for tea is powerful. Manville is hearing these words for the very first time and her outpouring in response left the theater in stunned silence. You could hear a pin drop. A fine moment. The photography by Laurie Rose (Rebecca, Peaky Blinders) captures the comfort and solitude of Europe from every angle. Silent shots of quiet paths offer up plenty of thought. There are also moments that perfectly capture a quiet couple isolated in the middle of a rush hour or busy street that speak a thousand words. Some critics are calling this a "wee drama" implying that there is not enough story here to carry a film. I disagree. MIDWINTER BREAK is indeed small in scope, quiet and introspective, but great things can be found in small packages, if you're patient and willing to observe. Beneath the calm run powerful currents on faith, love, promises made and commitment. Need an acting class? Come watch these two pros for 90 minutes, they elevate the film to an A.

As Mel Brooks nears his 100th birthday, it's the perfect time to celebrate the storied career of one of America's most successful, boundary pushing funny men. Of course, if you follow Mr. Brooks, you know he's also been behind some superb serious films over the past 60 years as well. In the new documentary MEL BROOKS: THE 99 YEAR OLD MAN! Director Judd Apatow sits down for a long interview with Mel, pulling you into four hours of the best scenes from Mel's films and a treasure chest of behind the scenes footage and home movies that cover his entire life. I'm a HUGE Mel Brooks fan, love and highly recommend his recent autobiography "All About Me!" and thought I knew a LOT about Mel. What a great surprise Apatow's loving documentary is. Rich in detail, expansive in its look at Mel's early stand up, his days as a TV writer and the long stretches of time where he didn't work at all. His first film, 1967's "The Producers" was an absolute flop, which is hard to remember today, after respect grew for it in hindsight and its later transformation into one of Broadways' biggest hits in a musical adaption written by Mel. The stories he shares of being at the 1967 opening day in a massive movie theater with only two other patrons are hilarious and heartbreaking. He followed that up with 1970's "The Twelve Chairs", the only film detailed here that I've never seen, but am committed to seeing soon. Considered another smart and deft satire, this time of classic Russian literature, it too bombed at the box office. Of course, the world of comedy changed in 1974 when Mel unleashed both "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" on audiences the same year. Both massive hits, they brought Brooks a level of awareness and love rarely bestowed on comic films. Looking back at "Blazing Saddles"now is a fascinating thing. It's as hilarious and jaw droppingly funny today as it ever was, for anyone that has the intelligence to recognize satire and the savage, direct attack that it was on racism. Co-written by Richard Pryor, Mel and cast went up to the line and a thousand miles past it. I'd love to watch it in a room full of today's sensitive, woke, fragile beings who have no concept of intelligent satire, or the ability to conceive of a time when the parameters of smart comedy and language were anywhere beyond one's immediate reach. Mel pushed those boundaries again, and again, and again. The film is packed with interviews new and old, painting a vivid picture of relationships with many TV and film legends, including Mel's special friendship with Carl Reiner that spanned many decades. Their stand up routine, the 2000 Year Old Man, kicked off Mel's career and launched a friendship for the ages. The two shared a weekly dinner until Reiner's death in 2020. Conan O'Brien, Adam Sandler, Dave Chappelle, Ben Stiller and Dana Gould offer laugh out loud, heartfelt new perspective, while older clips provide real behind-the-scenes moments with Sid Caesar, Gene Wilder, Johnny Carson, Larry Gelbart and so many more. Mel's long marriage to Anne Bancroft is well detailed and their many archival home movies and TV interviews reveal just how perfect that unlikely marriage was. You could see it in every frame of one of Mel's criminally underrated films, 1983's "To Be Or Not To Be", the rare movie that he starred in but didn't direct, but that he and Anne appeared in together. See it! I dare you not to laugh at their long, Polish song and dance numbers and every single thing Charles Durning does in the movie. Whatever Mel Brooks film is your favorite, you'll see it detailed here, from "Spaceballs" and "High Anxiety" to the poorly titled "Life Stinks" which Mel would love to have back to rename before its release. I also loved how the documentary delved into Mel's work under Brooksfilms, his separate producing company devoted to bringing serious films to the screen. His first effort under that banner was "The Elephant Man", which was hugely successful, showered with awards and served as the major film debut of Director David Lynch. Lynch shares detailed stories of Mel watching his only film at the time, 'Eraserhead" and his certainty that Brooks was going to not consider him. What happens repeats itself again and again, as Brooks sees something in young talent that others don't, launching one career after another. Their names are now legendary. At nearly four hours, spread across two parts, this fitting tribute to Brooks is packed with memories and vital history, the summary of a brilliant career that changed American comedy forever. It's exhaustive but never slow. I would have loved to see anything about Mel's Broadway experience delivering "Young Frankenstein: The Musical" to the theater. We saw it multiple times on Broadway and loved it, but critics seemed determined to not let him succeed as he had with "The Producers". It was greatly underappreciated in my book. At 99, Brooks is still alive and thriving, working hard to deliver more work in his final years. I can't wait to see what he adds to his amazing legacy. MEL BROOKS: THE 99 YEAR OLD MAN gets an appreciative and nostalgic A. Thank you, Mr. Brooks. You are truly one of a kind.