DOUGH BOYS – director: Nicholas Harvell; starring: Arlen Escarpeta, Wood Harris, Cory Hardict, Mo, Lorenzo Eduardo, Sticky Fingaz

There is part of me that would like to think that if I had never seen Menace II Society, or Juice, or Boyz ‘n the ‘Hood, or any of the other urban dysfunctional dramas that have come out over the years, that I might think Dough Boys was a halfway decent film. But the truth is that even if I had never seen these other films—and I have, so pretending I haven’t is pointless—it doesn’t change the fact that Dough Boys isn’t a very good movie. Now, I don’t want to be overly negative, but at the same time, if I were to adhere to the “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” school of film criticism, this review would end right here. (more…)

AFFLICTION - director: Paul Schrader; starring: Nick Nolte, James Coburn, Sissy Spacek, Willem Dafoe

I’ve decided to write a series of reviews entitled “Downer Cinema” showcasing films that at the core are very good and even great but are some of the most depressing films ever to see the light of day. These films find yourself saying, “That was a great movie! I never need to see that movie again!” (more…)

PANDORA’S BOX – director: G.W. Pabst; starring: Louise Brooks

Much has been said about the iconic impression left by Louise Brooks in G.W. Pabst’s brilliant Pandora’s Box and although the role has transcended the woman, it is rare that a film is so deserving of such obsession and worship. (more…)

CADILLAC RECORDS – director: Darnell Martin; starring: Adrian Brody, Jeffery Wright, Beyonce

There’s an air of ambition floating around the first twenty minutes of Cadillac Records promising to eschew the familiar terrain of the music bio-pics by attempting to layer several stories at once. Cadillac Records tells the story of “Chess” records, the legendary Chicago record label and studio where the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry, Etta James and Muddy Waters created some of their most classic hits. Adrian Brody plays Leonard Chess an immigrant’s son who has ambitions of success that would erase the years of struggle passed on by his failure of a father. Jeffery Wright plays blues legend Muddy Waters, a sharecropper who uses his musical talents to escape his doomed life in Mississippi. The two meet up and the like-minded duo from different side of the tracks form a partnership that endures success, death, and addiction. (more…)

La RONDE director: Max Ophuls; starring: Simone Signoret, Simone Simon, Danielle Darrieux, Anton Wallbrook

I approached “La Ronde” with some trepidation because although I consider myself a film know-it-all, I do not in any fashion think of myself a connoisseur. The truth is I’m this shy of being a bumpkin, and worse, I’m a bumpkin set in my ways. So the words subtitles, cinema, auteur, neo-realism  leaves  me shaking in my fish-waders. (more…)

TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS - director: Marco Ferreri; starring: Ben Gazzara, Ornella Muti, Susan Tyrell

The work of writer Charles Bukowski can, most assuredly, be an acquired taste. Bukowski was best know for his raw, often brutal, largely autobiographical narratives involving alcoholism and womanizing, written with such uncompromising honesty that some people often mistake is for misogynistic nihilism. The truth, however, is that Bukowski was an incredible writer haunted by personal demons and addictions, who seemed more comfortable fraternizing with society’s underbelly and never straying too far from the working class. This is what he largely wrote about, and he wrote about it exceptionally well, beautifully crafting words to describe the grime and decay that can eat away at a person’s soul. And while Bukowski’s work makes for some of my favorite reading, his work has yet to be adequately captured on film. (more…)

SPECIAL – directors: Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore: starring: Michael Rapaport

George Romero’s 1977 film Martin remains one of the greatest vampire movies of all time. A brooding deconstruction of the genre and mythology of vampires, Martin raised the burning question of whether or not the title character was really a blood-thirsty monster, or just a very crazy young man. If in fact Martin (John Amplas) was a vampire, then the film stripped away all the magic and superstition surrounding the supernatural creatures, making them sad and mundane creatures that lead lives of lonely desperation. But if the antagonist in Romero’s film was not an 84 year old blood-sucker, then he was merely a disturbed kid who happened to be a serial killer. And while Romero himself has clearly stated his intention, the film is vague enough that it can be interpreted either way, which is what makes it genius. That same level of thought-provoking genre deconstruction can be found in co-writers and co-directors Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore’s Special. (more…)

DIARY OF A TIRED BLACK MAN – director: Tim Alexander; starring Jimmy Jean-Louis, Paula Lema

I liked Diary of a Tired Black Man. In fact, I really liked it a lot. This comes as something of a surprise, because to be perfectly frank and honest, it really didn’t look that good to me. And to take that frankness and honesty one step further, the film does have some problems that will likely turn some people off; but that’s neither here nor there, because what this film does have is a raw honesty that is as entertaining as it educational as it is uncompromising. (more…)

GOSPEL HILL – director: Giancarlo Esposito; starring: Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Adma Baldwin, Giancarlo Esposito, Julia Stiles

If a film has good intentions, and attempts with a certain earnestness to be of substance and merit, but falls short of what it is trying to be and say, does that make it a bad film? Or is it more of a disappointing film, something of an unfulfilled promise that never quite delivers, and as a result leaves its audience feeling empty and unsatisfied? These are the questions that surround Gospel Hill, a Southern-fried melodrama that wants to be…well…it seems that it wants to be several things all at once. (more…)

INSIDE MOVES – director: Richard Donner; starring: John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, Bill Henderson, Harold Russell, Bert Remsen, Tony Burton, Amy Wright, Harold Sylvester

Some films, mediocre though they may be, are fortunate enough to be ordained as “classics,” and go on to live in a world of cinematic immortality where they are remembered forever. Other films, often times much better films, aren’t always as fortunate. Sure, they may be far superior to the movies that never seem to leave the collective memory of audiences, but for one reason or another they aren’t remembered in the same way. Worse, some aren’t even remembered at all. But the faulty memory and illiteracy of the collective movie going population should never be used as a barometer of whether or not a film is good. Case in point: Inside Moves. (more…)