After reading several contemporary reviews of The Terminal I’m surprised that critics at the time did not note the single most distinct trait of the film:
Categories
The Terminal (2004)
Category: Review
Categories
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Sleepless in Seattle somehow still works despite a fundamental flaw in its script: The characters spend almost no time together!
Categories
Philadelphia (1993)
Philadelphia is pretty much the best-case scenario for an Oscar-bait film: A movie, beneath its preachiness, that is beautiful, lovingly-made, and deeply-felt.
A League of Their Own is pretty close to the best possible version of itself: It is well-cast and well-directed. The lines are impeccably delivered. The tone is a just-right blend of cynical, smart, and sweet. It’s a big meal of comfort food even if it never quite ascends into greatness.
Categories
Radio Flyer (1992)
Rose-tinted nostalgia shouldn’t be that difficult to nail: Find a non-horrible kid actor; pipe in a soundtrack of retro jams; spin some episodic coming-of-age shenanigans with a few “that wouldn’t fly today!” twists; and bring it home with a treacly voiceover about the “good ‘ol days.” Bam! Thumbs up!
Categories
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987)
You’d be excused for watching the opening five minutes of this movie and wondering if you just stumbled into some sort of lost Brian De Palma masterpiece that was too gaudy for its time.
Categories
Turner & Hooch (1989)
Sometimes it’s a relief to watch a movie that’s exactly what it says on the tin.
Categories
Big (1988)
It’s tough to overstate how good Tom Hanks is in this movie, and also how important it was in his career arc.
Categories
Punchline (1988)
Buried early in Tom Hanks’ filmography is a a light drama about comedians with broken personal lives.
Categories
The Money Pit (1983)
There’s a 20-minute period towards the middle of the film where The Money Pit lives up to its slapstick potential, and it’s the hardest I’ve laughed in eons.