Movieline Online

THE FLICK: During their hey-day in the 60’s, spaghetti westerns got no respect. And that might still be the case today if it weren’t for one director: Sergio Leone. The most obvious reason for the success of his “Dollars” trilogy which concluded with “The Good, the Bad & the Ugly,” is the presence of Clint Eastwood. But it was Leone’s work behind the camera that made Eastwood a star...not the other way around. At first glance none of his films stray far from the spaghetti format – stylized violence, stripped-down story and copious close-ups of squinting eyes and itchy trigger fingers. But with “G, B & U,” Leone stretched the genre to fit more grandiose ideas than anyone ever thought possible. Ego may have been the motivating factor (Leone always saw himself as a David Lean-type director whose skills went unrecognized), but the result is irrefutably one of the best westerns ever made. After setting up the background for his trio of leads (Eastwood is the soft-hearted loner, Eli ...

THE FLICK: It’s impossible to manufacture a cult movie. It just goes against the definition of the word. Films like “Rocky Horror” and the “Evil Dead” trilogy were ultimately successful because of a genuine passion that came through onscreen; not some pre-fab notion that audiences would embrace anything intentionally bizarre or left-of-center. But if ever a film came close to gauging the sort of cult reaction it would inspire upon release, it’s “Bubba Ho-Tep.” Director Don Coscarelli (“Phantasm”) and star Bruce Campbell (“Evil Dead’) are no strangers to rabid horror fans to begin with, but working with a story that combines an aging Elvis Presley, a black JFK and an 4000 year-old soul sucking mummy from East Texas all but guaranteed some curiosity seekers. What they might not have expected is a sweetly sentimental heart beating deep underneath all the horror-comedy hijinks. Lifted from a novella by Joe R. Lansdale, the set-up finds Elvis hiding in a run-down nursing home, his fame noth...

THE FLICKS: Let me make this perfectly clear: no review will ever to justice to the Walt Disney’s Treasures collection...especially this one. There simply isn’t enough time in the day, week or the month to browse through everything these discs have to offer. These are, without a doubt, the very definition of collectible DVDs. And as such, their value (both as limited edition pressings and as entertainment) will vary depending on how interested you are in the material presented. But there’s no denying that Wave 3 is every bit the accomplishment the previous discs were. And Disney is due for some seriously good karma just by making these shorts, features and television short subjects available, many for the first time in fifty years. So what’s all the fuss about. Well, first is Mickey Mouse in Living Color, covering the mouse house mascot’s career from 1939 to today featuring 21 shorts, including oldies and more recent resurrection attempts like “Runaway Brain.” As host Leonard Maltin ex...

THE FLICK: Just as “Jaws” ushered in the modern blockbuster, one could say “Independence Day” was the first post-modern blockbuster. Marketed as a movie event, the final product that audiences saw onscreen was almost beside the point. This was peer pressure filmmaking (“What else are you gonna do, read a book?”) and inspired the now commonplace box-office habit of recouping the bulk of the production costs on opening weekend. After that, it’s all gravy. So it’s surprising to revisit director Roland Emmerich’s alien invasion/disaster flick combo and find it’s not quite the empty headed money making machine everyone remembers it to be. In fact, unlike most of today’s event movies, “Independence Day” delivers on its promise to “wow” you with worldwide destruction on a vast scale plus some cleverly scripted twists that make the overloaded story hum with 8-year-old’s unbridled enthusiasm. Yes, I did say “clever” and “Independence Day” in the same sentence, but stick with me. The story (and ...

THE FLICK: I know it’s tantamount to heresy to admit this in the state of Michigan, but I’m not a big hockey fan (and after watching the Red Wings sink yet another season, I imagine some other fair-weather fans might say the same thing). So the movie “Miracle” might not be the religious experience for me that it is for fans who view that one incredible victory in the 1980 winter Olympics over the Soviets as the sport’s crowning achievement. However, it’s impossible not to recognize the near-perfect performance by Kurt Russell as tough-as-nails coach Herb Brooks, the man who molded a group of amateur college kids into a team that could rival the best in the world...at least for one night. “Miracle” skates around most of the underdog sports film clichés to deliver the unexpected; a character-driven drama that’s more interested in the “how” behind the team’s success rather than the big game itself. Not that the classic match-up, when it finally arrives, isn’t suitably dramatic. Director G...