Epinions Recent Reviews for penbar

"The Grinch" stole my holiday spirit.

Wed, 22 Nov 2000 11:26:19 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - The most memorable moment in director Ron Howard's "The Grinch" is an inside joke that only filmgoers who have seen Ang Lee's "Ice Storm" are likely to pick up on. Flashing for a brief second is a holiday "key party" in...

The Perfect Storm

Sat, 22 Jul 2000 12:11:55 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - "I’ve got a girl at home I can’t stand to be away from…And then again, I love to fish": Mark Wahlberg to George Clooney, in what has to be the most embarrassingly bad line of dialogue in a movie this year.

Said movie is "The...

The Wisdom of the Crocodiles: Nasferatu in Heat

Tue, 18 Jul 2000 19:35:25 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - Each one of us is born with three brains: human, mammalian and reptilian, says Steven Grslcz (Jude Law), a modern-day, consonant-happy Nasferatu who paradoxically finds himself falling in love with his next meal (Elina Lowensohn as Anne Levels). And so...

EXPERT WRITE-OFF: Dr. No

Mon, 26 Jun 2000 22:08:47 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - "Dr. No", released in 1962, has the honor of being the first (if not necessarily the best) in a profitable series of films based on Ian Fleming's novels about British Secret Service Agent, James Bond; Sean Connery, as the numero uno 007,...

EXPERT WRITE-OFF: Diner

Mon, 26 Jun 2000 22:02:25 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - Women beware! If your (sometimes immature) man has any ambivalence towards the sanctimony of matrimony, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, allow him to see this sometimes depressing, often hilarious, but definitively brilliant film, until you hear the words...

Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man

Wed, 21 Jun 2000 09:00:34 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - There is nothing quite as spectacular as bearing witness to an up-close, live performance of the French-Canadian performance troupe, Cirque du Soleil. Blending music, gymnastics, high-wire acts, and an array of wildly inventive props to push their bodies...

Me Myself I

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 17:25:02 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - There are so many decisions a person makes during their lifetime, and so many paths to be taken. The most crucial ones, it seems, revolve around personal relationships. What direction would my life have taken had I chosen to marry that person? Or to not...

Road Trip

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 18:02:16 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - Juvenile or politically incorrect movie humor, specifically regarding bodily excretions, sex and the synaptically-challenged, can be a very good thing. Except when: a) it frequently misses it's mark, b) it's the only thing holding a movie together, c)...

The Girl Next Door

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 10:29:57 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - Not one viewer during a screening of Christine Fugate's entertaining and eye-opening documentary, "The Girl Next Door", wasn't squirming in their seats while doctors performed surgery to reduce breast implants, and then later, perform...

Beyond the Mat

Mon, 12 Jun 2000 10:45:54 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - You think it's safe? Think again. That sentiment is similar to the one emblazoned on wrestler Mick Foley's (aka Mankind) t-shirt, and echoes the real truth behind pro wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Barry W. Blaustein, who...

The "Numb" Skulls

Sun, 11 Jun 2000 11:01:44 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - Based on the real life secret society, Skull and Bones, that purportedly boasts several U.S. presidents as alumni, "The Skulls" seemed to promise to unleash all sorts of time-honored, triple-top-secret-probation traditions from the underbelly...

Small Time Crooks

Thu, 8 Jun 2000 18:06:07 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - Woody Allen has gone back to his roots, and is showing his silly, boyish side again with "Small Time Crooks", a light as a wafer comedy caper that takes place in New York City in the present day.

Mr. Allen's directorial debut of...

"Fashion" of Mind

Wed, 7 Jun 2000 11:18:35 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - In creating a film that could be more aptly titled "Fashion of Mind", director Alain Berliner makes a severe departure from his 1997 film, "Ma Vie en Rose" ("My Life in Pink"), a brilliant and heartwarming comedy-drama about...

Shanghai Noon

Tue, 23 May 2000 10:12:45 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - All the blatant (and intentional) plagiarism woven throughout "Shanghai Noon" only serves to add to the escalating pleasure dished up in Jackie "I do all my own stunts" Chan's latest comedy/action flick. In fact, a wacky recreation...

The Big Kahuna

Thu, 11 May 2000 11:02:53 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - In director John Swanbeck's tour-de-force, "The Big Kahuna", Kevin Spacey gets to do what Kevin Spacey does best: talk…and talk… and then talk some more.

Written by Roger Rueff, based on his play "Hospitality Suite",...

Time Code

Wed, 3 May 2000 12:47:02 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - On November 19, 1999, writer/director Mike Figgis ("Leaving Las Vegas", "The Loss of Sexual Innocence", "Miss Julie") set up four digital cameras to run real-time and capture four stories that would ultimately converge. By...

East is East

Mon, 24 Apr 2000 10:43:29 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - As in the actor, Om Puri's, 1998 film, "My Son the Fanatic", "East is East" also tackles family issues with incredible humor. But that humor eventually fades and a much more serious and resonant film evolves. A theater that is filled...

It ain't no "Das Boot"

Fri, 21 Apr 2000 00:51:56 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - It is inevitable that comparisons be made between the exquisite and claustrophobic film, "Das Boot" (1981), chronicling a German U-boat mission during WWII and, more recently, the fatally flawed "U-571", which takes place during the...

Keeping the Faith

Tue, 18 Apr 2000 18:28:46 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - "A rabbi, a priest and a blonde walk into a bar. The bartender says…" Oh, I just couldn't help myself. Let's start again, for real this time. A rabbi and a priest are walking through the streets of Manhattan. The priest says, "Guess who's...

28 Days

Tue, 18 Apr 2000 17:03:19 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - Director Betty Thomas, who hit the nail on the head with her hysterically funny screen adaptation of television's "The Brady Bunch" ("The Brady Bunch Movie"), surprisingly misses with her latest film. "28 Days" begins on an...

Wintersleepers

Mon, 17 Apr 2000 18:55:42 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - "Wintersleepers" is the second tour de force by director Tom Tykwer to be released in the U.S., even though it was actually made before "Run Lola Run", his first masterpiece. "Lola", with it's simple sets and story that took...

This Comedy Caper Sizzles, Then Fizzles

Thu, 13 Apr 2000 15:17:55 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - It has been 13 years since director Marek Kanievska directed his last feature film, "Less Than Zero", a scintillating story about disengaged, pampered youths in LA. Unfortunately, "Where The Money Is" isn't half as engaging; what...

Black and White: No Gray Allowed

Fri, 7 Apr 2000 10:55:34 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - When writing a book/essay/article/film, said my former teachers, be sure to catch your audience’s attention with a powerful opening line. Writer/director James Toback (“Two Girls and a Guy”, “The Pick-Up Artist) couldn’t have captured his audience’s...

High Fidelity

Thu, 6 Apr 2000 17:14:05 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - In "Being John Malkovich", John Cusack perfected the pathetic sad sack. In Stephen Frears's riotous new comedy, "High Fidelity" (based on the 1995 novel by Nick Hornby), he goes one better: a pathetic, yet likeable sad sack.
...

Menage a mess!

Wed, 5 Apr 2000 11:18:28 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author penbar - "Trois", the catastrophically schizophrenic film from writer/director Rob Hardy, is. a psychological drama. No - it's a thriller. No, a drama! A thriller!!

Two movies for the price of one, "Trois" (as in "menage...