Epinions Recent Reviews for stargull

One Year Isn't Nearly Enough: Kevin Murphy's "A Year at the Movies"

Thu, 12 Aug 2004 11:56:36 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Everyone has a story of one particular book that moved them like no other--a work so vibrant and spellbinding that they emerged from the experience changed in some way. For me, that book was Blue Highways, William Least Heat-Moon’s poignant...

"Hollywood Animal" has both bark and bite

Wed, 4 Aug 2004 13:14:03 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - There’s an oft-repeated story about Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, involving an elderly woman he once encountered on the streets of Los Angeles. Eszterhas, enroute to an appointment at the time, gave the woman a brief nod and smile as they...

Down and Dirty Non-Fiction

Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:05:07 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Too much of a good thing is never enough, or so it would appear to Peter Biskind, the author of Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film. Although purporting to be a history of the American independent movie industry...

Saving Private Enterprise: Yes, You Too Can Make Millions with Emotionally Manipulative Movies!

Thu, 29 Nov 2001 18:13:34 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Saving Private Ryan

STARRING: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Jeremy Davies, Giovanni Ribisi

DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg

WRITER: Robert Rodat

RATED:...

How the Grinch Sold Out

Tue, 27 Nov 2001 10:39:10 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author stargull -

Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas is the clearest indicator of Hollywood’s creative stagnation that I’ve yet seen. I’ve never understood the entertainment industry’s incessant need to remake artistic works that were perfect--or at...

Blood, Babes, and Bowels: J.R. Bookwalter's "Robot Ninja"

Thu, 15 Nov 2001 15:16:04 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - "I am the Robot Ninja, and I kick a**!"

Now, just look at the preceding line of dialogue for a minute. Read it over a couple of times, just to ensure that your poor overworked brain, which would probably rather be watching...

Honk if You Love Christine's Big Brother: Elliot Silverstein's "The Car"

Thu, 8 Nov 2001 14:21:15 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - THE CAR

STARRING: James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, Ronny Cox, R.G. Armstrong, John Rubinstein, Elizabeth Thompson, Roy Jenson, Eddie Little Sky, Kim Richards

DIRECTOR: Elliot Silverstein

...

Mars Needs Talent: Michael Laughlin's "Strange Invaders"

Wed, 7 Nov 2001 13:26:59 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - STRANGE INVADERS

Starring: Paul Le Mat, Nancy Allen, Diana Scarwid, Michael Lerner, Louise Fletcher, Wallace Shawn, Fiona Lewis, Kenneth Tobey, June Lockhart, Charles Lane, Lulu Sylbert, Joel Cohen

Director: Michael...

Beer & Cigarettes Do Not An Action Movie Make: Andrew McLaglen's MITCHELL

Mon, 5 Nov 2001 18:12:43 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - As some of you know, I, Joe Barlow, am a revolting fatass. This revelation may come as a shock to some of you, who no doubt think that sitting around watching movies all day somehow leads to slender wastelines and firm, perky breasts, but I take...

An Incredibly Strange Movie that Became Mixed-Up Cinema

Fri, 2 Nov 2001 14:25:44 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES

Movie Info:

STARRING: ABSOLUTELY NO ONE! (But the cast includes Cash Flagg, Carolyn Brandt, the delightfully monikered Atlas King, Toni Camel,...

Giving Birth to the 20th Century: The Hughes Brothers's "From Hell"

Mon, 22 Oct 2001 13:35:38 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - From Hell, the remarkable new suspense-thriller from the Brothers Hughes (Albert and Allen, the same duo who brought you Menace II Society), may well take its title from the boundless, unexplored corridors of the human mind, which is surely...

A Howling Good Time: John Fawcett's "Ginger Snaps"

Fri, 19 Oct 2001 11:33:35 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Pity the poor werewolf. Once upon a time he was a creature to be feared, a boogeyman of the night equal in stature to Dracula, The Mummy, and Frankenstein's monster. The very mention of his name inspired terror. A full moon was less a symbol of...

Who Ya Gonna Call?: John Carpenter's "Ghosts of Mars"

Mon, 27 Aug 2001 17:24:15 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - In the year 2176 AD, the face of technology marches ever onward. The planet Mars has been no stranger to change over the past 200 years: thanks to the miracle of terraforming, the red planet now has the ability to sustain life. 640,000 colonists call...

Snootchy Bootches: "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"

Mon, 27 Aug 2001 12:35:48 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Jay and Silent Bob are a joke that gets a little less funny with each subsequent retelling, so it's probably a good thing that Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the fifth film to feature the popular stoners, has been christened their...

Beyond Suspicion: How Jeff Goldblum Got His Groove Back

Fri, 24 Aug 2001 12:32:35 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Beyond Suspicion is the sort of film that feels like it should work better than it does. Although there are moments of genuine drama and tension contained in this tale of stolen identity and mid-life crisis, the movie lacks the ability to ensnare...

Send in the Killer Klowns!

Thu, 23 Aug 2001 18:10:53 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull -

(Apologies to ChainsawBoy--I had no idea he was going to post a review of this film on the same day as me! I guess great minds think alike, eh?)

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

A movie's title can often tell you...

"Creepy Carrie" Can Kick Your A**!

Thu, 23 Aug 2001 12:25:05 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Brian DePalma's Carrie is so well known to even the most casual purveyors of pop-culture that a plot summary seems almost redundant, but here's a refresher. After suffering through sixteen years of fundamentalist religious dogma at the hands of...

Short Attention Span Theater?

Fri, 10 Aug 2001 10:34:36 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author stargull -

Thanks to the Internet and its almost unlimited distribution potential, independent film is currently enjoying something of a renaissance. For little more than the cost of constructing a web site, filmmakers can now deliver their artistic endeavors...

Kicking Matthew Broderick's A**: Toho's "Godzilla 2000"

Fri, 27 Jul 2001 15:39:56 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - "Get Ready to Crumble!" screams the tagline of Columbia TriStar/Toho Studio's Godzilla 2000, and for once, the advertisements tell it like it is. The Godzilla legacy rebounds in a big way with this latest installment, after being butchered beyond...

"V: The Original Miniseries": Kenneth Johnson's Space Nazis

Thu, 19 Jul 2001 17:25:53 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - A little bit of nostalgia can be a dangerous thing. The passage of time often has a way of sweetening the past, making events that seemed mediocre at the time blossom in our minds into life-altering experiences of almost mythic proportions. But when we...

In Partial Defense of Jar-Jar: "The Phantom Menace" (Underappreciated Movies Write-Off)

Tue, 17 Jul 2001 09:41:21 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - This review is my entry in Matt Harney's Underappreciated Movies Write-Off.

After reading this article, I hope you'll take the time to check out the fine contributions by the following Epinionators:

ainsleyjo

alex_isit...

Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle, We're in WIDESCREEN!

Fri, 13 Jul 2001 11:18:09 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - (Note: This review is a rewrite of one of my earliest Epinions offerings.)

Des McArnuff's The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is something of a minor miracle--a film so clever, intelligent and hysterical that we should all get...

"Message in a Bottle": Whatever You Do, Don't Uncork It

Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:24:29 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Robin Wright Penn seems to be pining for Helen of Troy's job recently. In Forrest Gump she played Jenny, the drug addict after whom the lovestruck Forrest names his shrimp boat. In her newest film, Message in a Bottle, she is the...

Sorry, girls, he's engaged: Richard Lester's "A Hard Day's Night"

Mon, 9 Jul 2001 19:15:58 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author stargull -

Interviewer: "Do you often see your father?"

Paul: "No, actually, we're just good friends."

By the time Paul McCartney utters this famous response to a particularly banal interviewer during one of the many press conferences...

Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: Harmony Korine's "Gummo"

Fri, 6 Jul 2001 10:32:49 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author stargull - Harmony Korine's Gummo is, in many ways, a Pink Flamingos for the modern age. You'll have to decide whether or not that's a complement--I'm not even sure myself--but regardless of whether you love the film or hate it, it will almost...