Reviews

Striking Distance starts out well, but only seems to get worse as it goes along. There are some good action and mystery elements but not too far into the movie, it begins to telegraph too many moves. For example, anytime that the viewer knows the probable ending 15 minutes into the movie, and anytime the viewer can figure out things that the central character can't, you know you have a movie with problems. There's an obvious red herring and other cheesy plot devices along with lines of dialogue that come off as unintentionally funny (not usually a good thing). The old standby "bad guy keeps coming back from the dead" scene at the end of the movie doesn't help either. Overall, I rated the movie a 5 out of 10, and some may say that was too kind. In a few years I may think the same thing.

I personally thought "Bugsy" was the best film of 1991 and should have beaten "The Silence of the Lambs" for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The movie looks great, has great acting all around and Barry Levinson is in top form. Best of all, "Bugsy" avoids most, if not all, cliches that are usually found in gangster movies. If you want a good solid film about a real life crime figure, this is the one. If you want hackneyed, worn out cliches that go nowhere and leave a feeling of unsatisfaction, I would recommend "Mobsters" or "Billy Bathgate".

This is one of the best musical documentaries ever made. The Rolling Stones decided to put on a huge show at Altamont Speedway near San Francisco. And it was huge. There is one long aerial shot of cars parked along the road that seems to go on forever. While looking at it, one has to wonder how far some people actually walked to see the show. I believe the crowd was estimated at just about the number that attended Woodstock so you know it was huge. Like any good documentary, this one has some drama in addition to the great music the Stones were making in the late 60's and early 70's. One problem was that Mick and the boys decided to put the Hells Angels in charge of security for the event and that did not come without a price. In addition to complaints by Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane (who also played along with The Grateful Dead and others) that some of the Airplane band members were manhandled by Hells Angels, one man in the crowd (right in front of the stage) was knifed to death and this helped to cast a dark cloud over the entire event. It's not exactly jumping off every video store shelf, but if you can find it, get it!

This film is absolutely stunning. It centers around union meatpacking workers at a Hormel plant in Austin, Minnesota in the mid-80's. The trouble started when Hormel cut worker pay from $10.69 an hour to $8.25 an hour. The problem? Hormel had just posted a net profit of $30 million. As one worker at a union meeting put it, "If we have to take a cut of $2.45 an hour when the company just made $30 million, I hate to think of what's gonna happen when they actually post a loss." With no help from their parent union, International Food and Commercial Workers Union, the local union (P-9) goes on strike alone trying to bring Hormel to its knees. Director Barbara Kopple, who also made the great "Harlan County, USA", does an outstanding job of capturing every important moment. She has the camera there at every union meeting, press release, Hormel press release, etc. She also shows the very personal aspects of a strike going into people's homes and showing their innermost feelings about what's going on. In the end, the strike is long, drawn out, and things appear bleak. The constant Minnesota cold, snow and ice are always in the background as well. If one doesn't have a greater appreciation for unions and what they have to sometimes endure after watching this film, he/she probably didn't pay very good attention.

This Showtime original is definitely worth a look. I couldn't help but be reminded of "JFK" and a weekly show on The Learning Channel called "Medical Detectives". Much of the film is told in flashback and with second hand information ("Mrs. X reported seeing a green car near the railroad tracks, etc., etc. etc.). The performances are good and it brings angles to the story that I never knew existed. I won't reveal anything as that would spoil it. It also reminded me of "All the President's Men" a little with the two stars doing their best to uncover the facts. Check it out.

I recently watched this film on The Sundance Channel and it kept me interested from the start. However, it seems to take forever getting itself where it wants to go and in the end, I felt somewhat cheated. In a nutshell, Noble Willingham (of Walker, Texas Ranger fame) plays a boat salesman who starts getting harassed by telephone from a man claiming to be his son. According to the mysterious caller, Willingham has a dark, dirty little secret that affects the son and he (the son) is enjoying reminding him of it. I won't spoil anything for anyone but for me three things kept me from liking this movie a great deal. One, the movie has more foul language than Goodfellas, Scarface, Casino, and Glengarry Glen Ross combined. 99% of it is spewed from Willingham himself. It didn't take long to wear me out with constant four-letter words. Two, I simply could not believe that anyone would answer the telephone that many times, especially when one knows that a crank caller is on the other end of the line. No matter where Willingham is in the movie whether it be at work, home, a diner, etc., the phone rings and he always answers it spewing venom at the "son", and then hanging up ONLY TO ANSWER IT AGAIN WHEN THE CALLER CALLS BACK IN ABOUT TEN SECONDS! How many of us would do that? Now I realize that we probably do not have a movie if he doesn't keep answering, but I just could not suspend disbelief on that particular matter. Three, and this is the most minor of the criticisms, why is the director so opposed to showing us the "Corndog Man" (a.k.a. the caller/son)? Most of the time he's just a redneck sounding voice on the other end of the phone. I could have lived with that one if other things had fallen into place, but since they didn't it's just one more to tack on. I do give the movie credit for being a somewhat original idea and for holding my attention with suspense from the beginning but that's about it. Do see it, if only one time. However, if you're like me, you'll be saying "Triple K Marine!" in your sleep for a night or two after you finish watching it.