Two years after the box office success of Napoleon Dynamite, writer/director Jared Hess returned with the wrestling comedy Nacho Libre. While not a terrible film, it’s not a showcase for his talent as a filmmaker, or the comedic chops of…
An adaptation of Dick King-Smith’s 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, Babe is set in Australia, where a stout little pig (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) is orphaned after his mother is taken to the slaughterhouse. While stoic farmer Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell)…
Shot at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans, Richard Pryor…Here and Now (1983) has the comic relaxed onstage despite a rowdy crowd. Seven months sober, his prepared material is only part of the show, as he deals with late arrivals…
1976’s All the President’s Men dramatizes the Watergate scandal that had unfolded just a couple of years before. As with the book of the same name, the film witnesses the events through the eyes of young Washington Post reporters Carl…
After a successful acting career in sitcoms including The Odd Couple and Laverne and Shirley, Penny Marshall turned her attention to directing with two comedies, 1986’s Jumpin’ Jack Flash, and 1988’s Big, a bonafide hit, taking in over $150 million…
Continuing box office success brought Peter Sellers back for Revenge of the Pink Panther which ended up being his last outing as Clouseau, due to his death in 1980, aged 50. Sadly, this entry has only a few laughs here…
Released in 1976, The Pink Panther Strikes Again is inspired, zany fun. Recovering from his stint in a mental hospital, Herbert Lom’s Dreyfus seeks revenge against Clouseau. Yes, the storyline is utterly preposterous but so be it. There are several…
Originally a stage play by Harry Kurnitz, and envisioned as a vehicle for Sophia Loren, the original script for A Shot in the Dark didn’t include Clouseau, and Anatole Litvak was to direct. When those plans fell through, Blake Edwards…
It seems hard to believe now, but initially United Artists had so little faith in The Pink Panther that they let Lee Grade produce it in exchange for distribution rights. You can bet UA was regretting that decision after the…
Director Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film Apocalypse Now is one of the most studied and discussed movies in motion picture history. Scholars and fans alike have discussed the nuances of the Vietnam War themed story adnauseam. Adding to the legend…