Like most Streisand films, it’s a rich source of material for anyone wishing to psychoanalyse her. There’s lots about her childhood, her relationships with her parents (Lauren Bacall plays Rose’s stern mother), and her body image.
It’s flawed but fairly entertaining – especially if you’re already a Babs fan.
In the title role, James Stewart seemingly makes very little effort to become the character, instead relying on his usual tics and mannerisms to carry the plot along.
As a biopic, it’s weak. As a story in its own right, it’s reasonably entertaining but oddly childish. You learn surprisingly little about Miller’s life and career.
Michelle Pfeiffer is Ingrid Magnussen, who is sent to prison for murdering an unfaithful boyfriend. Her daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman) is sent to a series of foster homes, which lead to problems of their own, but Ingrid’s controlling ways continue to determine events.
Adapted from Janet Fitch's 1999 novel, it’s a sad and often harrowing story about the damage adults do to children. Pfeiffer and Lohman are fantastic. In other roles, Robin Wright and Renée Zellweger are also excellent.
One odd casting decision is having Billy Connolly play the murdered boyfriend. He’s hardly in the film at all but he does stand out as an extremely unusual and somewhat jarring choice for that role.
Ben and Katie (Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer) choose to separate when the children are away on summer camp. We see them working through the new relationship status, while looking back on the highs and lows of the marriage.
Director Rob Reiner (who also stars as a family friend) wisely keeps the film simple and focused.
Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne, Oher’s new “mother”, and delivers one of her strongest performances in a complex role.
Only one criticism: I misheard some of the intro and it sent me down the wrong path. I spent the whole film expecting Oher to fatally injure another player, which wasn’t where it was heading at all. That’s my fault, but I do think the opening moments could have been clearer.
So-so comedy directed by Donald Petrie.
Sandra Bullock stars as an FBI agent who goes undercover as a contestant in a beauty pageant after a terrorist threatens to set off a bomb. Michael Caine plays her coach, Victor, while William Shatner is the veteran presenter, Stan.
There are a few funny moments, but not nearly enough. As always, Bullock is brilliant but the material isn’t worthy of her talents. It’s also somewhat ambiguous in terms of its messaging about beauty contests, seeming to both condemn them and praise them. Plus, there's not enough of her as an agent.
I don't think I need to bother with the sequel.
Described as a romantic comedy, this OK film directed by Jon Turteltaub isn’t really funny at all.
Sandra Bullock stars as Lucy, a Chicago Transit Authority token collector. She has a crush on a commuter, Peter (Peter Gallagher), who she sees every morning. One day he’s pushed in front of a train and she saves his life. He goes into a coma, and in a blaze of confusion she allows Peter’s family to believe she’s his fiancé. But then she starts falling in love with Peter’s brother (Bill Pullman).
Whenever Bullock is on screen, she shines. Pullman is also pretty good. The problem is the ensemble case of family and friends – poorly drawn characters with too much screen time. It’s just not very well written. For example, when Peter’s actual fiancé shows up you expect all sorts of amusing misunderstandings, but that event is thrown away and a potentially interesting plot thread merely fizzles out.
Jim Carrey stars as Truman Burbank, a man who doesn’t realise that his whole life has been filmed for a reality TV show broadcast to millions. This show is masterminded by Christof (Ed Harris), portrayed as an almost godlike figure.
It's a fascinating idea, but the execution seems fatally flawed. In places the storytelling isn't strong enough – mainly because you can’t easily tell what’s meant to be TV footage and what is us seeing what’s really going on.
The plot only works at all if you don't ask any questions of it. For example, why does Carrey’s character perform as though he’s in a TV show when he doesn’t know he is? And how does the acting role actually work for his wife (Laura Linney), who is on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days per year?
It features a series of short stories framed within one wider narrative. Each of these tales deals with some kind of supernatural occurrence. The best of these, by some distance, is the one featuring Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist whose dummy takes on a life of its own. It's chilling and unnerving, unlike the other segments, which seem a little too mannered and silly to really work – with hammy acting that doesn't help. There's also a "comical" story about a deceased golfer who returns to haunt his rival.
You have to admire the ambition of this construction, even if not all of it works.
As a 1980s teen saga, it’s in the general vein of the films by John Hughes. But there’s far more nuance and sophistication here, with Crowe developing the father character and his complex relationship with his daughter. (In Hughes’ films, adults are merely a one-dimensional “enemy”.)
Cusack and Skye both have a lot of charm and the scenes with the two of them working out their feelings for one another are sweet and endearing. Mahoney comes across weirdly, but we later learn why that is.
Extremely entertaining crime thriller directed by Joseph Sargent and adapted from the 1973 novel by Morton Freedgood.
A New York subway train is hijacked by a team of four men in hat and moustache disguises. They take 17 passengers hostage and threaten to kill them unless they are paid $1 million within an hour.
Walter Matthau stars as the Transit Police lieutenant responsible for saving the victims and resolving the crisis. Robert Shaw plays "Mr. Blue", who is one of the deadly crooks.
It’s tense and exciting with plenty of moments of welcome humour. That said, there are also some very dodgy racist jokes.
