The Bloody Brood 1959  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Julian Roffman
Cast: Jack Betts, Barbara Lord, Peter Falk, Robert Christie, Ron Hartmann, Anne Collins, Bill Bryden, George Sperdakos, Ron Taylor, Michael Zenon, Bill Kowalchuk, Sammy Sales
Psychopath Nico (Peter Falk) and his band of misfits murder a boy by feeding him a hamburger laced with glass. The boy's brother, Cliff (Jack Betts), with help from Ellie (Barbara Lord), sets out to find the killers. Bad, really bad.
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A Rage in Harlem 1991   R, 108 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Bill Duke
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Robin Givens, Zakes Mokae, Danny Glover, Badja Djola, John Toles-Bey, Ron Taylor, Samm-Art Williams, Stack Pierce, Tyler Collins, Willard E. Pugh
Place: Nachez, MS. Time: 1956. Slim (Badja Djola) and his gang steal a trunk of gold. But, when the police arrive on the scene, Imabelle (Robin Givens) takes off with the loot while the gang shoots it out. She heads to Harlem with the intention of making some money from her contacts in the area. Her adventures start when she meets an undertaker's assistant (Forest Whitaker) who provides the perfect cover. Before long, the many people who want the gold, including Slim, converge on Harlem and Imabelle.
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Relentless 1989  R, 92 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: William Lustig
Cast: Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia, Meg Foster, Leo Rossi, Angel Tompkins, Patrick O'Bryan, Ken Lerner, Mindy Seeger, Beau Starr, Harriet Hall, Frank Pesce, Ron Taylor
A New York cop (Leo Rossi) is now working for the LAPD and wants to show his new partner (Robert Loggia) that New York training leads being a better cop. His chance comes when a string of Sunset Murders takes place, and he seizes his opportunity. Judd Nelson is the serial killer, and he puts on a good show.
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 The Truman Show 1998  PG, 104 min.
Genre: Drama / Sci-Fi
Director: Peter Weir
Cast: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, Ed Harris, Brian Delate, Una Damon, Paul Giamatti, Philip Baker Hall, Blair Slater, Peter Krause, Heidi Schanz, Ron Taylor, Don Taylor
Insurance salesman Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) entire life has been documented as well as broadcast nationally on a 24-hour basis. All the people around Truman are actors, and Truman lives and works in a huge studio. Despite his made-up world, Truman thinks he is an ordinary man–until he decides to experience life in the outside world. Academy Award nominations included Best Director and Supporting Actor (Ed Harris). 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | A good movie that doesn't quite gel | 1fatts 03/31/2007 | The elements are all here, and it is a professonal job. Weir directs; Ed Harris was up for an oscar; a solid performance from Laura Linney and Jim Carrey plays confused without going over the top.
And the script is everyone's paranoid fantasy brought to life.
It is enertaining, amusing, more-or-less satisfying, and has a couple of nice scenes taking advantage of good production values.
Then why isn't it better than this? Why isn't this allegory of the central question in so many lives -- isn't there more to me than this? -- more moving? more challenging? more significant?
I think the director sets the mark rather lower than he might have. Carrey is fine, but not better than fine. There are levels of shading that the actor doesn't bring and the director doesn't seek. Ed Harris' final confrontation with Truman, which should be man facing his creator, falls flat because Carrey isn't man enough and Harris' creator isn't high enough.
Still, a good film and well worth a few hours of your time. But one of those films where you wonder what someone else who was willing to take a few more chances could have made of this. |
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| 1. The Bloody Brood (1959)
2. Hoffman (1970)
3. A Rage in Harlem (1991)
4. Relentless (1989)
5. The Truman Show (1998)
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