g-zimmerman1

An interracial romance blossoms between an African-American boy and a Puerto Rican girl. Given some of the circumstances of the situation (it's 1975 in Harlem), you would think that this would turn out to be a deeply moving story of how true love can transcend racial barriers. As it actually turns out, there is no dissension whatsoever between Aaron and Angela's families and friends. At no point during this movie does their relationship become threatened by any kind of racially motivated hostility, and a close examination of the story as it goes along seems to reveal nothing at all that even stands in the way of Aaron and Angela having a relationship at all. Minorly interesting for its period atmosphere, and for Irene Cara's cute performance of the wise and level-headed Angela, but it's mostly not a very good movie, mainly because of the contrived (and often vague) plot, as well as the writers' seeming unwillingness to work with some of the elements necessary to make a good story from this particular premise.

As someone who actually does suffer from Asperger's Syndrome, it is easier for me than it might be for some people to understand and relate to many of the things that Adam says and does. I have been apprehensive in the past about viewing films that deal with this sort of subject, as I have learned that many of them paint stereotypical, unrealistic, and occasionally belittling portraits of people in my place or other similar situations. I was pleasantly surprised upon viewing this, as it really hit home in many ways. I often found myself saying "this reminds me of me" when watching Adam live his life from day to day (though we are very dissimilar in that I would never have a tantrum in front of a girl). Finally, this is quite possibly the most down to earth movie of its kind, as there is nothing that happens in it that cannot or is overly unlikely to happen in real life. Unfortunately, I cannot give it a perfect rating, because as impressive as its portrayal of Asperger's syndrome is, the story itself is weak and uninspiring and not as compelling and heart-wrenching as it ought to be.

Mila Kunis is what keeps this otherwise ordinary film going. She plays a fiendishly sexy and alluring serial killer whose mix of hot chick-meets-cold-blooded heartlessness is one very powerful formula. She yearns to become the assistant of a male college professor, which is what just about every other student on the campus wants, too. So how does she deal with the situation? She just murders everyone that she sees as a threat. She keeps the corpses of her victims in a closet, and even goes so far as to wear a dress and necklace that belonged to one of the girls that she murdered. She also vows revenge on an unsympathetic guidance counselor by bludgeoning her to death and putting her cat in the microwave (fortunately, the cat was rescued). Definitely worth watching to see Kunis if nothing else.

When their television is stolen, the terminally stupid screwups go all out to find it (c'mon, it's just a TV). They embark on a cross-country odyssey that leads to disaster at every turn. After a sexy hooker sews a dangerous (and top-secret) device into the lining of Beavis' pants, he and Butt-Head land on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. During their frantic journey they get kidnapped and stuffed into a car trunk, are stranded in a scorching desert, and board a bus with nothing but nuns on it. They eventually end up at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. where they embarrass themselves in front of the president. Finally, they are involved in a standoff with the FBI. The head FBI agent is a rough-edged type who isn't satisfied with any mission unless it involves a "cavity search". He is voiced by Robert Stack (of Untouchables and Unsolved Mysteries fame). Overall, hilarious, with two of the most pea-brained characters in animation history.

Baby born to rich parents is kidnapped by men posing as baby photographers. What they don't know is that this baby is very smart, and always seems to be a step ahead. The baby gets them into all kinds of trouble, including a dangerous chase through the framework of an unfinished building, a nod to classic cartoons of the 40s & 50s. The baby also wanders into a gorilla cage, where it seems as though the gorilla is protecting him. (The gorilla never harms the baby, but scares off the kidnappers whenever they try to get near the cage). Joe Mantegna, in an unusually unintimidating role, plays the head kidnapper. In case you didn't hear it mentioned once early in the movie, Baby Bink's real first name is Bennington. Overall, this is a decent family film, but there are many others that are a lot better.

In this sequel, which uses the same actors for all of Newton family members, Beethoven falls in love with a female St. Bernard and they have four puppies together. Her evil owner, Regina(whose character is not quite as evil as that of Dean Jones in the first film), wants to sell the puppies, but Emily, Ted, and Ryce are determined to take on the responsibility of taking care of them. Dad is nonetheless infuriated when he discovers them, but is once again pressured by the family into keeping them. The family soon heads off for a vacation in the mountains and are eventually tracked to a rural county fair by Regina and her none-too-bright boyfriend, Floyd. A battle ensues, with Regina and Floyd ending up plunging into a muddy river. Back home, the family settles on joint custody of the puppies with Regina's ex-husband, a good-natured man named Brillo. Like the first, this one is guaranteed to get to you in a good way, but still lacks some of the greatness of it.

This story of a family who grows attached to a St. Bernard that wanders into their lives is truly touching. George Newton, his wife Alice, and their three kids are the family. The kids and even Mom fall instantly in love with the puppy, but Dad wants nothing to do with it. He reluctantly agrees, but doesn't exactly forge a friendship with the growing St. Bernard. Meanwhile, Beethoven does his best to endear himself to the rest of the family, helping big sister Ryce attract the attention of a boy that she likes, scaring off bullies that harass brother Ted, rescuing little sister Emily from a swimming pool and giving a couple of sleazy con artists "the ride they deserve". After Beethoven misbehaves one too many times, Dad takes him to a veterinarian who, unbeknownst to him, is actually an evil scientist who uses dogs for lethal lab experiments. This doctor wants very much to get his hands on Beethoven. When he pays a house call to the Newtons, he stages an incident where, after tearing his clothes and smearing red dye all over himself, he provokes the dog so it looks like he is being attacked. This causes Dad to waste no time taking Beethoven to the doctor's office to be put to sleep. His wife and kids, suspecting the doctor is lying, go to his office, where Dad finally discovers the doctor's true activities. This film has everything that a great film should: a believable story, sincere performances, and lush cinematography. I would have given it a perfect 10, but it does have one major flaw: the casting of usually good-natured Dean Jones as such an unscrupulous character.

This is a family comedy about Chris, a suburban babysitter who has to take her charges into Chicago at night to rescue a friend who ran away from home. In what should be a simple task, everything that could possibly go wrong does, with hilarious results. Elisabeth Shue does a wonderful job as the babysitter, and Maia Brewton will steal your heart as Sarah, the wise and resourceful little sister. Keith Coogan plays big brother Brad, and Anthony Rapp is fun as Darryl Coopersmith, Brad's fun-loving but short-on-brains buddy. A couple of highlights are when Brad makes an insulting comment about Sarah's favorite superhero, Thor. She demands that he take it back or she'll blab to Chris about his secret crush on her (Chris was standing within earshot the whole time). Another hilarious moment is when, while at the bus station, Chris' poor-sighted friend loses her glasses. She picks up and fondles what she believes is a kitten, but totally loses it when told that it is actually a giant rat. This is a fun movie that can be enjoyed by all.

Although it has not aged well, this movie has nearly as many pluses as minuses. Lea Thompson is appealing and cute as the hopeless-romantic rocker who becomes Howard's friend and protector when everyone else wants to either run away from or kill the little guy. Howard himself is fun to watch as the wisecracking, fun-loving duck. For those of you who may not have noticed, the black member of Thompson's rock band is a young Holly Robinson-Peete. Also, one very interesting aspect of this story is that the only difference between Earth and the planet where Howard comes from is that the inhabitants are ducks. Finally, if you look closely, you'll notice that Howard likes to read Rolling Egg Magazine (an obvious spoof of Rolling Stone)

Sheer terror doesn't get much more frightening than this. Scare-master Vincent Price plays a doctor who loses his voice in a car accident, but can still speak by way of an electronic device. He vows revenge on the nine doctors that were responsible for an unsuccessful surgery attempt on his wife, Victoria. He, along with his fiendish but sexy assistant Vulnavia (Virginia North), murder them one by one in such grotesque ways as draining one guy of all his blood, attacking a nurse with a swarm of locusts, and giving an attendee of a costume party a frog mask that becomes so tight around his neck that it snaps his head off. The sheer audacity of these grisly murders, along with Price's meticulous and methodical planning, make for a one-of a-kind scary experience.