rimjak

A touching telepic, this was perfect for it's original Mother's Day debut. It stars Gloria Reuben (of ER) as woman who grew up in a foster home and now, with her own family life bustling, becomes ever more curious about her biological mother. Flashbacks help the story unfold, from the early '60s where a white woman gives up a black child conceived after a rape. For most of the period that follows, this child lives with a black foster mother (Lynn Whitfield) and grow fond of each other. As a teen, she is adopted by a well meaning but woefully unprepared white liberal (Alice Krige) who gains a black daughter but loses her skittish boyfriend in the process. The young black woman rebels, and eventually runs away, never to return. Now as as she yearns to know the truth and to find her mother, she revisits her foster mother and has a chance encounter with her adoptive mother. Anne Bancroft is superb in a Emmy winning performance as the now aged biological mother. Ruben shines in the lead, and Whitfield and Krige lend fine emotional support. While there are some tear jerking moments in the end, the film itself is more the story of a quest than a simple tearjerker melodrama. Strictly a TV movie, but a very fine one.

The vintage TV series is given a nostalgic (if scatterbrained) treatment, with a cast of old pros and a quick pace. While it is a bit too silly at times, isn't that how the original series was? Jim Varney makes a great Jed Clampett. I love this guy (Hey Ernest!) and this was a once in a lifetime role for him. Cloris Leachman is also a hoot, as Granny. You couldn't have cast that key role any better. That's what I call a 'character actress'. And that appearance by Buddy Ebsen (the original Jed Clampett) is a hilarious surprise! Overall this is good when you want to watch something that doesn't require too much thinking...and its PG! Perfect fare when babysitting...for you AND the kids.

An interesting premise (time travelers go back in time to abduct passengers before they die in plane crashes and use them to populate the polluted future) is almost negated by cheesy performances from a C-list cast (Krist Kristofferson, Cheryl Ladd, Robert Joy, Daniel J. Travanti). Once you start taking it as camp, however, this is quite entertaining, from Travanti's inquisitive Dr. Mayer to Joy's cheesily retro futuristic robot. The special effects have their share of cheese as well, but overall this is pretty decent. One sour note: on the DVD, one bug draw is the alternate ending. But the scene is exactly like the current ending but with a longer musical montage. Talk about anti-climatic!

As a political junkie, I am more likely to enjoy political-themed movies like this one. While 'Running Mates' has some good ingredients (mainly Bob Gunton's populist U.S. Senator), it has some bad ingredients too. The approach is heavy-handed, to say the least. For example, how do we know the U.S. Senator backed by big business is supposed to be a bad guy? He refers to Laura Linney's character (Selleck's campaign manager) as 'bitch' instead of using her real name while they discuss business in a professional setting. And Dunaway is awful, looking wretchedly made-up and overacting outrageously as a onetime flame of Selleck's. And for this she got a Golden Globe nomination? At least Robert Culp (as Dunaway's Senator husband) underplays his part (what little there is of it anyway). Tom Selleck is kind of low key and pretty bland in the lead. However, if he was trying to go for the bland politician look, he nailed it. How much safer of a candidate could Selleck be? Even his climatic convention speech is pretty tame, and that's the CLIMAX! Overall, a decent time, if you get past all of those clichés. The cast is pretty good (especially Gunton and Nancy Travis), aside from Dunaway's occasional outbursts and Bruce McGill's slime-ball Senator (though there's not much else he could have done with such a one-note character). And what's with that misleading movie poster? It shows Linney holding hands with Travis (who plays Selleck's wife), insinuating a possible same-sex twist to the story. However, as the movie unfolds, it is obvious that no such link exists. The two aren't even close! Did the filmmakers need to lure viewers that bad? This, nominally a 6, gets bumped down to a 5 because of that poster debacle. Talk about a cheap shot. If you want to see a good political movie check our Bob Roberts (with Tim Robbins). It is a more polished candidate, while Running Mates is more a political hack.

Heavy handed adventure with Faye (who followed up Mommie Dearest with this) robbing stage coaches in full period costume. The production is pretty decent, as is the cast, but the film is so woefully over-the-top that you just want to slap director Michael Winner sometimes. What could have been. And that nudity thrown in for no apparent reason is absurd. The scene where Faye whips the clothes off the wife of her lover at his funeral is classic camp, however. Best performance is given by Denholm Elliott, who plays Faye's put-upon husband. This is in the same league as the even more preposterous Mata-Hari...which even shares co-star Oliver Tobias! This one is good for a few laughs.

This solid, theatrical caliber bio of President Harry S. Truman covers much ground and offers Gary Sinise giving one of his finest performances to date.

An Emmy-winning production, this also boasts lavish period detail and a strong supporting cast (lead by Diana Scarwid as Bess Truman). It also features one of my all-time favorite character actors, Richard Dysart. He plays Secretary of War Henry Stimson and is quite memorable in an otherwise minor supporting role. All in all I gave this an IMDb '10'. Even with a whitewash of some details, this has to be one of the best presidential bios ever. They obviously put lots of time, money and effort into it.

What can one say about a solid (and short lived) political sitcom that has John Forsythe in a great comeback vehicle, Holland Taylor in her best TV role ever, as well as a pre-'Frasier' David Hyde Pierce doing his schtick before Niles was born? I'd say it's one of the best shows ever, even if it only lasted a handful of episodes. It also features Joseph Gordon Levitt (3rd Rock From the Sun) as well as a great comic turn by Elizabeth Berridge (who plays Charlotte, the family's long-suffering maid). Lots of good, smart, funny stuff here...and still no one watched. Perhaps it was the Saturday time slot that did it in. Then again, dumb usually hits big, so it's no wonder this didn't make it...

I am a Louise Fletcher fan and saw this film in that context. While I have not read Isaac Beshevis Singer's novel, I must say that this film lacks the dramatic punch one would expect from a Pulitzer Prize winner. Even with decent sets and costumes as well as a good cast, this story of a womanizing illusionist (Alan Arkin) lying his way through turn of the Century Poland is pretty underwhelming. Louise is top-notch, giving the film's most powerful dramatic performance, but it becomes lost in a film that never draws you in.

Valerie Perrine also has some solid scenes, while Shelly Winters overplays the part of Perrine's psycho mother to campy perfection. In the end however, the big climax comes off as more of an anti-climax, as by then you don't really care what happens. I gave it an IMDb '6', mostly for the acting turns by Fletcher, Perrine and Winters (whose climatic scene with Arkin must be seen to be believed).

I am tolerant of bad movies and bad TV shows. Sometimes even the worst of productions can have at least one bit of quality. Sadly, "According to Jim" has absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. The cast (headed by Jim Belushi and Courtney Thorne-Smith) tries hard, but the over-recycled material just isn't there. Plots are tired and predictable, gags are limp. Even cheap laughs aren't funny. I say if the writers are gonna rip off plots from other TV shows they should at least pick those that are actually FUNNY. It seems they pick the same plot lines cannibalized by other current shows. While I'm sure "According to Jim" will be around for as long as it has an audience, I must say that it STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN.

Inventive, quirky drama with Joely Fisher giving an excellent performance as a blackjack dealer who drops everything to take charge of her late sister's 3 kids. Yes many Lifetime staples are embedded deep within. But not every show can hold you until the end if you just happen to tune in after it starts. That is what this did for me...and I am not into watching things after they start. And to see Rae Dawn Chong providing fine support, what else could you ask for?