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BAPS (1997)
These Pretty Women... Are Clueless!
Filmmaker(s): Robert Townsend

Two clueless homegirls move to L.A. to become dancers, but instead find themselves scamming a dying millionaire to eventually become B*A*P*S (Black American Princesses).

The Curse of the Story Projects like this start with the notion of self-parody. You create funny characters that carry a funny world with them. The Waylons do a good job at this, with the mannerisms so over the top you are aware of the actresses...


Published May 16, 2023
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Bad Influence (1990)
When fantasy becomes a fatal distraction.
Filmmaker(s): Curtis Hanson

Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disappears. Later that night, Michael runs into a stranger on a pier, who wheedles his way into Michael's life and turns it upside down.

A Failed Experiment When you encounter a bad movie, the tendency is to just blow it off. After all, most folks are largely incompetent at what they do. But if you check the credentials of the people involved, you have to think again. The writer has written...


Published May 16, 2023
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Bad Boy Bubby (1993)
All He Needs Is Love.
Filmmaker(s): Rolf de Heer

Bad Boy Bubby is just that: a bad boy. So bad, in fact, that his mother has kept him locked in their house for his entire thirty years, convincing him that the air outside is poisonous. After a visit from his estranged father, circumstances force Bubby into the waiting world, a place which is just as unusual to him as he is to the world.

Circular Breathing I knew this filmmaker from “10 Canoes,” which was pretty delicate. I had also heard a variety of things about this film, but still I was not prepared for how deep the adventure would go. Most folks seem to comment on the character and...


Published May 16, 2023
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Archangel (1990)
A Tragedy of the Great War
Filmmaker(s): Guy Maddin

At the height of the October Revolution during the 1919 allied intervention in Arkhangelsk, the exploits of one-legged Canadian soldier Lt. John Boles are told, after he is taken in from the cold by a dysfunctional Russian family and mistakes a local woman for his presumed dead lover.

Eisenstein’s Smooth Stones of Forgetfulness I only know a few of Maddin’s projects. This seems to be the earliest available. I’m really beginning a deep appreciation of this man’s visual soul. While this project didn’t change my life, it demonstrated the power to do so, like a...


Published May 16, 2023
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Ashes of Time (1994)
Filmmaker(s): Wong Kar-wai

Ouyang Feng is a heartbroken and cynical man who spends his days in the desert, connecting expert swordsmen with those seeking revenge and willing to pay for it. Throughout five seasons in exile, Ouyang spins tales of his clients' unrequited loves and unusual acts of bravery.

All Along the Watchtower Kar-Wai is one of the three best directors working today. Many feel this is his best work. Surely it is the greatest leap since his previous, but I find the Mood-2046 pair more important, even life-altering. If you come into this expecting a...


Published May 16, 2023
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)
An adventure beyond the limits of civilization, faith and passion.
Filmmaker(s): Héctor Babenco

Martin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of South America to convert the Indians. Their remote mission was previously run by the Catholics, before the natives murdered them all. They are sent by the pompous Leslie Huben, who runs the missionary effort in the area but who seems more concerned about competing with his Catholic 'rivals' than in the Indians themselves. Hazel is terrified of the Indians while Martin is fascinated. Soon American pilot Lewis Moon joins the Indian tribe but is attracted by Leslie's young wife, Andy. Can the interaction of these characters and cultures, and the advancing bulldozers of civilization, avoid disaster?

Multiple Stadia Sometimes I would rather have an ambitious project that fails rather than something simple that succeeds. But that is not the same as comparing something incoherent to careful focus. This project tries too much, has too much narrative, opens too many levels and integrates...


Published May 16, 2023
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Assassins (1995)
In the shadows of life. In the business of death. One man found a reason to live.
Filmmaker(s): Richard Donner

Assassin Robert Rath arrives at a funeral to kill a prominent mobster, only to witness a rival hired gun complete the job for him -- with grisly results. Horrified by the murder of innocent bystanders, Rath decides to take one last job and then return to civilian life. But finding his way out of the world of contract killing grows ever more dangerous as Rath falls for his female target and becomes a marked man himself.

Chunky Mix This project fascinates me. Donner is legendary for taking “chunks” out of genres, attaching them to characters, and jamming them together to make hits. Sometimes it works, and sometimes the experiment gets out of hand. This one is a failure, but an interesting one. Start...


Published May 16, 2023
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Black Cat, White Cat (1998)
Filmmaker(s): Emir Kusturica

Matko is a small time hustler, living by the Danube with his 17-year-old son Zare. After a failed business deal he owes money to the much more successful gangster Dadan. Dadan has a sister, Afrodita, that he desperately wants to see get married so they strike a deal: Zare is to marry her.

Sunflower Seductions This was recommended by a friend, as the best film she knows. This is an intelligent woman, so I endured some frustrating months trying to find it in the US, finally to see it on an overseas trip. It wasn’t a great experience for me,...


Published April 13, 2023
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Antonia’s Line (1995)
A motion picture that celebrates everything you love about life.
Filmmaker(s): Marleen Gorris

After World War II, Antonia and her daughter, Danielle, go back to their Dutch hometown, where Antonia's late mother has bestowed a small farm upon her. There, Antonia settles down and joins a tightly-knit but unusual community. Those around her include quirky friend Crooked Finger, would-be suitor Bas and, eventually for Antonia, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter who help create a strong family of empowered women.

Lined Up Some movies are there just to make you feel good about your self. And among those, most do so by showing you values you admire. Characters inhabit those values so we admire them as well. But the whole thing is engineered to parade Hallmark...


Published April 5, 2023
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The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
The gates of hell are unlocked.
Filmmaker(s): John Frankenheimer

A shipwrecked sailor stumbles upon a mysterious island and is shocked to discover that a brilliant scientist and his lab assistant have found a way to combine human and animal DNA—with horrific results.

Inside the Insides Marlon Brando can do little wrong in my book. Most people see a few giant performances followed by a period of excess and laziness, the only arguments being in when the shift occurred. But I see a genius who long ago exhausted the...


Published March 27, 2023
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