An estranged family gathers together in New York City for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.
Excellent observant drama of a more privileged family of eccentric characters is both witty and sad - and entertaining, due to a smart script and a magnificent cast.
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation during World War II.
Grandiose epic of a child's coming-of-age amidst the horrors as war, both adventure and affecting drama, full of detail and made with cinematic expertise; and Christian Bale's performance is sensational.
Halliwell***: "Intelligent and thought-provoking movie about the loss of childhood innocence through the horrors of war. Bale, as the boy, gives an extraordinarily believable performance."
Maltin**: "Strawling, ambitious, but emotionally distant and loaded with cinematic crescendos (replete with crane camera shots and overbearing music by John Williams) that simply don't have the emotional content to warrant all that fuss."
An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when their father announces he is terminally ill.
Elaborately produced and obsessed with details, the story itself hardly goes anywhere, and the star cast is treated like pawns in a game of chess.
Halliwell*: "The fun here lies in the details - dalmatian-spotted mice, battered taxicabs, the elegant pages of an imaginary book - rather in the disjointed narrative, which sets the scene deftly and then collapses."
Maltin**1/2: "Rambling comedy has the same likable, eccentric qualities as the filmmakers' BOTTLE ROCKET and RUSHMORE and benefits from Hackman's savvy performance, but strains for effect and essentially has no story."
At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Deliberately silly, but actually entertaining spoof with lots of stars cameos; the cast seem to be enjoying the show.
Halliwell*: "Energetic farce that aims to be a satire on pop culture, but is too toothless for the task."
Maltin**1/2: "Clever comedy...Funny gags, satiric ideas, eye-popping production design, and celebrity cameos...make this fun for a while, but it can't sustain an entire film."
