Body Heat

A highly watchable but somewhat dubious lesson in how not to be a victim — or at least not a victim of fate

Beaumarchais: The Scoundrel, directed by Edouard Molinaro from an unpublished play by Sacha Guitry has a Cyrano-like panache to it and is mostly quite enjoyable—though it is still worth remembering what Fabrice Luchini, in the title role, says to Manuel Blanc, the star-struck young Gudin who complains that the actors are pronouncing his words too…

The old stories are always the best. When I saw the trailer for She’s All That, directed by Robert Iscove, I thought: here was a kiddies’ movie that, unlike the dreadful but depressingly popular Varsity Blues, I might not find it quite unbearable to sit through. First, it was a retelling of the Pygmalion story,…

Another example of Hollywood’s bizarre idea of what military life and education are like

Anaconda by Luis Llosa is a riot of special effects but as dramatically negligible as you would expect. If you haven’t seen it, see if you can answer the following questions about it. 1. The expedition up the Amazon is (a) to shoot big game, (b) to capture big snakes to sell to zoos, (c)…

Night Falls on Manhattan is that rare thing, a film that is bursting with talent—written and directed by Sidney Lumet it features fine performances from Andy Garcia, Ian Holm and James Gandolfini and even such cinematic palookas as Richard Dreyfuss and Lena Olin are punching above their weight—which is, nevertheless, a complete failure. It is…