Mike's Movie Tips

 3/4 Rated PG-13 for Some Thematic Elements and Language My memories from the time I was the target audience of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" are foggy at best, so I don't recall much from them.  I'm sure I watched it a lot at that age, but as to when or for how long, you'll have to ask my parents. What was it about Fred Rogers that even today, nearly 20 years after his death, he remains a permanent fixture in the minds of millions of Americans?  Certainly on paper, he and his show wouldn't have gotten a pitch meeting, much less a show that endured for more than 30 years and became as iconic as apple pie? Perhaps its because what you saw was exactly what you got.  In American consumer culture, there has been an unending quest to be bigger, louder and edgier to grab attention.  This can be seen by comparing the goofy Batman TV show with Adam West to its later film versions.  Fred Rogers was different.  Instead of visual dazzle, he was straightforward an...

 2.5/4 Starring: Johnny Depp, Minami, Ryo Kase, Aoki Yuzu, Billy Nighy, Jun Kunimura Rated R for Language Throughout I occasionally pause to look at W. Eugene Smith's photo, "Tomoko and Mother in the Bath."  Few photos are so striking, so disturbing, and so powerful.  It has been called one of the most important works in photojournalism.  No wonder.  It puts a human face on the victims of Minamata disease, which came from environmental mercury pollution by the local Chisso Corporation.  It shows the horrific suffering endured by Tomoko and other victims of Chisso's negligence.  At the same time, it shows the enduring power of a mother's love.  As painful as it is to look at Tomato, her mother looks at her with such tenderness that it brings a tear to the eye. With "Minamata," director Andrew Levitas explores Smith's work in the community of Minamata and how he brought the results of environmental pollution to the world stage.  That could have...

 3.5/4 Starring: Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Robert Grubb, Tim McKenzie, David Argue, Bill Hunter Rated PG (probably for War Scenes, Nudity and Language) From a place you've never heard of, comes a story you'll never forget If that tagline conjures up romantic feelings of adventure and nostalgia in you, it's done its job.  Although it is deceiving, it feels correct.  This is a story of what happens when the hunt for thrills and adventure that boys thought of war comes into contact with cold hard reality. "Gallipoli" is an ambitious film.  It seeks to merge the feel of classical British epics, the adventure of Indiana Jones, and the brutality of " Saving Private Ryan ."  That it succeeds at combining these dichotomous genres and moods into a compelling whole is a testament to the storytelling prowess of Peter Weir, who rarely makes disappointing movies. Archy Hamilton (Lee) is the fastest man in Australia.  He wants to fight in the war with all the other local ...

 3/4 Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Isabella Sermon, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, DeWanda Wise, Campbell Scott, Mamoudou Athie, BD Wong Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Action, Some Violence and Language Steven Spielberg's " Jurassic Park " is an all-time classic, easily one of his best films.  Unlike many films that have cemented a place in pop culture, it deserves every bit of fame and praise that it has been given since it was unleashed on the public in 1993.  It's not a paper tiger in any way, shape or form.  For pure excitement and awe, few other films come close.  It is a towering achievement in blockbuster cinema.  Certain high-minded critics have found bones to pick with it because it uses stock characters, but I have never found those arguments convincing.  The people in the film have enough charisma and personality to get the audience to relate to them and care about them.  Depth and weight have no place in a mo...

 0/4 Starring: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider Rated NC-17 for Some Explicit Sexual Content Should I go along with the crowd and proclaim that "Last Tango in Paris" is every bit the masterpiece that critics have hailed it as? Or should I say what I really think: "Last Tango in Paris" is a pretentious, incoherent pile of shit? I think I'll go with the latter.  I have my integrity. In many ways, "Last Tango in Paris" is a paper tiger.  Its fame is due to the enduring controversy that has followed it in the past fifty years, its sexuality (which is neither lengthy, explicit, or even erotic), and the reputations of its star Marlon Brando and director Bernardo Bertolucci.  Certainly the film itself isn't worth remembering.  None of it makes any sense and it bored me to tears. One thing that irritates me to no end about "hip" directors and would-be auteurs is when they rely solely on subtext.  All the important elements, like plot and character ...

 1.5/4 Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett Smith, Larry Miller, John Ales Rated PG-13 for Crude Humor and Sexual References Here's an idea: take manic comedian Eddie Murphy, give him a brilliant comic premise, and add in some superlative make-up work, and voila!  Comedy gold! It seems like a can't miss proposition, but it does.  And by quite a bit. Professor Sherman Klump (Murphy) is a brilliant scientist who has created a potion that will rewrite a person's DNA to make them lose weight instantaneously.  That has special significance for Sherman, whose 400 pound frame has completely eaten away at his self-confidence.  Yet he has a good heart which endears him to a pretty grad student named Carla Party (Smith), who, much to his surprise, agrees to go on a date with him.  It turns into a disaster when a stand-up comic (Dave Chappelle in a cameo) humiliates him in public with such viciousness that it becomes a form of verbal brutality.  Desperate and bru...

 3.5/4 Starring: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Bashir Salahuddin, Charles Parnell Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Intense Action, and Some Language Here it is: the long awaited return of " Top Gun ."  Arguably one of Tom Cruise's most iconic films. It's a little amazing that, after nearly 40 years, "Top Gun" is getting a sequel.  It wasn't a great film, but as pure popcorn entertainment, it was fun and exciting and sexy.  But it struck a nerve with the public and reserved a space in American pop culture.  Which is really the only reason its getting a sequel.  Was it worth the wait? Yes.  Definitely yes. All the hype you've heard, all the buzz its been generating (and there's a lot), and all the mania that's infested news lately is earned.  "Top Gun: Maverick" is awesomely high spirited entertainment.  The amount of adrenaline it produces is at times unbelievable.  No big budget entertainment has ha...