Say what you will about Kevin Costner, but there was a time when he actually made good movies that you wanted to see.  While the 90s and 00s have not been that great for him, he still has the glory of the late 80s.  Between The Untouchables and Bull Durham, he appeared in a thriller with Gene Hackman and Sean Young.  With it coming out in the height of the Cold War, the plot centered around a love triangle and the pursuit of a Russian spy.  I remember coming out of the theater, loving every second of the movie.

The main thing the writer and the director did was keep it simple with a twist.  They focused on the plot points and made sure to make every detail count for something – very few, if any, wasted scenes.  The interesting thing is how well the movie holds up over 20 years later.  Knowing the story does not ruin my enjoyment of it.  It should be noted that the first part of the movie is parodied in Hot Shots, Part Deux.

The DVD only had the trailer as an extra – just a quickie DVD release to have it out there.

My advice:  Grab this one the next time you want a good thriller – Yuri is out there…

We’ve all done it – found ourselves on a Saturday afternoon, feeling lazy and flipping channels when something catches our eyes and we get hooked in.  Then, over the next couple of years, you end up running across that item again and again.  The first time this happened was with the original Ocean’s 11 and then again with The Rat Pack.  I first discovered Empire Records back in 1996 in this manner and it became one of my go-to “veg” movies for a long time.

The story is fairly simple: a day in the life of the employees of a record store.  With most of them being teenagers, you get the typical teen angst problems interwoven with pining romance.  Casted by the people who brought you Dazed and Confused, Empire Records enjoys the talents of Renee Zellweger and Liv Tyler before they shot to super-stardom.  The movie also has a great soundtrack of 90s alternative rock.

My advice:  Give this one a spin; after all, they are open till midnight where Sinead O’Rebellion will shock you with her deviant behavior…

Earlier this week, I wrote a review for 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea that discussed the treatment of some of Disney’s classic movies on DVD.  The Love Bug is no exception; Disney stuffed this two-disc set with everything it could find.

For those not familiar with the title, The Love Bug tells the story of a down-and-out race-car driver by the name of Jim Douglas.  Douglas is played by the go-to male lead for Disney movies in the 60s and 70s: Dean Jones.  Buddy Hackett turns in a brilliant performance as Douglas’s sidekick, Tennessee Steinmetz.  As a matter of fact, watching Hackett in this role reminds one of his vocal role in The Little Mermaid.  Michelle Lee, best known for her role on TV’s Knots Landing, plays the love interest.  David Tomlinson plays the “villain,” while evoking memories of his role as the father on Mary Poppins.

Of course, the real star of the movie is Herbie, the little VW Bug with a spirit of his own.  Herbie is what brings Douglas and Carole together and continues to find ways to force them to spend time together.  As the movie goes on, Herbie one-ups each stunt to a climatic finish to a race.  By the end of the movie, it is hard to not think of Herbie as a real entity, even though he is just a car.

What I noticed is that Disney really tried to appeal to the generation pf the late 60s.  Set in San Francisco, the viewer is treated to many images of hippies, peace symbols, and terminology used that doesn’t seem forced.  It should be noted that Disney also flirted with the subtle innuendo, such as the first look at Carole and Douglas’s apparent reputation.

Presented in wide-screen format, the two-disc set also has the following features:

• Audio commentaries from the director
• 5.1 audio remastering
• Over 10 different videos about various aspects of production
• Theatrical trailer
• Radio spots
• A cartoon that could have been the blueprint for the Herbie part of the story

Again, it was well-worth the extra 2-3 hours to go through all of the extra features.

My advice:  Grab this movie, the family, and pop some popcorn — #53 will never come in last…

Frank Miller has written some of the best graphic novels over the past 20 years: The Dark Knight Returns, 300, and the Sin City series.  The hallmark of each novel was stunning artwork and a detailed story that grabbed a hold of the reader and would not let go.  After seeing mainstream Marvel and DC characters get big-screen treatments and great reviews, Miller started seeing what he could do to bring some of his work to life.  For his first effort, he was able to land the services of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.  Rodriguez had wanted to put Sin City on the big-screen for many years, but actually filmed a short film to show how it could work.  Miller bought into Rodriguez’s plan after seeing the short (which became the opening for the movie).

Sin City is actually three stories intertwined, similar to Pulp Fiction.  Some characters are in all 3 stories and the stories are not told in chronological order.  The similarities do not stop there.  Much as casting had a significant impact on Pulp Fiction, so did casting have a big impact here.  There are no mistakes in casting and each actor does a great job with the role they have.

Of course, what everyone focuses on is the stunning look of the movie.  filmed as a graphic novel come to life, it set the foundation for 300 and The Spirit with regards to cinematography.  Color is used in the movie to emphasize a mood or event — blood is never shown as red.  There is also little use of the “shaky cam” that seems to be overused these days by directors not skilled enough to shoot actual stunts and fight scenes.

The DVD had little in the way of extras, but I did not have the two-disc set.

My advice:  Grab this one when you are in an action mood and want a stylish, fast-paced movie — if you don’t, that old yellow bastard may come after you…

One of the best things about watching movies is finding that low-budget movie that doesn’t receive much support in promotion, but still does well because it has a decent enough story that strikes a chord among its audience.  Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino owe their careers to this phenomenon.

Waiting is a low-budget comedy based on the experiences of a man who worked in three restaurants in the Orlando area — as far as I know, only one is still in business.  One of the first things you notice about this movie is the relative star-power it has:

• Ryan Reynolds
• Anna Faris
• Justin Long
• John Frances Daly
• Luis Guzman
• David Koechner

All of these actors have a strong following, particularly in the comedy world.  The story is simple enough: just a day in the life of a restaurant.  We see the cliched bad customers, the “extra sauce” stories, and the “bad tip” stories.  Yet there is a story framework that holds this all together and creates a fun movie to watch.

The DVD is a two-disc affair with a lot of extras involving cast observations, real-life serving stories, and deleted/extended scenes.

My advice: Grab this for a few laughs and remember: Never screw with the people who handle your food…