About 15 years or so ago, I was flipping channels and came across a Sinatra flick on AMC.  It looked fun and it did not disappoint.  I kept catching it halfway through and it took about 7 years before I saw the whole movie.  When I saw Reservoir Dogs, I liked the touch of pulling the end scene of Ocean’s 11 for the opening and closing look.  Then word came out that George Clooney was looking to remake it.  Now I have enjoyed the Clooney version and its sequels, but there is something about the original.

In my review of The Rat Pack, I talked about them filming this in that time frame.  The story is simple and is more of fun ride than a movie.  It has all of the Rat Pack as well as some other great stars.  The twist at the end is one of the best I have seen, particularly in a movie like this.

The DVD has some interesting features, including a segment of the Tonight Show with Sinatra hosting.

My advice:  See what inspired Clooney and his bunch and see what it was like for the Rat Pack…

So there I was, sitting in a theater in December of 2000 when the previews started.  One for a movie called Down To Earth with Chris Rock started playing.  Within 15 seconds, I went from enjoying a preview to being ticked off.  Down To Earth was a remake of Heaven Can Wait, a Warren Betty movie from the late 70’s that my parents had shown me.  But there are remakes made all of the time, why be upset at this one?  Well, from the previews I could tell it was going to be a horrible remake.  Sure enough, two months later, I was proven right.  The worst part is that they had to credit Beatty as a writer since they had lifted so much from the original movie.

So what is Heaven Can Wait about?

Warren Beatty plays a football player for the LA Rams (before they moved to St. Louis) who seems to have it all.  He is involved in an accident, and an overanxious angel pulls him out too soon.  With his original body cremated, a new one must be found.  Beatty inhabits the body of a wealthy industrialist, survives some murder attempts and falls in love.

The supporting casting is great:  Buck Henry as the angel, Charles Grodin (back when he actually acted) as the assistant, Jack Warden as his best friend.  A simple movie that hits all of the beats.

The DVD only had a trailer as extras, which is disappointing given the stars involved.

My advice:  pop this one in for a decent date movie…

Some movies seem destined for cult classic status: Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hudson Hawk.  Sometimes it is not instantaneous.  When Raiders of the Lost Ark hit the screens in 81 and followed it up with the Temple of Doom, every studio wanted to launch their own version of that type of movie.  John Carpenter had some success with Escape From New York and Starman.  Kurt Russell was a known quantity and had broken free of the Disney-squeaky-clean image with his star role in Escape From New York.

In 1986, the two teamed up again to do an action/adventure movie set in Chinatown.  The movie was done on a budget of $25 million dollars, but only ended up making $11 million at the box office.  However, cable and video helped many turn it into a cult classic.  I was part of the $11 million taken in, and I remember enjoying it a lot.  Of course it didn’t hurt that Kim Catrall was in it, after her popular roles in Police Academy and Mannequin.  My fondest memory of the movie stems from an all-nighter I pulled prepping for a final in college.  I was studying Statistics, when it came on at 2 AM on TBS.  That helped keep me awake for those extra few hours before the final, that I did pass.

The story is simple:  Russell plays a truck driver caught in the middle of ancient Chinese battles by his best friend.  Throw in a little kidnapping and sorcery and we have a poor man’s Indiana Jones, except the lead is dumber.  The story is straight-forward and predictable, but is a fun roller-coaster ride.  One of my biggest beefs is the location of the final battle: it looks like a converted part of a mall resembling a bad Jaycee’s Haunted House; that and the poor job done by the makeup artist that made it obvious that Kurt Russell had eye makeup on the whole time.

The DVD had the following extras:

• 5.1 DTS and Dolby sound
• Commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell
• Deleted Scenes — not that great
• Featurette — funniest thing is when Kurt Russell referred to the price of a movie ticket: $5
• Interview with the effects artist
• Music Video — John Carpenter’s band did the title song
• Trailers

My advice:  Well you just listen to the ol’ Pork Chop Express — on a dark and stormy night, pop this DVD in for some fun and action…

Despite the fact that he wrote the story that has been the standard for Science Fiction movies for over 30 years, George Lucas has always been criticized for his inability to write good dialogue.  Additionally, it seems that ventures not involving Star Wars or Indiana Jones end up being utter failures (i.e. Howard the Duck).  In `994, Lucas took another chance on a non-SW/IJ story, Radioland Murders.

When it came out in the theaters, it did not last long enough for me to see it.  Critics hated it and audiences didn’t get it.  As with Howard the Duck, everyone blamed Lucas, despite the fact that 4 people wrote the screenplay and someone else directed it.  I finally got to see it on video when it came out and was pleasantly surprised.  What I saw reminded me a lot of the movies my parents had made me watch growing up: predictable, simple story with madcap wackiness.

One of the first thing you notice in watching the movie is the amount of talent that signed up to participate, with stars ranging from George Burns to Ned Beatty.  Each actor is used to their strengths and there is not a weak one in the bunch.  Probably the one thing that helped the most in turning audiences off was casting a cable TV star as the lead: Brian Benben.  Benben was just coming off of a successful run in one HBO’s first original series, Dream On.  Mary Stuart Masterson was great as the fast-talking romantic interest.  The entire cast reflects a chemistry not often captured on film and it is a shame that many people missed this.

The story revolves around the first night of national broadcast for a fourth radio network.  As the broadcast begins, there are issues with unfinished scripts, Benben’s relationship with Masterson, and sponsors wanting out.  As the night progresses, the stakes are raised for the radio network that could be with a murder happening every so often.  What follows is orchestrated madness that is entertaining, but hectic.

Unfortunately, since the movie bombed, the DVD got the worst possible treatment: no surround sound, no extras; just the ability to jump to certain scenes.

My advice: this is a great date movie or Saturday afternoon veg movie.  While it is not a perfect movie, you will be missing a movie severely underrated.