There is a reason why romantic comedies, even the most successful ones, don’t usually have sequels. Usually, this is because it’s hard to recreate magic twice, particularly when the culmination of a man and...
1980s / Comedy / Musical / War
by Vincent Leo · Published November 22, 2004 · Last modified May 16, 2019
Top Secret! is another laugh-a-minute screwball comedy from the comic minds of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, the trio that brought you Airplane! This time out, they skewer a variety of targets, predominantly war films (World War II, generally), musicals, and...
I’m not the first person who has compared this very derivative film to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade or in the best-selling novel, “The Da Vinci Code”, but it would be practically impossible to...
A staple in any blaxploitation cinema lover’s diet, Foxy Brown is perhaps Pam Grier’s most popular in the genre. Grier is Foxy Brown personified — sexy, tough, and able to alternatively seduce or throw down...
by Vincent Leo · Published November 14, 2004 · Last modified January 7, 2020
After the Sunset mixes the quirky plot of To Catch a Thief, the plucky tongue-in-cheek humor of Ocean’s Eleven, and the character-driven interactions of damn near every Elmore Leonard novel that was ever written (The Big Bounce‘s...
1990s / Comedy / Drama / Musical
by Vincent Leo · Published November 13, 2004 · Last modified May 14, 2019
Everyone Says I Love You continues the long streak of light Woody Allen comedies in the 1990s, and although this doesn’t really rank as one of his finest works, it is definitely a departure...
Jimmy Hollywood has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, as I do concede that the main thrust of this satire is unfocused, losing itself on occasion under secondary side stories...
A heavily sentimental drama, which generally means that it will deeply affect some while missing other viewers altogether, Finding Neverland seeks to tell the tale of what inspired playwright J.M. Barrie to pen “Peter Pan”. Many...
Ray is a big-time bio-pic about one of the most popular and influential musicians of the 20th century, Ray Charles, who passed away shortly before the film’s release in 2004. Hailed as a musical genius, in...
The Late Shift is a made-for-HBO feature film docudrama, based on the book by Bill Carter (who adapted this into a screenplay), that aims to give us an inside peek at the two forces...
Reviews from film writer Vince Leo, covering all eras and genres of films from classics to the latest releases.
Film reviews from Vince Leo, from classics to new releases, since 1996.
