Before hitting it big with his smash hit Three Kings, writer-director David O. Russell made his mark with small indie comedies like Spanking the Monkey and this cult gem, Flirting with Disaster. Reminiscent of the mostly improv feel...
What was already a formula action picture in The Fast and the Furious, becomes a rehash of the same formula in the newest entry in the street racing saga, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Here’s the formula...
I have a feeling that Tim Burton’s Big Fish will be one of those films that is underappreciated at the time of its release, but gains esteem with time and repeated viewings throughout one’s life. It’s...
Kind of an oddity in the De Palma oeuvre, as it’s far different from anything he had done before or since. A Rock Opera, as the saying goes, not too far removed from the crazy...
Director and co-writer Edward Zwick returns back to the thematic territory of his most acclaimed film, Glory, with another rousing adventure full of stirring drama and stunning battle sequences. It’s reminiscent of several other acclaimed films,...
2000s / Fantasy / Science Fiction
by Vincent Leo · Published December 2, 2003 · Last modified May 2, 2019
The experience of figuring out Donnie Darko is like buying a jigsaw puzzle at a garage sale and trying to put it together realizing that you may not have enough pieces to make a complete...
Hey, it’s Tommy Lee Jones doing what he does best: tracking down people. Films like The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals, Double Jeopardy, and The Hunted are just some of the films where he has had to be on the elusive...
1960s / Comedy / Drama / Western
by Vincent Leo · Published November 29, 2003 · Last modified May 2, 2019
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was a nostalgic Western at the time of its release, and in time, most people were nostalgic for this film itself. It’s a deceptively complex film, and a...
by Vincent Leo · Published November 28, 2003 · Last modified August 26, 2019
First, let me get out of the way that I’m not giving Bad Santa a bad review because I found it morally repugnant or that I’m upset at yet another desecration of a beloved icon. It’s...
More Rambo than Saving Private Ryan, Behind Enemy Lines hearkens back to the war flicks of the Eighties, with its highly patriotic tone, its glamorization of the fight, and the resolve and diligence of the one-man Army, or in...
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.
