Gotcha! (1985)
Fun in parts, Gotcha! is a better film than you’d think from outward appearances, although it is eventually undone by the very clichés that it seeks to poke fun at. At its core, this is a...
Fun in parts, Gotcha! is a better film than you’d think from outward appearances, although it is eventually undone by the very clichés that it seeks to poke fun at. At its core, this is a...
Nicely directed by quirky filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, and just as nicely performed in the comic subtlety department by veteran Bill Murray, Broken Flowers may lose more mainstream audiences expecting an obvious laugh riot, but those looking...
1980s / Action / Horror / Science Fiction
by Vincent Leo · Published January 4, 2006 · Last modified December 23, 2020
Screenwriter Jim Kouf came up with the plot of The Hidden after was musing about the escalating reports of random acts of violence he watched on the evening news. Often the perpetrator is described...
Sumptuously presented, as befitting a best-selling period novel of this nature, and as long as you aren’t expecting to be awed by it, given the fuss this adaptation has generated for years, Memoirs of a...
John McTiernan resumes the helm in the series that made him an esteemed action director with the third installment in the Die Hard trilogy. Like the first outing, the action flies fast and furious, with excellent...
Inevitable comparisons to the previous musical biopic, Ray, are almost a given, especially since both films cover similar ground. Both films are about the early careers of legendary songwriters and performers with tragic pasts, drug...
1990s / Action / Science Fiction / Thriller
by Vincent Leo · Published December 27, 2005 · Last modified October 15, 2020
The idea for Total Recall began after screenwriter Ronald Shusett’s feature screenplay effort, 1974’s W, went awry. Looking to start anew, Shusett found Philip K. Dick’s short story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,”...
Gripping in parts, convoluted and stagnant in others, Syriana is screenwriter Steven Gaghan’s attempt to provide an insider’s peek into the varying forces at play in the continuing Middle Eastern oil and terrorism struggles, similar...
Fun with Dick and Jane is a loose remake of the 1977 George Segal/Jane Fonda film of the same name, revamped to incorporate a running commentary on the greed and corruption of corporate America,...
Are introductions really necessary for Quentin Tarantino’s best film? Pulp Fiction is nearly perfectly executed in every detail, balancing a fine line between tragedy and comedy, the absurdly surreal and the unflinchingly realistic, morally depraved and...
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.