Master of melancholy moods and improvisational romantic dramas, Wong Kar Wai (Ashes of Time, In the Mood for Love), brings his trademark style to his first English-language feature to mixed results. His cinematography and...
by Vincent Leo · Published September 20, 2007 · Last modified January 28, 2019
Redford (All the President’s Men, Three Days of the Condor) and Fonda (Coming Home, Nine to Five) reunite for the third and final time starring together in a film, and the result is an amiable but...
Perhaps as a made-for TV movie, Home of the Brave would have been considered solid fare, maybe even supporting enough fine performances by the cast to earn a few choice Emmy nominations. As a theatrical release,...
1980s / Animation / Comedy / Fantasy / Thriller
by Vincent Leo · Published December 20, 2006 · Last modified January 16, 2019
This film is set in Los Angeles in the 1940s, where part of the city is the fictional Toontown, where all of the famous (and not so famous) cartoon characters (called “Toons”) reside. Bob...
The 1976 classic sports film, The Bad News Bears, has been given an upgrade in 2005 — they removed the word “The” from the title! Outside of this, there is little fundamental difference between this...
Walter Matthau plays aging alcoholic Morris Buttermaker, a one-time minor league prospect turned pool cleaner, with not much to show for his life except some empty beer cans. Morris gets the chance to make...
Trees Lounge marks the first feature film written and directed by actor Steve Buscemi, showing that he has some talent behind the camera, as well as in front of it. This modest film falls into...
Hud is a sophisticated adult drama for equally sophisticated adult audiences, and one of several films in the 60s to dissolve polarized western archetypes into complex gray areas. Adapted from the book by Larry...
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...
Only the terrific performances by the two stars keep this mushy and manipulative “inspirational” tear-jerker together. Pay It Forward has a decent idea: a teacher (Spacey) introduces a different kind of assignment for his social studies...
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.
