zeitler001

"The Score" is a trite, plodding piece of formula hack. DeNiro, Brando, and Bassett offer totally lifeless performance-- and Ed Norton is the only bright spot in the film, for about three minutes' worth of pseudo-witty dialogue. Brando is especially bad in this hokey heist. Every plot twist could be smelled five miles away, and the script reeked of unoriginality. Which is to say one catch-all phrase about the film in general-- "IT STINKS!"

Based very loosely off the 1985 film "The Goonies", this game is among the most unique titles offered by the NES. It managed to help define a genre back in the day-- the side-scrolling free-form adventure. This game has no defined "stages" and no "bosses", as expected from the traditional side-scrolling formula, but rather allows you to go anywhere and see anything-- provided, that is, you have found the tools necessary to reach that area. It is very reminiscent of Nintendo's "Metroid" series in that regard. Later effort "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night", also by Konami, would bring this genre to its current level of perfection. I am surprised that such an original style of game, that is, this kind of adventure, is not more frequently imitated. But in any event, I suppose it is best to enjoy what we have in "Goonies II"-- if you can find it.

Arguably the best pre-"Little Mermaid" Disney film, "Robin Hood" takes the characters from past Disney films and features such as Baloo (Jungle Book) and Rabbit (the Pooh films) and casts them in a classic re-telling of the popular Robin Hood fable. While not as historical as Kevin Costner's big to-do, nor always as laugh-out-loud ridiculous as Mel Brooks' affair, Disney's effort comes off as amiable and very likable. It's very much a product of its times but has a timeless quality that is unmatched, really, and the humor doesn't date itself as quickly as some of the jokes in recent Disney features have. The voice acting (as in almost every Disney film) is superb, but contains very few outstanding stars (Peter Ustinov's role is especially well-done, however). All in all, a film well-deserving of all the praise it receives.