Change Your Image
stevecliff
Reviews
Mamba (1988)
Can't Believe This Was Ever Released in Any Medium
I had the dubious pleasure of attending a pre-screening of this movie at a Los Angeles studio in 1987 or 1988, and I find it really hard to believe that it ever made it out of editing room garbage cans. On the other hand, maybe I should take that back; there are good bad movies, and there are bad bad movies, and I have to admit that I really enjoyed guffawing in disbelief throughout this one. Still, my favorite part of the screening was filling out the evaluation form after seeing this gem: I have never had a more fruitful opportunity to exercise my limited abilities in sardonic wit. If I remember correctly, that document was my masterpiece in the genre. I wish I had a copy. Many thanks to my friend and student at the time, Sergio Canto, who got the passes to the screening.
P.S. I could take a line or two to outline what I remember about the plot of the "film," but that's as much as the writer did, so I guess I won't bother.
The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (1960)
A Very Contemporary Allegory
Having just watched this classic episode in preparation for showing it to my ESL students on Halloween, I was struck by how amazingly timely it is at our moment in history. If we think of the two alien figures as Bush and Cheney, and we equate the manipulation of electrical power in the show with the control of the flow of petroleum in 2008, this episode becomes a flawless allegory for our current world situation. Of course, some political parties -- which shall remain nameless-- seem to have learned better than others the utility of turning people against each other in order to gain or maintain power. It's tempting to say that "Monsters" has held up well over time, but the truth is that its themes held validity thousands of years before it was written. As Mr. Serling -- undoubtedly one of the true geniuses in the history of TV -- so aptly reminds us at the end, "the pity of it is...that these things cannot be confined to...The Twilight Zone!"
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
A Word for Some of You Who Voted on This Movie!
First, I should say that this incredible, landmark movie grabbed me emotionally more than just about any movie in recent memory and should be seen by everyone, gay or straight. Now, I want to comment on the user votes registered so far. LOOK AT THE CHART ON THE VOTES, and notice that from 10 on down, the numbers get lower and lower, until you reach the "1" rating, where the number goes way up. Do any of you doubt that the users giving this movie a "1" rating have a political agenda? My guess is that most of them have not even seen the movie (or how could they rate it a "1"?!?!). So, to all you homophobes who are trying to screw up the rating for this movie, please stick to rating movies according to their merit and not your bigoted point of view. How sad that your hatred makes you miss out on a great work of art and serves to prove the continuing importance of this film.
The Neon Ceiling (1971)
A Classic TV movie
I agree that this movie and other 70s TV movies (ABC Movies of the Week like Tribes, Duel, That Certain Summer, etc.) have been unjustly neglected both in reruns and movie guidebooks. However, I think perhaps the person who wrote the other comment is thinking of another movie. The movie I remember was certainly NOT a thriller. It was a very human story about the developing relationship among the three main characters. I admit that I was only thirteen years old at the time and could be wrong about this, but I was particularly fond of this movie since I had read the script before the movie was aired and remember looking forward to seeing how the final film would come out. I hope some of these great films will make a comeback. Thank you IMDb for remembering them!
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Completely Irresistible
How can you not love it? I'm a 46-year-old Jewish agnostic, and this still makes me laugh and brings a tear to my eye after dozens of viewings; and I don't think it's just nostalgia. I think if you can't enjoy this, you might as well just pack it in. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without this and the ORIGINAL Grinch. Too bad the follow-ups, with the exception of course of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, have never matched its humor, charm and heart. Favorite funny line? Lucy complains about always getting toys and bikes and clothes. "What do you want?" Charlie Brown asks. "REAL ESTATE!" Favorite touching moment? The transformation of the scrawny tree into a beautiful one of course.