"The Women" was originally done as a movie back in 1939.  And boy was it done much better.  The premise of the film is horrible at best, but we will go with it.  When they call the film "The Women," they really mean the women.  There is not a single male present in the entire film, background or foreground.  However, every woman in the film centers her entire life around men.  I'm not against the idea of this film, it is just poorly constructed and executed.  It is hard to imagine that it took 10 years of planning to remake this film. It takes an eternity for the characters to develop, with the film spanning nearly two hours.  And in the end, the characters are just as myopic as they were in the beginning.  The directing is extremely dull, and even ...

  In 1993, Jon Krakauer wrote an article, called "Death of an Innocent" for a popular magazine, "Outside."  Jon then spent three years doing research for a full-length book on the topic.  The book, "Into the Wild" was published in 1996.  In 2007, Sean Penn adapted the book into a screenplay and subsequently directed a movie of the same title. "Into the Wild" is the story of Christopher McCandless, a college graduate that lives a life of comfort.  However, he is determined to live his own life, free of the rules of society – and his parents.  After graduation, Christopher donates his life savings to charity and takes off in an old beat up car to parts unknown.  His sister and parents have no idea where he is, or what has become of him. Christopher journeys from Virginia over to Arizona, in hopes ...

  "The Shawshank Redemption" was one of the best films of 1994, and firmly established Darabont --- making his feature debut as a director -- as one of the most promising directors in Hollywood. It's careful, thoughtful, intelligent moviemaking. The story itself has a certain pat quality, but Darabont concentrates on performances, the rhythms of prison life (and of the movie itself), and on the themes of this tale of friendship, hope and despair. Maine, 1946. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a quiet young banker, is given two consecutive life terms for the murders of his philandering wife and her lover. He claims he's innocent, and we didn't see him commit the crimes; Andy's guilt or innocence is not a crucial issue at this point -- though his being denied justice is. At first, Andy keeps pretty much to himself in prison, but forms ...

  In 2005, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" ignited the screen and imagination of teenage girls around the world.  While not well received by critics, it found a certain following among film fans.  Given a chance, the film grows on you.  I first encountered the film during is run on the premium movie channels of my cable provider.  I must say that I was intrigued.  Something about the girls' friendship got to my heart. Three years later Warner Bros. brings us a sequel.  This is one sequel that could have only happened if all the original actors resumed their roles.  Thankfully, that is the case here.  Unfortunately, it is not quite enough.  The sequel tries to cover too much.  Each girl's crisis seems to fall second to something else.  Ultimately, the film gets to where it is going.  However, the road ...

  Martin Scorsese is one of the best movie directors working today; his films are so dense that they can envelop you as if you're physically drifting into his world. He coordinates all the elements of a movie--actors, sets, dialogue, music, sound effects--to an almost unprecedented degree, and yet, at his best, his films have an organic flow so natural that it seems this is the only way this story could be told. The first half of Casino is as brilliantly made as anything Scorsese has ever done. It opens in 1983, with Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro), gaudily resplendent in a pink blazer, climbing into his car only have a car bomb goes off, sending Ace tumbling through the credits and in a cloud of flame which is replaced by the lights of Las Vegas. This operatic opening sets the ...