I Never Sang For My Father
BBB.5 (out of 5) Gene Hackman plays a New York teacher and writer who has never quite squared off his feelings for his tough, proud father (Melvyn Douglas) but is now forced to deal… Continue reading
Tag Archive: Gene Hackman
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Hoosiers
BBBB.5 (out of 5) Gene Hackman plays a basketball coach with a dubious past who shows up in the tiny Indiana town of Hickory to coach a team whose school has less than a… Continue reading
The Mexican
BBB (out of 5) Odd but often entertaining comedy that features humorous performances from its stars, though they hardly share any screen time together. After a very shaky start of watching odd couple… Continue reading
Get Shorty
BBBBB (out of 5) Flawless adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel about a shylock gangster (John Travolta at his coolest) who travels to Los Angeles to collect on an overdue payment and ends up… Continue reading
Scarecrow
BBBB (out of 5) Two top-notch performances are the biggest draw to this odd but satisfying drama. Gene Hackman has just been released from prison and is planning to go to Pittsburgh and open… Continue reading
The Quick And The Dead
BB.5 (out of 5) Sharon Stone has a great time parading around this western as a stranger who walks into a dusty old town in the Wild Wild West in search of vengeance. Her… Continue reading
Heartbreakers
BB.5 (out of 5) Disappointing comedy that should have been better considering the talent involved. Sigourney Weaver is eye-popping as a con artist who, between jobs taking men for all they’re worth, has a… Continue reading
Behind Enemy Lines
BBB.5 (out of 5) Taut, exciting thriller about a gung-ho Air Force soldier (Owen Wilson) who gets shot down over restricted territory during a ceasefire in early 90s Bosnia. Commander Gene Hackman wants to… Continue reading
Narrow Margin
BBB (out of 5) Remake of the 1952 Richard Fleischer thriller has Peter Hyams still setting the main action on a cross-country train. Gene Hackman is an FBI operative sent to a woman (Anne… Continue reading
Enemy Of The State
BBB (out of 5) Tony Scott once again overdoes it with the flashy editing and melodramatic camera work in this rather hollow thriller, making his best effort to disguise a simple plot and… Continue reading
Crimson Tide
BBBB.5 (out of 5) What a ride! Submarines haven’t been this much fun since The Hunt For Red October, and if the fact that this film’s advertising campaign (red poster and everything) is… Continue reading
Hawaii
BBB (out of 5) This adaptation of one part of James Michener’s mammoth novel(s) is interesting from time to time but, for the most part, is a bore. Max von Sydow plays a fundamentalist… Continue reading
Mississippi Burning
BBBB (out of 5) Alan Parker’s drama gets few points for truth, as most of his fact-based films generally do, but he gets high marks for telling an emotionally involving story. Gene Hackman… Continue reading
Bonnie And Clyde
BBBBB (out of 5) Arthur Penn’s electrifying account of the famous criminal couple is still a ripping good film, and after years of endless gunfire in films it is quite amazing how shocking… Continue reading
The Firm
BBB (out of 5) The first film adaptation of a John Grisham novel is still the most financially successful. Tom Cruise plays a green lawyer who is hired to work at an awe-inspiring law… Continue reading
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
BB.5 (out of 5) Christopher Reeve‘s hero franchise definitely reached its finale when this under-baked adventure was released. Despite an earnest plot line devoted to dealing with current world issues (nuclear disarmament and… Continue reading
The French Connection
BBBBB (out of 5) Superb example of a top-notch police thriller, one of the most exciting movies of the seventies. Gene Hackman is brilliant as ‘Popeye’ Doyle, a hard-edged New York City cop who… Continue reading
The Gypsy Moths
BBB (out of 5) Three skydivers tour the country mesmerizing small-town folks with their impressive and sometimes dangerous stunts. When they reach the town where one of their party (Stuart Wilson) was born,… Continue reading
Runaway Jury
BBB (out of 5) Some enjoyment can definitely be had from this slick adaptation of John Grisham’s novel, another in a long line of film versions of the author’s best-selling thrillers. Never one… Continue reading
Wyatt Earp
BB.5 (out of 5) Bloated epic on the life of the man who cleaned up Tombstone, Arizona. Kevin Costner gives a bland performance that barely carries the three hour running time as Wyatt Earp,… Continue reading
Superman II
BBBB (out of 5) Superfun sequel to the 1978 original, with better character development and a zippier pace. Now that Lex Luthor is safely locked away in prison, the world can rest easy… Continue reading
Superman
BBB.5 (out of 5) Despite an extended opening setup, this is an exciting and inventive film version of the classic comic book superhero. Christopher Reeve is perfectly cast as the man of steel,… Continue reading
No Way Out
BBB (out of 5) Gene Hackman plays a high-ranking Washington politician who covers up the accidental murder of his mistress (Sean Young) by spreading a story around that it was committed by a… Continue reading
The Replacements
BB (out of 5) Fairly funny film that clunks along from scene to scene, never building up much in the way of comedic momentum. The film is weighed down by dull performances, from Keanu Reeves as… Continue reading
Antz
BBB.5 (out of 5) The sophisticated wit in this computer-animated comedy might go over most little tots’ heads. Adults, however, will enjoy seeing an ant with a serial number instead of a name… Continue reading
The Birdcage
BBB.5 (out of 5) Hysterical adaptation of the popular French comedy classic La Cage Aux Folles isn’t as well written as the original, but is still provides plenty of good laughs. Robin Williams and Nathan… Continue reading
Postcards From The Edge
BBBBB (out of 5) Carrie Fisher published her novel of the same name to widespread acclaim, so it was only a matter of time before her thinly disguised autobiography would hit the movie… Continue reading
The Conversation
BBBBB (out of 5) This excellent mystery is one of the first films that comes to mind when you think of the glory days of seventies filmmaking, made by Francis Ford Coppola the… Continue reading
The Chamber
BBB (out of 5) Routine John Grisham thriller features a weak lead performance by Chris O’Donnell. He plays a green lawyer who goes home to a small southern town to defend his Klansman… Continue reading
Absolute Power
BBBB (out of 5) Solid thriller features director Clint Eastwood at the top of his form, a great follow-up to his equally excellent The Bridges of Madison County. He plays a veteran, semi-retired burglar who… Continue reading
Unforgiven
BBBB (out of 5) A brothel in a tiny Wyoming frontier town becomes a den of revenge after a client viciously attacks a woman by cutting up her face. The sheriff of Big… Continue reading
Young Frankenstein
BBBBB (out of 5) This exceptional comedy is the best film that Mel Brooks has ever made (how many spoofs do you know that have received Academy Award nominations for writing?) It’s a… Continue reading
Twilight (1998)
BBB (out of 5) Passable detective thriller in the Sam Spade vein stars Paul Newman as a disgruntled private eye investigating a teen’s disappearance and involvement in a crime. An all-star cast of Susan… Continue reading
The Royal Tenenbaums
BBBBB (out of 5) The creators of Rushmore have returned with an even better comedy, one that centres around a troubled family who have hit rock bottom and need help to be pushed… Continue reading
Reds
BBBBB (out of 5) Warren Beatty‘s best film as director is this thrilling epic based on the true story of John Reed. Reed was a politically active journalist whose fascination with the rise… Continue reading
A Bridge Too Far
BB.5 (out of 5) For a three-hour war film, it has to be pointed out that this film is surprisingly zippy and has very few points where it sags. It details the disastrous… Continue reading
Extreme Measures
BBB (out of 5) This unusual thriller starts off murky and interesting but ends up boiling down to the usual typical Hollywood conclusion, complete with countless red herrings and a doubt-free ending. Hugh… Continue reading
Class Action
BBB.5 (out of 5) Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio disappoints her lawyer father (Gene Hackman) when she abandons the ground-level justice-fighting private practice that he has been doing for years and joins a big-shot firm full… Continue reading
Another Woman
BBBB (out of 5) Woody Allen returns to the Bergmanesque style that served him so well in Interiors (but did not in September). A female version of Wild Strawberries, it stars a brilliant Gena… Continue reading
The Poseidon Adventure
BB.5 (out of 5) Dated but sometimes fun adventure that inspired nearly a decade of ensemble disaster films, going from adorably cheesy to embarrassing by the time they finally went screaming out of… Continue reading