Dunston Checks in (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)You might expect "Dunston Checks In" to be a kiddy or cutesy show, and in a way it is, but it can also be a good family movie for anybody who likes comedies. A manager of a 5-star hotel in New York, Mr. Grant (Jason Alexander), has a great job, but he has to watch every step he takes because if he makes one mistake in the eyes of the owner, Mrs. Dubrow (Faye Dunaway), he could lose his high paying job and go from living in a 5-star hotel to something not so nice. Mr. Grant has two kids to raise, but things just might go haywire when an orangutan starts hanging out at the hotel.
But not to fret, not only is the orangutan named Dunston real smart, he can also make simple things hilarious. "Dunston Checks In" isn't a groundbreaking comedy and it's not that original, but it is fun to watch, and it can be funny. I recommend anybody who likes comedies that feature an animal as the main star to at least rent "Dunston Checks In," if not buying it.

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A five star hotel turns into a 3-ring circus when an orangutan named Dunston checks in. Jason Alexander and Faye Dunaway star in this hilarious romp about an orangutan who gets loose in the elegant Majestic Hotel on the eve of the social event of the season. Dodging his jewel-thieving owner and the frantic hotel manager, Dunston is befriended by the manager's ten-year old son, Kyle, who is determined to help his new friend escape. Filled with laughter and comic high-jinks, "Dunston Checks In" is "a steady stream of giggles for those who get a kick out of monkey business." (Henry Sheehan, Orange County Register)

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Insomnia (Full Screen Edition) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Insomnia, director Chris Nolan's second full length feature, doesn't have the same gut-wrenching and mind-bending plot twists that his feature length debut, Memento, had, but does an excellent job telling an original and gripping detective mystery.
The pleasure of Insomnia is to be found in its rich cinematography, beautiful landscapes, and excellent performances. The movie is one of the most visually compelling pieces of filmmaking I have seen in years, creating surreal juxtapositions with the vast, harsh Alaskan landscape and with close-up shots of crime scene evidence. The amazing visual landscapes (both large and small) are used effectively by director Nolan to emphasize the films themes of isolation and overpowerment, of losing oneself within ones environment and in ones choices.
Insomnia's plot will disappoint those looking for a new Memento, in that it does not have the sort of turns of action and motivation that Memento does. Insomnia works well without elaborate plot twists, however, it's mood benefits from a certain lack of ambiguity of action, although the ending is perhaps a little to predictable and cliched. Insomnia would have benefited, however, from more ambiguity of motivation - while the acting is top notch, especially on the part of Robin Williams, the connections between the characters actions and their motivations and decisions is too closely drawn by the script.
Overall Insomnia is an excellent movie, and a good entry into the detective/suspense movie cannon. It suffers slightly from a couple of bad edits (in a movie filled with amazing editing and shooting) and from its desire to clearly spell out the principle characters motivations, but these minor flaws are more than redeemed by the director's excellent camerawork and sense of pacing, a strong script, and very solid acting performances. Insomnia is a must see movie, and a welcome change from the "blockbuster" summer movie scene of 2002.

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Crime never sleeps. Neither does Will Dormer (AL PACINO), a veteran LAPD homicide detective sent north to Alaska to head a murder case. There his investigation is disrupted by an ever-shining Midnight Sun that wreaks sleep-depriving havoc on his body clock and brings Dormer's shady, guilt-plagued past into the light of day.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryBiographiesDVD ROM FeaturesDocumentariesExtended takesFeaturetteFilmographiesFull Screen VersionInterviewsPhoto galleryTheatrical Trailer

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Flubber (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am opposed to remakes in general. Rarely are they as good as the original. I have thought, and continue to think, that remakes are a way to admit that filmmakers are not as creative as they once were, and a remake begins with a completed product. Having said all that, I did like this movie. The movie has problems, but I managed to ignore the problems and have a few good laughs.
Professor Philip Brainard (Robin Williams) is a science genius. Professor Brainard has enough inventions in his house to keep a fleet of patent agents and attorneys busy for years. However, the movie ignores such trivialities to focus on Professor Brainard's need to develop a cheap source of power. The story has Brainard focusing on his pursuit of cheap power to the exclusion of his fiancée Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden) and his impending marriage to her. Brainard also seems to be oblivious that Wilson Croft is out to steal his girl, his inventions and sink the college at which they are employed, all at the same time.
Robin Williams is in good form, providing laughs throughout the film. While Fred MacMurray had an air of absent-minded innocence that Williams fails to achieve, Williams brings his own style to the role and does a good job. Marcia Gay Harden almost seems unnecessary to the film though I did like her character. Williams's frenetic characterization of Brainard makes everyone else seem mundane in comparison.
Two of the biggest stars in this movie are special effects, the flubber and a flying robot. The flubber sings and dances and squeaks like a mouse. The robot watches too many soap operas and movies and is jealous of Sara Jean. The robot works diligently to keep the wedding from happening.
This movie does ignore a lot of things in order to keep the plot moving along. I kept wondering how Brainard created an intelligent flying robot the size of a football. Brainard also ignores the need for nuclear elements to power his flubber, with the attendant problems associated with nuclear materials. The missing of the wedding seemed an excessive plot detail, and I found that portion of the plot distracting.
I think the original "Absent-Minded Professor" movie remains superior to the remake. However, if you ignore that this movie is a remake and you are able to ignore the inconsistencies, the movie has a number of very funny moments. I would consider this movie for a family library, though some of the action is quite violent and I would probably limit watching to children ages 7 or 8 and above. Good luck!


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Disney couldn't resist the temptation to remake 1961's popular comedy The Absent Minded Professor, so they cast Robin Williams as Professor Philip Brainard (a role vaguely related to the character originated by Fred MacMurray), and the result is a comedy that, frankly, doesn't fully deserve its modest success. It's admittedly clever to a point, and certainly the digitally "flubberized" special effects provide the kind of movie magic that's entertaining for kids and parents alike. The professor can't even remember his own wedding day (much to the chagrin of his fiancée, played by Marcia Gay Harden), and now his academic rival (Christopher McDonald) is trying to steal his latest and purely accidental invention--flying rubber, or ... flubber. The green goo magnifies energy and can be used as an amazing source of power, but in the hands of screenwriter John Hughes it becomes just another excuse to recycle a lot of Home Alone-style slapstick humor involving a pair of bumbling would-be flubber thieves. There's also a floating robot named Weebo and some catchy music by Danny Elfman to accompany dancing globs of flubber, but the story's too thin to add up to anything special. Lightweight fun, but, given the title, it lacks a certain bounce. Of course, that didn't stop Disney's marketing wizards from turning it into a home video hit. Jeff Shannon

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Toys (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)If some songs are enjoyable more on account of their phonic sound than the actual melody they offer, then Toys likewise, is a film that can be enjoyed more for its sheer imagery than for its none-too-profound storyline. As many critics--even the adoring ones--will tell you, this movie won't be remembered on the strength of its plot. It's an uncomplicated (if also a little thematically-preachy) story of youthful innocense, big-bully intimidation, and then conclusively, of victorious, passive retaliation. And they're all worthy concepts. However, Barry Levinson doesn't make his audiences mull them over during the movie. To the contrary, it's rather difficult to ponder much of anything in light of the devastatingly gorgeous scenery, the brilliantly simple contraptions, and the fairytale-like quality of the characters.
If ever there was a celluloid catalyst for shattering actor typecasts, this was it. Robin Williams' performance reveals a mostly unfamiliar vulnerable sincerity that, frankly, creeped me out a couple times throughout the story. Similarly, you have Joan Cusack at her most delicate and gently-spoken (with exception of course to the laughable observation she makes in regards to war being "the domain of a small..." so on and so forth). L.L. Cool J competently delivers the role of a convincingly clean, wholesome, family-valued military man caught between the warring factions of his own family, represented by a hawk (his own father, played by the appropriately casted Michael Gambon) and the dove (a perpetually juvenile Williams). Robin Wright Penn isn't given much of a stage in Toys, and consequently her performance is less than striking here. But to her credit, she nurses a few otherwise-forgettable scenes (particularly the overtly ad-libbed cafeteria scene with Williams) back to life with her disarming laugh and sincere attention.
The trivia fanatics will keenly spot the underutilized, but aptly included cameos of Yeardly Smith and Jamie Foxx.
I'm not a big movie fan, in fact I rent/buy movies reluctantly. But this one captivated me from square one and it's a hard one to let go of. Incidentally, I highly recommend the soundtrack. It's a musical revelation that does great honor to the film (with an outstanding and uncredited brief performance by the incomparable Seal).
Chances are, anyone who's reading these reviews has already seen the movie; it's not a film that is naturally attracting new audiences this long after its making. However, I'm convinced this was due in monster proportions to the lack of popular exposure that Toys received, both initially in theaters and subsequently in it's video/DVD release. I, for one, happened to see Toys only by dumb luck, and have been grateful for walking into the theater ever since. But the minimal promotion that was afforded to Toys is all right by me. This is one cinematic secret I'm happy to be in on.

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Enter a spectacular world of whimsy, fun and fantasy in this acclaimed visual extravaganza directed by Barry Levinson. Robin Williams stars as Leslie Zevo, a fun-loving adult who must save his late father's toy factory from his evil uncle (Michael Gambon), a war-loving general who builds weapons disguised as toys. Aided by his sister (Joan Cusack) and girlfriend (Robin Wright), Leslie sets out to thwart his uncle and restore joy and innocence to their special world.

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RV (Widescreen Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, I actually loved this movie...I thought it was funny and entertaining and just what I needed to see, something pointless and yet does the trick perfectly. You can always rely of Robin Williams for that. No, it's not the smartest comedy but it's not like we thought we were walking into 'Fargo' people, we were walking into a family vacation comedy that's full of slapstick laughs and gross humor, and that should be what you expected. Robin Williams plays Bob, a man whose a slave to his job, a job he's afraid he may lose. He's so afraid that he actually cancels his family's vacation to Hawaii and takes them on an RV trip to Colorado with hopes to sneak off to a meeting with his germaphobe boss in order to keep his job. Along the way (of course keeping his true intentions secret) he tries to recreate the bond he once had with his family. This of course starts of shakey since neither his wife (Cheryl Hines) nor his children, teenage daughter Cassie (JoJo) whose going through her rebelous "i hate mommy and daddy" stage and his young son Carl (Josh Hutcherson) whose insecure about his small size, are supportive. But after all the problems with sewage, weird hillbilly RV neighbors the Gornicke family (led by Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth) and some pesky racoons their is a family bonding moment that is shattered by a bowel problem (sort-of) a sinking RV and the exposure of Bob's secret meeting. In the end, RV may be predictable family fun, but the point still remains that it's family fun, and that's gotta amount to something.

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RV - DVD Movie

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