William Friedkin’s classic film The French Connection was propelled to box-office glory, and a fistful of Oscars, by its pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking and fashionably cynical attitude toward law enforcement. Gene Hackman’s Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, a brutally pushy New York City narcotics detective, is a dauntless crime fighter and Vietnam-era “pig,” a reckless vulgarian whose antics get […]
Archives for December 2011
Monk: The Series
The ranks of fictional genius gumshoes were joined by former San Francisco detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) in the summer of 2002, and he is indeed a welcome addition. Cable channel USA Network introduced Monk, a bright comedy-drama series about an obsessive-compulsive sleuth drummed out of police work following the murder of his wife and […]
Muriel’s Wedding
Socially awkward and overweight, Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) finds life in her Porpoise Spit, Australia, boring. Obsessed with the music of ABBA, Muriel, she daydreams of leaving on a tropical vacation and having a glamorous wedding. Sadly, Muriel’s real life is far different. She is the target of ridicule by the more fashion-conscious girls she […]
Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbook 2011
Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert presents more than 500 full-length critical movie reviews, along with interviews, essays, tributes, journal entries, and Q and As from “Questions for the Movie Answer Man” inside Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbook 2011. From Inglourious Basterds and Crazy Heart to Avatar, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the South Korean sensation The […]