DerrickFerguson1 Reviews

The Triangle (2005)

Why Six Hours?

[4/10 · 11 January 2006]

If the Lou Diamond Phillips subplot had been cut out of the movie, THE TRIANGLE could have been shown as one three hour movie in one night which I think would have made it a lot stronger. Not that there was anything wrong with LDP's acting but I couldn't see the point of having him mostly off on his own for most of the story and only getting together with the others in the last 30-40 minutes.

The acting was quite good but I don't think the movie adequately explained the mystery behind The Bermuda Triangle. Ships have been disappearing in there for hundred of years before The Navy conducted their experiments so why wasn't that explored further? And what happened to Charles Martin Smith, his Russian crew and their submarine?

Page Miss Glory (1936)

An Old Friend Revisited

[8/10 · 18 June 2004]

I saw the cartoon 'Page Miss Glory' on TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES for the first time in about 10 or 15 years and it brought back for me good memories of when I was a kid and a rushed home because I knew that the 'good' cartoons were going to be on Channel 5 here in New York. This is back in the days when we only had seven channels, kids.

Channel 5 showed the Warner Brothers cartoons and 'Page Miss Glory' was always one of my favorites along with the owl who wanted to singa about da moona and da junea an da springa and the one with the elephant who sang the 'Hut-Sut Song'.

Thanks to TCM for showing this wonderful cartoon and reviving such wonderful memories from my youth.

Castle in the Desert (1942)

Entertaining Murder Mystery

[21 September 2003]

I caught this movie on the FOX MOVIE CHANNEL which had pulled it's CHARLIE CHAN month long marathon due to protests from Asian Americans. FMC resumed showing the Chan movies in September, bookending the movies with discussions by prominent Asian-Americans inluding George (Mr. Sulu)Takei who explored the racial issues of the movies.

I respect the discomfort and resentment the CHARLIE CHAN movies cause Asian Americans and there are some blatantly racial comments in this movie. There's a part where Charlie enters a hotel to await a car and the hotel manager takes one look at him and says; "Chop Suey salesman, eh? I hate the stuff!" that frankly made me cringe. But these movies have a historical value beyond simple entertainment. They remind us of how we once acted and thought of other races and other people. Even though Charlie Chan is a respected and internationally famous detective, he is still based on his appearance and skin color. Maybe we haven't come so far since this movie was made.

Taken strictly as entertainment, though, CASTLE IN THE DESERT is a nifty murder mystery with an eccentric cast of characters trapped in a remote location with a murderer running around loose. One character is a descendant of Lucrezia Borgia. Another is a fortune teller whose predictions actually DO come true. Charlie Chan and Number 2 son do a great job of finding the true murderer and putting things aright. The plot is perhaps more complicated than it needs to be but that's the great thing about those 30's/40's murder mysteries: it wasn't that easy to guess who was the killer. Despite the unplesant racial remarks, CASTLE IN THE DESERT is a fine entry in the CHARLIE CHAN series. I enjoyed it a lot. Lots of humor and sharp, witty dialog and great atmospheric sets.

Moving Violations (1985)

Funny Then, Not Funny Now

[1/10 · 9 August 2003]

Like some of the other people here who have already commented, I vaguely remembered MOVING VIOLATIONS way back in '85 when it first came out and recalling that it was a pretty funny movie, when I saw it was coming on the FOX MOVIE CHANNEL I decided to break down and give it a look even though I had decided to boycott FMC during the month of August in protest of their cancelling the CHARLIE CHAN MYSTERY TOUR. I shoulda kept up the boycott.

I guess I must be getting older because I remembered MOVING VIOLATIONS as being a lot funnier than the movie I saw the other night. John Murray is absolutely pathetic as he imitates his older brother's shtick with little success. It's easy to see why he never had a movie career as he's unfunny and untalented.

It WAS nice to see Clara Peller again. I fondly remember her from those classic Wendy's "Where's The Beef?" commericals and she's one of the few actors in the movie that looks as if she really having a good time. And at the end of the movie, she turns and looks right into the camera and gives us a knowing smile as if to say; "Yeah, this is a lousy movie, but who else is gonna give an old lady like me a gig like this?"

It's always a pleasure to see Jennifer Tilly as she's one of the most beautiful women in the world and I don't care what people say about her voice, I think it's adorable. If you blink you'll miss Don Cheadle as a fast food restaurant clerk. And there's two dependable troopers in this movie: Wendie Jo Sperber and Fred Willard who were the only ones who made me laugh with a scene where she thinks he's a doctor and giving her medical advice. Both of them have been in better movies but they're professional enough to make their scenes stand out even with such dismal entertainment as this.

As I mentioned earlier, my memory must be going bad or maybe my tatses in comedy have just changed because I couldn't believe that at one point in my life I thought MOVING VIOLATIONS was hilarious. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this one at all costs.

Lathe of Heaven (2002 TV Movie)

Disappointing Remake

[1/10 · 8 September 2002]

As a passionate fan of the original LATHE OF HEAVEN starring Bruce Davidson, Margaret Avery and Kevin Conway, I was naturally excited to hear about the remake, figuring that with today's special effects, many of the dream images could be done in new and breathtaking ways. Man, was I in for a let down.

I would advise everybody to forget this disappointing and tiresome remake and instead rent or buy the DVD of the original. The acting by Lisa Bonet, James Caan and Lukas Haas was awful and they kept talking lower and lower as the movie went on so that I had to continually turn up the volume to understand what they were saying. Nowhere was any of the harrowing and surrealistic dream images from the original and Haas and Bonet had no chemistry together and even the usually terrific James Caan seemed as if he was bored with his role.

Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

Don't Overlook This One

[8/10 · 6 October 2001]

Despite it's obvious lack of a huge budget and the wildly out-of-style fashions and slang (yes, kids..we really DID dress and talk like that back in the '70's...I KNOW...I was THERE) UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT shouldn't be passed up when it's shown on your cable or satellite provider stations.

Sidney Poitier (who directed) and Bill Cosby play two working stiffs who sneak out of their homes to hang at Madame Zenobia's, a high-class after-hours joint. After bluffing their way in, they immediately set about enjoying themselves at the gambling tables and are on a roll when the joint is robbed. The two consider themselves lucky to have gotten out alive, but then Poitier's character finds out he's got a winning lottery ticket worth $50,000(don't laugh..back in '74, that was a LOT of money) and the two pals start a frantic search to find the robbers and locate the winning ticket (it's in a wallet taken during the robbery)

UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT is filled with quirky and oddball hustlers, grifters, crooked politicians, ghetto gangsters and cheap floozies, all brought to life by some of the most talented black actors of the day. And the movie also has two of the most beautiful actresses ever to be filmed, namely Rosalind Cash and Paula Kelly. Poitier and Cosby encounter a series of very funny adventures as their hunt for the winning lottery ticket forces them into a partnership with Geechy Dan Buford (an outlandishly hilarious Harry Belafonte) and Silky Slim (Calvin Lockhart) in order to get it back. Can the two working stiffs outhustle and outwit the hordes of street-wise slicks standing between them and a fortune? Watch the movie to find out and I think you'll agree that its worth the time to find out the answer.

Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby made two other films in this kind of comedy/caper genre. LET'S DO IT AGAIN is just as good (with a thrilling and side-splitting foot chase near the end and Jimmy J.J. Walker as the heavyweight champion boxer of the world) but A PIECE OF THE ACTION is a little bit more on the serious side with an added dose of social commentary...still, during the blaxplotation era of the '70's, these films were a delightful alternative to the 'kill-whitey-stick-it-to-The-Man-superbrotha-pimpin'-and-shootin-' movies that were also being produced then. I recommend all three of them very highly. Enjoy.

Walking Shadow (2001 TV Movie)

Interesting Adaptation

[8 September 2001]

Although Robert Urich captured the physicality of the Spenser character, Joe Mantegna carries off the character's flippant one-liners and quiet badass manner in a more mature manner. Mantegna's calm, reasonable explanation of his (Spenser's) job to the leader of a Chinese Tong is a dead on perfect novel-to-film translation.

Unfortunately, some other parts of the movie don't hang as well. I love Ernie Hudson, but can't buy as him Hawk. But then again, who could follow Avery Brooks's portrayal of the character? If Brooks was unwilling to reprise his role, then it should have been renamed and given to another actor who could have made it his own. And Spenser's visions should have been more intergrated into the plot. Was he seeing these visions as a warning that he should get out of the private eye biz?

Minor qubbles aside, I loved WALKING SHADOW as I've loved all of A&E's SPENSER movies and I hope they continue to produce them. Joe Mantegna seems as if he's really comfortable playing Spenser and he throws off them smart ass/sarcastic lines REAL good. I luv ya, Joe..

Scream 3 (2000)

Dead Ringers?

[9 August 2001]

I just watched this movie last night and while watching it, I had the nagging feeling that Courtney Cox Arquette strongly reminded me of another actress in her appearance and mannerisms but I couldn't figure out who until the scene where Lance Hendrikson sarcastically calls her Gail Weathers character, 'Lois Lane'.

I don't know if she did it on purpose or if its just a weird coincidence, but Courtney is a dead ringer for Margot Kidder as she appeared in the Superman movies. I even dug out the original Superman movie and took a look at some of Kidder's scenes and sure enough, I was again amazed at how much Courtney resembles Margot Kidder back then.

Anybody else notice this or is it just the effect of too much movie watching warping my brain?

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

Fun, Fun, Fun

[9 August 2001]

I'm not sure, but I bet that if one were to do research on the most shown film on cable/satellite,REMO WILLIAMS would be in the top three. It seems like every month its being shown on Cinemax or The Movie Channel. But that's okay, as long as they keep showing it, I'll keep watching it.

I've read complaints about the movie's bad guy not being bad enough and the story not being big enough and to that, I say hogwash. Not every movie has to have the hero saving mankind from global destruction and Remo's mission may not be global, but its entertaining fun nonetheless. This is a movie best enjoyed on a slow Saturday afternoon when you don't feel like going out and just want to zone out for a few..

Put this one in your VCR and enjoy the absolutely wonderful score by Craig Safan (this movie's got one the best theme songs I've ever heard)The interplay between Fred Ward and Joel Grey (their dialog is side-splittingly funny at times, especially Grey's one-liners) and a pre-Star Trek: Voyager Kate Mulgrew.