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Ed Bagley's Articles in Arts and Entertainment

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  • Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon Make "Walk the Line" Better Than the Film
    "Walk the Line" is the story of Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) and June Carter Cash (Reese Witherspoon). Born poor in Arkansas, Cash rises to fame in the country music world and destroys a lot of relationships along the way with drinking, drugs and pandering. Phoenix and Witherspoon are outstanding in this film, even though the movie production could have been better.
  • Pardon Me, I Am Gushing Again About Movie's Incomparable Audrey Hepburn
    Like a lot of shoppers at supermarkets, I look at the magazine displays while waiting in line to check out. Recently I was thrilled to see a recent edition to LIFE's Great Photographers Series: "Remembering Audrey 15 Years Later" with photographs by Bob Willoughby. You better believe I bought a copy faster than a single heartbeat, and remain a better person for having done so. Let me share why.
  • For Romance Without Any Stress, "Sleepless in Seattle" Is the Cure
    If you were celebrating Valentines Day with a candlelight dinner for two at home and settled in to watch a movie, "Sleepless in Seattle" would be a great choice because it provides a pleasant experience and is already becoming a romantic comedy classic. Sleepless in Seattle stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and reminds many viewers of "An Affair to Remember".
  • The Best Psychological Thriller Since "Wait Until Dark" Is "Dressed to Kill"
    "Dressed to Kill" is the most horrific psychological thriller I have seen since "Wait Until Dark" with Audrey Hepburn as a recently blinded woman who is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment. Dressed to Kill is just as well done and adds indiscriminate sex, adultery and a razor-slashing murder to the mix in a tense drama.
  • "Pretty Woman" Rocketed Julia Roberts into Becoming Hollywood's Sweetheart
    Read more of my other reviews on romantic comedies, including "Four Romantic Comedies That Will Not Stress Your Emotions", "Mystic Pizza", "Something's Gotta Give", "The Holiday", "What Women Want", "Failure to Launch" and "For Love or Money".

  • "Meet the Fockers" Gets a Real Boost From De Niro and Hoffman
    Meet the Fockers is the best comedy I have seen in a long time. This movie could have been easily over-the-top with its descriptive title, but there is no hint of it in the presentation. A believable story line and an all-star cast with former Oscar-winners gave this comedy a real boost of professionalism.
  • "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" Is Difficult to Understand But Rewarding
    "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is the story of Eddie (Jon Voight), a simple man living a simple life as a maintenance man who has a regret and an ache in his heart. He dies while trying to save a little girl in an accident, and does not know if he saved her life or not. He awakens in Heaven and finds out the real meaning of his life. A complex but rewarding story and movie.
  • Coach Was Color-Blind, He Only Wanted to Know If You Could Play Basketball
    Basketball Coach Don Haskins does not have to wait for his legend to happen. He was the coach at Texas Western in 1966 when his 27-1 team played Adolph Rupp's 27-1 University of Kentucky Wildcats for the NCAA title. Haskins would become the first coach in NCAA history to start an all-African American lineup which beat Kentucky 72-65 to become the NCAA champion. February is Black History Month.
  • "Coach Carter" Sends an Outstanding Message About a Coach with Integrity, Honor and Goodness
    Samuel L. Jackson plays Coach Ken Carter in a good sports drama with an outstanding message for today's high school basketball players who see playing with the pros as their only objective in life. Carter believes that a basketball scholarship and ethics should go hand in hand. This is an incredible story of a coach who will not compromise his values by not compromising his integrity.
  • Four Average Movies That Do Not Get Any Better the Second Time Around
    Here are four average movies that do not get any better the second time around: Anger Management with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler, The Emperor's Club with Kevin Kline and Emile Hirsch, The Fast and the Furious (a totally mindless guy flick about macho wannabe men street car racing), and Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson and Karen Black (both Oscar nominees in a depressing film about a guy going nowhere 1,000 miles an hour).
  • "To Kill a Mockingbird" Exposes the Destructiveness of Bigotry
    Gregory Peck won a Best Actor Oscar in this adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about white lawyer Atticus Finch defending an innocent African American man accused of raping a white woman. This is a story that illuminates everything that is wrong about hate, prejudice, bigotry, ignorance, stupidity, lack of backbone and lack of a heart.
  • Two Films Offer Great Examples of What Not to Do With Your Life
    Kiss the Bride centers around four sisters from an Italian Catholic family in Rhode Island trying to work out their childhood hang-ups as three of them-all self-centered, self-absorbed and out of touch with reality-return to help their little sister get married. Sideways focuses on two men in midlife crises taking a one-week excursion through California wine country.
  • "Tipping the Velvet" Is First Alternative Lifestyle Film with an Educational Message - Part 2
    Based on Sarah Waters' acclaimed debut novel, Tipping the Velvet was adapted by Andrew Davies, an Emmy award-winning British screenwriter who has also written "Doctor Zhivago", "Bridget Jone's Diary", "Sense and Sensibility", "Vanity Fair" and "Pride and Prejudice". Davies is a very talented heavyweight.
  • "Tipping the Velvet" Is First Alternative Lifestyle Film with an Educational Message - Part 1
    "Tipping the Velvet" is what some viewers would consider a terrible film about a sinful, raunchy lifestyle, and what I would consider an excellent film despite any apparent raunchiness. The BBC brought this controversial movie to a 5-millon strong mainstream television audience in England. Tipping the Velvet is an incredibly unusual firm because you rarely, if ever, see an alternative lifestyle movie with a happy ending.
  • "The Quiet Man" Is a Love Story Set in the Emerald Isle of Ireland
    No one ever said that filmmaking was easy, only that it could be very good and sometimes enduring, as in "The Quiet Man", starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara with legendary Director John Ford. The Quiet Man was the first American feature to be filmed in Ireland's picturesque countryside. Ford earned his 4th and last Best Director Oscar for The Quiet Man in 1952. See the film and understand why this love story will touch your heart.
  • "Nanny McPhee" - An Excellent Movie with Magic and a Message for Children
    In an entertainment world full of trashy and violent video games and movies, Nanny McPhee is everything good about movies for children. You and your children can watch this film without fear of unpleasant and unwanted garbage rooted in sensationalism for ratings and greed. Nanny McPhee is an excellent film with a wonderful message for all children to recognize and understand.
  • "A Lot Like Love" Is Light Enough to Fly Away and Never Be Missed
    "A Lot Like Love" chronicles the indecision of two young adults who are misguided and muddled in both their careers and love life. They haul off and do nothing with themselves and then wonder why they are not happy. No wonder they are confused about love. They deserve each other. See this film once and move on.
  • Movie History: If You Thought "Titanic" Was the Largest Grossing Film in the U. S., Think Again
    A lot of moviegoers think that "Titanic" is the largest grossing domestic film of all time, topping $600+ million in revenue following its release in 1997. Titanic, while No. 1 in actual dollars generated, is only No. 6 when adjusted for inflation. Learn the real No. 1 largest grossing domestic film in moviemaking history in this article.
  • "A Man for All Seasons" Demonstrates What Integrity Should Be in the Middle Ages and Now
    A Man for All Seasons poses the question: What would a man sacrifice for his principles? When Henry VIII seeks approval to divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn, his new Chancellor and Cardinal—Sir Thomas More—stands in his way. In the end, Sir Thomas becomes the only person in England who will die for his principles. A Man for All Seasons won 6 Oscars at the 1967 Academy Awards.
  • "Ryan's Daughter" Is a Love Triangle with Passion, Adultery, Rebellion and a Village Idiot
    "Ryan's Daughter" is a love story that evolves into a love triangle set in the epic splendor of an isolated village on Ireland's scenic Dingle Peninsula. Like all love triangles, it ends in a disaster that becomes a tragedy. Cinematographer Freddie Young captures the raw beauty of Ireland with its ocean cliffs, green countryside, lazy pastures and hidden forest love nest. He won an Oscar for his filming.
  • "Lost in Translation" Makes the Meaning of Life Sound Elusive
    "Lost in Translation" was written and directed by Sofia Coppola and won enough awards to fill a grocery cart. Seeing this film, I would not have guessed it would have won so many awards. I gave this film an average rating rather than a good or excellent rating. I wanted real substance in this film and I was left wanting. Learn why in my review.
  • Nancy Meyers Comes Up With a Winner: A Romantic Comedy that Really Works
    Christmas is coming soon and everybody is busy getting ready for another holiday season. A movie can be great comic relief. We want to be entertained and interested by a story that keeps us attentive and has a happy ending. Nancy Meyers delivers what we need as the writer/director of "The Holiday", a romantic comedy with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black and Eli Wallach.
  • "Breakfast on Pluto" Is Really Not About an Alien from Outer Space
    "Breakfast on Pluto" is a gender preference movie about a boy who really wants to be a girl, and settles for being a transvestite trying to find a place in a world that curses his very existence. I endured Boys Don't Cry and Transamerica and am pleased to say I did not have to endure Breakfast on Pluto. I think that Neil Jordan is the reason why. This film is worth viewing for its message: to thine ownself be true.
  • "Transamerica" Transsexual Tale Misses Opportunity to Inform and Educate Viewers
    There are easier films to review than productions involving alternative life styles, and Transamerica is an example. It is one thing to make a comedy or romantic comedy with no other purpose than to entertain viewers, it is quite another to tackle a difficult, controversial subject without assuming some responsibility for making its presentation a positive, productive impact upon viewers. To do less is entertaining but useless.
  • You Cannot Forget Captain Jack Sparrow, But National Treasure Is One Heck of a Hunt
    It took an inordinately long time for movie land to bring us a modern day treasure hunt worth watching, but Director Jon Turteltaub delivered big time in National Treasure, the story of a secret treasure that crosses the centuries. National Treasure is full of obscure clues. National Treasure stays focused on the clues with the actors not upstaging the treasure hunt story line.
  • Boys Don't Cry Stirs Our Baser Emotions But Fails Miserably to Increase Our Understanding
    How can a film produce an Oscar winning Best Actress performance and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and still be a terrible movie? Easy, just fail to deliver an important message involving understanding and knowledge when you have millions of moviegoers who are glued to your presentation.
  • Pride and Prejudice Among 5 Films That Are Just Terrible
    Pride and Prejudice is among 5 flims that are just terrible. They include Pride and Prejudice (with Keira Knightly, who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar), Punch-Drunk Love (with Adam Sandler), The Royal Tenenbaums (with Gene Hackman), Rumor Has It (with Jennifer Aniston) and Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley (which leaves out much of the best of Chris Farley).
  • 2 Weird Films That Have Stood the Test of Time: "Drag Queens in the Desert" and "Rocky Horror"
    What would Hollywood be without its share of bitchy, catty, gaudy, outrageous and crazy films? Two examples are "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "The Rocky Horror Picture "Show". Both of these films have a very limited audience because they are more negative than positive and have few redeeming qualities.
  • "Ed Wood" Is a Very Strange Movie About a Very Strange Real Life Director
    "Ed Wood" is a biographical movie about Edward D. Wood, Jr. who has been dubbed the worst director in the history of filmmaking. The movie depicts the life of Ed Wood in the 1950s and shows Wood as a very determined director with virtually no financial backing and no real talent. Wood liked to direct really bad films and enjoyed dressing as a woman on the set. Johnny Depp stars as Ed Wood.
  • "The Departed" Is Best Mob Film Since Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" in 1972
    Let me get to the most important thing first: Director Martin Scorsese won an Oscar for "The Departed". Scorsese, one of the most accomplished directors of our era, has been nominated for 7 Oscars—5 for Best Director and 2 for Best Screenplay—before winning with The Departed. The Departed is simply the best mob film since Mario Puzo's original Godfather in 1972.
  • The Apparent Murder-Suicide of Chris Benoit Really Creates More Questions Than Answers
    News of the apparent murder-suicide of well-known and well-liked WWE wrestler Chris Benoit left me with mixed emotions: sadness and dismay. I do not believe that Vince McMahon, the World Wrestling Entertainment owner and arguably the most gifted of sports entertainment promoters ever, could really tolerate a person so quiet and respected as Christ Benoit. There are no words to describe my anguish over Chris Benoit.
  • Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" Brings the Past Violent Mayan Life into Our Consciousness
    Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" shows the raw, violent face of the advanced Mayan civilization in its decline, with its rulers insisting that the key to continued prosperity is to build more temples and offer more human sacrifices to their Gods. The result is innocent Mayans being viciously attacked and their communal way of life being destroyed to meet an insane desire. Will they be able to survive the onslaught?
  • Four Average Movies: Two Messy and Two Unpretentious
    Here are four average movies, two of which are pretty screwed up (The Family Stone with Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson and Rachel McAdams, and Mona Lisa Smile with Julia Roberts) and two of which are unpretentious and easy on the eye (Indian Summer with Diane Lane and Unlikely Angel with Dolly Parton) Despite being pure fluff, I would rate the last two better than the first two.
  • These Two Films Create Confusion or Unbelievably Overblown Drama
    Ocean's Eleven is a confusing film about a $160 million heist of three Las Vegas casinos from an impenetrable safe 200 feet underground. Is Ocean's Eleven supposed to be an action flick, a comedy, a crime story or a drama? The Hours features three depressed women from three different generations trying to cope with life, some Academy Award-winning performances and a story line that is even more depressing and repugnant.
  • Two Films With Tons of Recognition That Leave This Viewer Unfulfilled
    A lot of moviegoers saw Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World as a great picture with great acting and pretty much a shoo-in for a handful of Oscars. I did not see it the same way, nor did the Academy. The Lion in Winter is a 2 Star movie with some 4 Star (Excellent) performances. Both movies stir no emotion in me, foment ill will and breed confusion when clarity should rule the day and resolution should be the result.
  • Whatever Happened to Helen Hunt After Making What Women Want?
    What Women Want is a romantic comedy light enough to float away. Helen Hunt is a real talent with real hardware and seemed so on top of her game after the release of What Women Want in 2000. Heck, I figured, move over Julia Roberts and hello Helen Hunt as America's newest sweetheart, but Hunt did Cast Away with Tom Hanks and then returned to Broadway. The two rising stars today are Reese Witherspoon and Hilary Swank.
  • A Romantic Comedy That Works With a Couple of 60+ Senior Citizens
    Something's Gotta Give is a romantic comedy without substance that works because of Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. Keaton is one the few actresses at age 60 who has been able to partner with bankable leading men. She seems to have found the secret to staying young, alive and attractive while Nicholson at 69 and counting appears his age and has not benefited from the passage of time. Keaton is one fine looking 60-year-old woman.
  • Five Movies That Try Hard Yet Still End Up As Terrible
    Here are five movies that try hard but are rated terrible for the effort. They include Napoleon Dynamite (with Jon Heder), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (with Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp and Salma Hayek), The Notebook (with James Garner, Gena Rowlands and Rachel McAdams), Of Human Bondage (W. Somerset Maugham's novel with Leslie Howard and Bette Davis), and The Prince and the Showgirl (with Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier).
  • Put These 5 Films Together and Spell Terrible 5 Times
    Here are five more movies you think would be really better than they are, unfortunately for the films, the scripts, the direction, and the actors, they are not. All five get my terrible rating; they include Love Letters, Monster-in-Law (with Jennifer Lopez, Michael Vartan and Jane Fonda), The Fast Runner (about Eskimo life and culture on the tundra in Alaska), Myths and Logic of Shaolin Kung Fu, and Myra Breckenridge (with Raquel Welch).
  • Four Romantic Comedies That Will Not Stress Your Emotions
    Here are four romantic comedies that will not stress your emotions: Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker in Failure to Launch, Jennifer Lopez (J-Lo) in Maid in Manhattan and The Wedding Planner, and Michael J. Fox and Gabrielle Anwar in For Love or Money. Just sit back and be entertained. If you want great stories, great acting and great direction, try other movies.
  • Another 5 Movies You Think Would Be Better Than They Are
    Here are another five movies you think would be really better than they are, unfortunately they are not. All five get my terrible rating; they include Gods and Generals (with Robert Duvall, Jeff Daniels and Stephen Lang), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), Just Like Heaven (with Reese Witherspoon), Miracle (the U. S. Hockey Team victory at the 1980 Olympic Games), and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (with Kate Hudson).
  • Two Award-Winning Films That Are Pretty Average
    Antonia's Line won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but its postscript fails to reveal a dark side that Hollywood typically ignores, making it an average film at best. The Aviator earns 11 Oscar nominations and wins five, including Cate Blanchett's portrayal as Katharine Hepburn, but was simply too negative and too graphic in its presentation to become a great film.
  • "Camelot" Is a Magical Movie, and a Primer in Civilized Human Relationships and Growth
    Camelot, released in 1967, celebrates its 40th anniversary this October, and was based on the 1960 musical play Camelot written by Alan Jay Lerner with music by Frederic Loewe. Camelot became a modern day legend when it was immortalized after President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Camelot the play and Camelot the film were both truly inspirational musical productions.
  • "Prada" Boss Drives Away Everyone and Everything But Blind Ambition
    Meryl Streep, one of Hollywood's best actresses, carries The Devil Wears Prada like the namesake handbag we see early in this movie, which is about Miranda Priestly, a powerful New York fashion magazine editor who hires Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a recent journalism grad, to be her new gofer. In the end, she ditches the job when she realizes that life without her boyfriend, her friends and family are not worth the price of being exclusive.
  • Five More Movies You Think Would Be Better Than They Are
    Here are five more movies you think would be really better than they are, unfortunately for the films, the scripts, the direction, and the actors, they are not. All five get my terrible rating; they include Imagine Me & You, Down With Love (with Renee Zellweger), In Good Company, It Runs in the Family (with Michael Dougles and Kirk Douglas) and Laws of Attraction (with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore).
  • Hollywood's Most Perfect Actress Had Beauty, Fashion, Grace and Humility
    Was there ever an actress who combined these four timeless qualities—beauty, fashion, grace and humility—better than Audrey Hepburn? I think not, especially when I see her again in Breakfast at Tiffany's. We shall not see another like her in our lifetime and by then the film industry may be on the way out when some newer, better technology unknown to us today arrives. Audrey Hepburn was a model of grace and humility.
  • An Iranian Foreign Film Fails To Promote Real Understanding
    Children of Heaven is an Iranian movie with subtitles about a boy who accidentally loses his sister’s worn out shoes after being sent to get them repaired, and must share his own worn out sneakers with her in a sort of relay while each attends school at different times during the day. Unfortunately, Children of Heaven has an unsettling ending. If it were not for this terrible ending, I would rate this film higher.
  • Two Excellent Films That Could Not Win an Oscar
    Secondhand Lions is a masterpiece of storytelling written and directed by Tim McCanlies (remember the name). Near as I can tell, this film had absolutely no nominations for Oscars. First time French Director Christophe Barratier has given us an incredibly good movie in The Chorus, which was nominated for two Oscars but came up empty handed at the presentations. No matter. It did not affect the effort and excellence of The Chorus.
  • Two Excellent Films With Oscar Nominations
    A Man for All Seasons poses the question: What would a man sacrifice for his principles? When Henry VIII seeks approval to divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn, his new Chancellor and Cardinal - Sir Thomas More - stands in his way. In the end, Sir Thomas becomes the only person in England who will die for his principles. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl becomes the best pirate picture every made, thanks to Johnny Depp.
  • Five Average Movies That Are Worth a Look, But Only Once
    Here are five movies that are worth a look, but only once. All five get my average rating; they include The Bourne Supremacy (with Matt Damon), Catch Me If You Can (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks), The Breakfast Club (with Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy), The Christmas Child, and Arsenic and Old Lace (with a very young Cary Grant).
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