The Stop Button

An appreciation of amusements.

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Entries Tagged as 'Ray Liotta'

The Last Shot (2004, Jeff Nathanson)

March 21st, 2008 No Comments

The Last Shot is a comedy–and a funny one–but I’m not sure it qualifies as a story. It’s an idea for a movie–the FBI fakes producing a movie to catch mobsters, hiring Hollywood wannabes without telling them–but Nathanson’s execution of the idea is flawed. Alec Baldwin’s FBI agent is lying to would-be director Matthew Broderick […]

Field of Dreams (1988, Phil Alden Robinson)

February 23rd, 2006 No Comments

If asked, I’d probably blame MTV, video games, and CG for the downfall of American cinema. These reasons are my knee-jerk examples and, if they’re not the whole problem, they’re certainly the major contributing factors. However, following Field of Dreams, I think I’ll have to revise my answer. There’s a sense of cynicism about American […]

Cop Land (1997, James Mangold), the director’s cut

October 1st, 2005 No Comments

Here’s an interesting director’s cut… it doesn’t change the film overall.
Most director’s cuts, extended versions, whatever, change the effect of the film. Blade Runner is the usual example, but so is something like The Big Red One (though not as much). In many ways, Cop Land is like Touch of Evil. The experience doesn’t change […]