Tag: James Spader
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Rather terrible–but still on some levels competent–serial killer thriller about Keanu Reeves terrorizing Chicago in general and ex-FBI agent James Spader in specific. Really bad performance from Reeves (who did the film to fulfill a forged contract obligation) and Marisa Tomei (as Spader’s therapist and, natch, love interest). Rather elaborate Chicagoland filming but completely inept…
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The first half of Baby Boom is this incredibly efficient story about career woman Diane Keaton deciding she wants to be a mom to a baby she inherits. Is inherit the right word? Probably not, but Keaton’s character can’t figure out how to change a diaper (though she can later milk a cow on the…
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When Mannequin is at its best, it makes one forget about its worst. There’s a lot of weak writing–and some strong writing–and director Gottlieb is terrible with actors. What’s so strange about his inability to direct them (most visible with Carole Davis) is how well other performances turn out. Both James Spader and G.W. Bailey…
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Mike Nichols has a very peculiar technique in Wolf. He does these intense close-ups, sometimes zooming into them, sometimes zooming out of them. He fixates on his actors–usually Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer, but all of the actors get at least one intense close-up (except maybe Eileen Atkins). It’s like he’s drawing attention to the…
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Lincoln is a political thriller. The vast majority of the film concerns the 13th Amendment and Lincoln’s attempts to get it through the House of Representatives. When Lincoln isn’t pursuing this story (or when director Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner’s tangential subplots are too thin), the artifice starts showing. Not even Daniel Day-Lewis, in a…
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What a difference a cast makes. Barry Levinson’s pilot for a “Diner” television series reunites some of the film crew–editor Stu Linder does a wonderful job–but the only returning actors are Paul Reiser and Jessica James. Both are good–and Alison La Placa and Mady Kaplan are great as the wives (Levinson’s best writing is for…
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Critical Care opens on its main set–sets are important in Critical Care–with Helen Mirren (as a nurse) checking up on ICU patients. The ICU is a circle, Mirren rounding it by the end of the titles, returning to the station at the center, where James Spader (as a resident) naps during a thirty-six hour shift.…
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Bland but pretty sci-fi adventure epic about the aliens who built the pyramids coming back with a vengeance and only Egyptologist James Spader and Special Forces G.I. Joe Kurt Russell being able to save the planet. Spader’s fine, Russell’s iffy but has his moments; the script–by director Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin–is crap but not…
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Let me annotate the opening cast crawl with my thoughts at the time…. James Spader–great, love him on “Boston Legal.” Melora Walters–from Magnolia, love her, she’s in nothing. Jay Mohr–liked him in Picture Perfect when I saw it, now can’t believe I liked it… Catherine O’Hara, Bill Murray… solid people. So what happened? It’s actually…
The Stop Button 