Dennis Vero Movies
Partly based on Charlie Chaplin's My Autobiography, this humorous and dramatic biopic features an all-star cast including Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Kline, Diane Lane, and Chaplin's real-life daughter, Geraldine Chaplin, who portrays his mentally ill mother. With the use of flashback, an elderly Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor (Hopkins), who urges him to be more vulnerable and emotionally honest with his memoirs while journeying through his poverty-stricken childhood, closest friendships, many marriages, merciless pursuit by J. Edgar Hoover (Kevin Dunn), and ingenious invention of "The Little Tramp." Highlighted works such as The Gold Rush (1925) and The Great Dictator (1940) illustrate significant turning points in Chaplin's prolific filmography. Director Richard Attenborough's film also explores the circumstances surrounding Chaplin's exile from America and his eventual return to receive an honorary Academy Award. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Downey, Jr., Dan Aykroyd, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
Any film with a cast that runs the age-and-experience gamut from Ione Skye to Maureen O'Sullivan is certainly worth at least one look. Stranded casts Ione as a lonely 17-year-old, living in a remote farmhouse with her grandmother, O'Sullivan. Late one evening, five space aliens crash-land near the farm. Holding Skye and O'Sullivan prisoner, the extraterrestrials run afoul of the law when one of them impulsively kills Ione's boyfriend, who happens to be the son of local hothead and rabblerouser Michael Greene. Despite the aliens' laser weaponry, sheriff Joe Morton intends to treat the incident as a standard hostage crisis, but Greene wants to storm the farmhouse, with no consideration of Skye and O'Sullivan's safety. In true "Stockholm syndrome" fashion, the hostages befriend the more likeable aliens--one of whom is played by Flea, bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A curious blend of several genres, Stranded has true cult-classic potential, should any distributor want to give it a second chance on the midnight-movie circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ione Skye, Joe Morton, (more)
On the eve of her sister's wedding, suburban teenager Samantha (Molly Ringwald) suffers silently as her family forgets her birthday. Even worse, some total dork (Anthony Michael Hall) keeps propositioning her with sophomoric innuendo when she really craves romantic attention from high-school hunk Jake (Michael Schoeffling). Moving from Samantha's family home as it's invaded by outre relatives to a high-school dance where nothing seems to go her way, this bittersweet teen comedy traces the hopes and disappointments of not only Samantha, but also a host of incidental but memorable characters, from a hapless Japanese exchange student to a prom queen and a posse of barely pubescent nerds. A climactic party scene at which these various strata of young America overcome their rigid hierarchies sets the stage for resolutions both tender and torrid. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, (more)
