Gia Carangi is considered by many to be the first supermodel. She changed the way models interacted with the camera. She had a natural, dangerous, sex appeal that couldn’t be faked. But like so many young stars of the 1980s, she partied hard and paid the price. Thanks mainly in part to a powerhouse performance from Angelina Jolie, this HBO bio-pic has a residence that outshines many TV movies.

Gia (Jolie) was working at her family diner when at a Philadelphia nightclub she got picked out of the crowd by a photographer and given the keys to her success. He sets her up with an interview with top agent Wilhelmina Cooper (Faye Dunaway, CHINATOWN) who gets her her first paying job. That job led to her shooting legendary full nude art pics in front of a metal fence. At that shoot, she met make-up artist Linda (Elizabeth Mitchell, TV’s LOST), who would become her lover on and off until her tragic death.

Michael Cristofer (ORIGINAL SIN) takes a page from a great bio-pic LENNY in its use of interwoven interviews with family, friends and colleagues talking about Gia and her life. Like the Lenny Bruce bio, it’s what the talking heads don’t say that says the most. Especially in the case of Gia’s mother Kathleen (Mercedes Ruehl, THE FISHER KING), who lived so vicariously through her fashion icon daughter that she refused to see how it was destroying her until it was too late. Ruehl does a great job of saying one thing while conveying to the audience that the opposite is actually the truth.

The film, written by Cristofer and Jay McInerney, proposes that Gia’s downfall was that she burnt the candle at both ends her whole life. It was her key to success, but ultimately her destruction as well. She was only a teen when she was left alone in New York City to fend for her own. With money and no guidance, she was too wild and indulged too much. But she also put all of her passion behind loving as well. She wins over Linda with her dedication and beauty. The film suggests that Linda wasn’t a lesbian like Gia, but fell in love with her nonetheless.

Jolie won the Golden Globe and was nominated for the Emmy for her electric performance. She is fearless, capturing the force of nature of Gia. The addiction elements are played with great subtly, which is so impressive considering the larger than life character she is playing. Gia was over-the-top, but Jolie never goes there. It still stands as one of her best performances.

But she is also supported well. Ruehl gives a complex performance as Gia’s clueless mother. Take notice to how the great make-up, hair and costuming work done for her character helps focus the viewers’ attention to the nuances of her performance. Her fashion choices are as over-the-top as her daughter and they speak volumes about her motivations. Dunaway won the Golden Globe too. She serves as the mother and mentor that Gia needed. At one point, another agent tells Gia that Wilhelmina is holding her back and that might not have been a bad thing. Finally, one has to mention Mitchell, who serves as the heart of the story. She loves Gia, problems and all, which makes it easier for the audience to do the same. And I’m sure Juliet fans from LOST like seeing fully naked sex scenes between her and Jolie. Also keep an eye out for a young Mila Kunis (FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL) as the 11-year-old Gia.

Gia died of AIDS in 1986. In a poignant scene, she is told of her diagnosis and asks her doctors how she can get rid of it. The scene underlines the newness of the disease when she contracted it. How she handles whom she told also says a lot about the attitudes about the disease as well. It is said that Gia wanted to film herself to give a message to kids about unprotected sex and drugs, but the cameras weren’t available for a sore-filled patient dying of AIDS. Cristofer’s film does a good job of fulfilling her last wish.

Support the Site

Buy “Gia” on DVD Here!

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

Nominated for 10 Emmys, this is a crowning achievement for television. TV movies rarely achieve the artistry that this production delivers. Director Volker Schlondorff (THE TIN DRUM) mixes theatrical presentation with cinematic use of framing to create a hybrid production that adds a touch of surrealism to the powerful drama. And yet Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich’s Emmy winning performances bring the movie down to Earth. Arthur Miller’s critique of the American Dream has been captured for the ages.

Hoffman plays the coveted role of Willy Loman, a 60-something salesman who is losing his relevance. His loving wife Linda (Kate Reid, ATLANTIC CITY) supports him at every turn and hides his failing mind from the world. Malkovich plays Willy’s son Biff, the one who was supposed to make it. Willy resents that Biff is now working odd jobs, taking it as a person slight to what he wanted for his son. His other son Harold, nicknamed “Happy,” (Stephen Lang, TOMBSTONE) has been trying to step out of his brother’s shadow all his life. He’s followed his father into the rat race, but hasn’t turned it into a big success either. Charley (Charles Durning, TOOTSIE) is Willy’s friend and neighbor, who Willy insults and tears down just to make him feel like a bigger man.

Willy is a prideful man who believes a man needs to be rich and useful to be called a real man. He’s now living in the past off former glories. His traveling salesman job has worn him out and he slips in and out of the current and the past. Hoffman gives him a cheery charm mixed with a two-bit hustler’s smarmy smile. His attempts to inflate his own stature aren’t fooling anyone. Like Happy to Biff, he lives in the shadow of his brother Ben (Louis Zorich, THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN), a wealthy diamond dealer who is ruthless and snooty. Willy is the kind of guy who complains about every thing, but can’t take criticism himself.

Malkovich plays Biff like a bitter idealist. He sees the rat race version of the American Dream as a hoax and isn’t going to buy into it. Happiness comes from working with your hands where you don’t have to step on someone else just to get ahead. He tries to explain this to Happy, but his brother is hopelessly lost to the desire to show up the hotshot execs. Biff is free, while the others are prisoners. He sees it so clearly and is maddened that they cannot.

Reid brings subtle grace to her role as the loving wife of a man who just isn’t as big as he wishes he could have been. But unlike most people, she sees him for everything he has accomplished. Lang makes Happy a charming, sometimes pathetic, wannabe. How ironic that he’s so much like his father and Willy barely knows he exists.

While Miller’s deep characters and powerful ideas drive the drama whether on stage or on film, Volker brings a unique style to the production. Capturing a 1950s film aesthetic, he uses blatant outdoor sets with dramatic camera work. For film fans, it brings the material’s setting into the film language of that same era wonderfully. Watch when Willy goes to visit is boss Howard (Jon Polito, MILLER’S CROSSING). See how Howard is like a giant on the left while Willy looks like a tiny rat scurrying in for scrapes in the background. Touches like this work on the viewers subconscious, bringing us deeper into the inner emotions of the characters.

From acting to craftsmanship, this is a first-rate production. Willy’s brother is an American Dream success story and Willy is the more common castaway. He’s the by-product of the Dream what we don’t what to admit to. While Willy isn’t a great man or even a kind man, this story gives him something that the world didn’t — respect. We might not like him, but he can’t slight the guy for trying.

Support the Site

Buy “Death of Salesman” Here!

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

This HBO movie chronicling of the Florida recount of the 2000 U.S. presidential election will have you worrying about our political process. While its main character is on the Gore team, the film argues that when it comes to counting votes, the opposing sides are far more interested in the ones being counted for them. That seems fairly obvious, but when courts and elected officials put party allegiance above the will of the people we have a problem in this country whether we’re on the winning side or the losing one.

Ron Klain (Kevin Spacey, AMERICAN BEAUTY) was Gore’s chief campaign manager until he was fired. Then he was later hired back in a lower function. When he’s offered a post in Gore’s possible transition team, he declines what he sees as a demotion. When it seems the election has been called too early in Florida, he becomes the chief champion for hand recounts. Standing in his way is Republican strategist James Baker (Tom Wilkinson, MICHAEL CLAYTON), who will try every legal trick in the book to prevent the recount from going forward. His chief tool (tool being the key word) was Katherine Harris (Laura Dern, BLUE VELVET), the Florida secretary of state, who did everything in her power to stand in the way of the Gore campaign’s requests, believing that God placed her in this political storm.

Directed by Jay Roach (MEET THE PARENTS) and written by Danny Strong, the film pieces together the backroom dealings of the key players. Klain is painted as a dedicated man whom just wants to find out the real winner of the election. He even questions whether he likes Gore at one point. His mentor Warren Christopher (John Hurt, THE ELEPHANT MAN) is portrayed as a man more interested in a peaceful transition than fighting for his man. Baker is a skillful political operative who has no qualms striking first blood and standing his ground. Harris, in a remarkable performance from Dern, fairs the worst. She is painted as a fool, whom barely knows the laws she is supposed to be enforcing. After declaring in a press conference that she is building a “firewall” around her office to keep political influence out of her decisions, we see her following lock step with Bush advocate Mac Stipanovich (Bruce McGill, W.), who has all but moved into her office. Michael Whouley (Denis Leary, TV’s RESCUE ME) and David Boies (Ed Begley Jr., BEST IN SHOW) are Gore advocates who passionately defend the right for hand recounts, stating that the intent of the voters trumps all other arguments.

From left leaning courts rulings to right leaning political hacks to butterfly ballots to chad of all kinds, RECOUNT captures all the bizarre events that led up to George W. Bush being declared the president of the United States. When the Supreme Court rules that uniform standards need to be set, but in the same breath throws up their hands on recounts because of some arbitrary deadline, democracy seems shaky. When more than 20,000 legal voters are purged from the voter logs because their names are similar to convicted felons, democracy is shaky. When one side demonizes the other and party comes before country, democracy is dead. That’s what this film argues so effectively.

Support the Site

Buy “Recount” Here!

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

This TV movie chronicles the murder of Dr. Herman “Hy” Tarnower (Ben Kingsley, GANDHI), author of the bestselling Scarsdale Diet book. In the 1980s, the case was a tabloid sensation as the story came out that Tarnower’s spurned lover Jean Harris (Annette Bening, AMERICAN BEAUTY) shot him several times in a failed attempted to commit suicide. At least that was Jean’s version of the story.

The film begins with shooting from Jean’s point of view. We often jump between the murder, the trial and Jean and Herman’s relationship. Director/writer Phyllis Nagy also injects interviews with friends and family of Jean and Herman. We see from the start that Tarnower is a controlling man, who is both proud and self-conscience of his wealth and Jewish heritage. Hy and Jean’s first sex scene is a highlight. However, he can be charming and we understand why Jean agrees to marry him. But it doesn’t take long before we can see that Tarnower is getting cold feet. However, at this point, Jean is attached and Hy is afraid to commit, but also afraid to let Jean go. Over the years, Jean desperately clings to Hy, trying to win his affection even though she knows he is having an affair with his nurse, Lynne Tryforos (Chloe Sevigny, SHATTERED GLASS).

The episodic nature of the narrative is the film’s weakest link. At no point did I feel for the characters and what they were going through, because the story had me at a distance. Another problem is that it never carries a consistent tone. Sometimes it’s campy and at other times it’s trying to be emotionally poignant. The story seems clearly on Jean’s side, however we get interviews with Hy’s friends and family, which are often humorous. Then toward the end we get a completely random voice over from one of Jean’s grown sons, who we have not gotten to know at all during the course of the story.

It’s quite distracting to have all these points of view when Jean is the central character. It’s not like this is CITIZEN KANE where we get an intriguing larger view of the main character. Hy’s friends are only used for comedy. They never add or expanded the view of Jean. The story spends too much time painting Hy as a jerk and too little time finding points where we can identify with Jean. For the most part she’s a miserable, bitter woman, who should know better than stick with Hy. The story talks about how Hy strung Jean along, but we never see it. Outside the broken proposal, we don’t see all the broken promises. The story has two complex characters, but never focuses on giving us a consistent thread to emotionally connect to.

Only two things hold our interest — Kingsley and Bening. In a brave move, Bening allows herself to look old and very unglamorous. She brings the character a witty defiance, which helps Jean come off as less pathetic than she might. Kingsley is outstanding. His versatility is amazing. The nuance he brings to the role is fascinating. He makes Hy complex and contradictory. Ellen Burstyn’s Emmy nomination for her 11-second performance will make this film a footnote in television history as a shining example of how meaningless the Emmys have become.

In the end, the lack of focus and flip-flopping tone makes the story lack resonance. However, it gets extra points via its two intricate performances at its core. If you know the real life case, the film will be of interest. For everyone else they should just catch an episode of FORENSIC FILES or THE INVESTIGATORS on the case instead.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

I really enjoyed the live-action feature adaptation of HELLBOY and was looking forward to checking out this animated feature, because it had a lot of the same creative people involved. Though it might be based on a story by the original comics creator Mike Mignola, the story is all about plot and nothing to do with its characters.

In this adventure, Hellboy (Ron Perlman, CITY OF LOST CHILDREN) must travel to Japan to investigate a possessed samurai sword, which has transformed a professor into a Gollum-like creature. Apparently, the thunder demon and lightning demon were locked inside the sword, which accidentally transports Hellboy into an alternative realm. As Hellboy tries to find his way out of the alternative reality, his fellow supernatural investigators Liz Sherman (Selma Blair, THE FOG), Abe Sapien (Doug Jones, DOOM) and Prof. Kate Corrigan (Peri Gilpin, TV’s FRAISER) try to uncover what happened to him and the professor, as well as unlock the secrets of two ghostly lovers, who were separated long ago as a result of their battle with the demons.

As for the animation, this TV movie/direct-to-video is on par with the animation quality of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. It’s not what you’d expect from a theatrical feature, but it’s not awful by any stretch. However, the script only wishes it were as good as BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, which set the bar for TV animated action/adventure. It’s obvious that HELLBOY: SWORD OF STORMS is directed toward a younger/ less sophisticated audience, but this is really directing itself to the lowest common denominator — i.e. kids addicted to bad video games.

The movie moves along from one action sequence to the next. Many of the scenes with Hellboy in the alternative world seem completely random and unconnected to the overall story. It’s just one monster set piece after another, just like a video game.

What made the live-action film so enjoyable were the characters’ internal conflicts. These inner struggles are hinted at in this film, but only dealt with in a cursory way. And I’ve said it many times before, bad bodily function jokes don’t need to be required in kids’ entertainment. Because Hellboy is separated from his teammates, we don’t even get the option of the snappy interaction between the big red guy and the others, which made the live-action feature enjoyable.

This HELLBOY tale doesn’t really add or take away from the franchise. It’s just another adventure that the superhero (and the viewer) will forget within about a week.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

HBO has become a wonderland of great made-for-TV movies; this is not one of them. Based on a screenplay by Tom Epperson and Billy Bob Thornton, this crime thriller finds drug addict Jesse Parish (Eric Stoltz, MASK) stealing $100,000 from drug dealers in L.A. then fleeing for his hometown of Galveston, Texas.

After having dropped off the face of the Earth for years, Jesse meets up with his old friends Morgan (John Corbett, TV’s NORTHERN EXPOSURE) and Steve (Josh Hamilton, ALIVE). Morgan is still a party animal, who laments his boring tour of duty in the first Gulf War. Steve is a family man, whose wife Michelle (Annabeth Gish, MYSTIC PIZZA) doesn’t like her husband staying out long hours with a heroine addict. Jesse also tries to make amends with his grandfather Isaiah (R.G. Armstrong, DICK TRACY). Back in L.A., Skipper (Dwight Yoakam, SLING BLADE), the dealer Jesse stole from, has a not so nice run in with his boss Marshall (Thornton).

Structurally the film is fairly sound, however, it takes too much time watching the bad guys locating Jesse and too little time fleshing out the relationships Jesse has in Galveston. The relationship I most wanted to see more of was between Jesse and his grandfather. It seems the old man raised Jesse after his mother split, but that’s about all we get.

I liked Thornton’s Marshall, which is similar to his character in ONE FALSE MOVE. Yet his accomplices are all stock, over-the-top, redneck bad guys leering at little girls sexually and fiddling with their big, bowie knives. But the worst character is Gish’s shrill wife, who couldn’t be more cliché. Stoltz and Corbett are good, but I wanted more.

Additionally, the film throws some humor in regarding Corbett’s character that just undermines his performance and the drama. Likewise, director Geoff Murphy (UNDER SIEGE 2) poorly paces the ending, eliciting chuckles when he wants chills. There was a good movie lurking underneath the film, however the filmmakers took too many detours and lost their story, which should have firmly taken place in Galveston.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

This film is a total prostitution of the STAR WARS name to bring in cash over the huge popularity of the Ewoks. And as a kid I loved every moment of it. Now looking back, I can see it’s just an average kid adventure. It gets an extra half star for taking place in the STAR WARS universe.

Cindel (Aubree Miller, EWOKS, THE BATTLE FOR ENDOR) and Mace Towani (Eric Walker, LESS THAN ZERO) are two kids separated from their parents on the planet Endor. They meet up with the Warrick family of Ewoks. Of course, this is the family of Wicket (Warwick Davis, WILLOW), the cutest and must loveable Ewok of them all. The story begins with Cindel getting sick and Mace coming to terms with the Ewoks’ way of doing things. Afterwards, Cindel, Mace and a group of Ewoks venture out to save the kids’ parents.

Mace is a snobby Ewok-hater in the beginning, but learns to love and trust them. Some of the sequences along the journey are interesting, but most of it has been done before. The production design is equal to the features. However, the Ewoks’ vacant stares do get creepy at times. The acting is not good at all. Walker’s performance is one of the worst that you will ever see. For most STAR WARS fans, this will be the greatest sin George Lucas has committed outside of Jar Jar Binks. But in reality, this is just harmless, bland children’s entertainment that happens to take place in one of the greatest filmic universes ever put to celluloid.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

Based on a true story, director Steven Schachter (THE WOOL CAP) and star William H. Macy (THE COOLER) have crafted this heart-warming TV biopic that chronicles the story of Bill Porter (Macy), a man with cerebral palsy who through patience and perseverance became a top door-to-door salesman for the Watkins company.

Porter’s mother (Helen Mirren, CALENDAR GIRLS) drives her son to succeed. Porter’s dedication to the products he sold and determination made him a born salesman. The film paints Porter as an inspirational figure in the mode of movie-of-the-week fashion. Where this film stands above the typical movie-of-the-week is through Macy’s wonderful performance and the relationships the film develops with the women in Porter’s life.

Mirren is solid as Porter’s mother who develops Alzheimer’s. Kyra Sedgwick (WHAT’S COOKING?) plays Shelley Brady, a college student that comes to work for Porter. Porter falls for Shelley and the film handles the relationship with sad poignancy. Additionally, there’s another interesting relationship that Porter develops with the lonely client Gladys Sullivan (Kathy Baker, 13 GOING ON 30).

The film gets a bit cliché and sentimental toward the end, but because Macy wins one over so much by then, one doesn’t mind so much. The Emmy wins for Macy and the film were well deserved. This is the kind of sad feel-good film that has so much heart that you can’t deny its charms.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

This is a Lifetime movie for men. Friendship + Disease = Box of Kleenex. So why is this famous TV movie good, because stars James Caan and Billy Dee Williams are great.

The story chronicles the real life friendship of Chicago Bears football players Brian Piccolo (Caan, THE GODFATHER) and Gale Sayers (Williams, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK). Their friendship broke color barriers. They were the first black and white players to room together on the road. Piccolo is a hard-working, positive attitude kind of guy with an aw-shucks sense of humor. Sayers is reserved, quiet and doesn’t like the spotlight on himself. They feed off each other — Piccolo brought Sayers out of his shell and Sayers drove Piccolo to become a better ball player.

The film has all the classic inspirational sports story cliches, but Caan and Williams raise the material to a believable and natural level. Not for a moment did I believe these guys weren’t friends or that the filmmakers were manipulating me too much. Caan is known for playing gangsters and tough guys, but here he was able to show his range emotionally. I really only know Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, but this film shows how good of an actor he is. Plus you also get the always-great Jack Warden (12 ANGRY MEN) as Coach George Halas.

Yeah, the film has its sappy TV movie moments, but by the time they come you care about the characters and feel sappy about them anyway. In many ways the film reminded me of LOVE STORY, which wins you over with the wonderful banter between the characters before the tragedy hits you like a sledgehammer. This is a landmark in TV movie history and a simply great biopic.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network

This British TV movie was based on the first book in the popular series, which was written and illustrated by Jill Murphy. Set in a school for young witches, it’s a predecessor to HARRY POTTER. I wonder if J.K. Rowling was inspired by this tale? But in light of the monster success of Rowling’s “boy who lived” book series and its big budgeted feature films, THE WORST WITCH, sadly, looks like a pale imitation.

Mildred Hubble (Fairuza Balk, THE CRAFT) is the worst witch in her all-girl witching school. Miss Hardbroom (Diana Rigg, 1970’s JULIUS CAESAR) is always giving her a hard time and the snobby Ethel Hallow (Anna Kipling, TIME AFTER TIME) is always making her look like a fool. However, the school’s head mistress Miss Cackle (Charlotte Rae, TV’s FACTS OF LIFE) keeps encouraging Mildred. What the school doesn’t know is that Miss Cackle’s twin sister Agatha is plotting to take over the school. All of this occurs as the school prepares for a guest visit from The Grand Wizard (Tim Curry, ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW).

The story is fun and whimsical. Balk is charming as a little witch who tries her best, but bumbles through everything she does. Her broom-flying class really sticks out in my mind. Rae is wonderful in her dual roles. Those who remember her from FACTS and DIFF’RENT STROKES will not find the perpetually flabbergasted Mrs. Garrett. She brings quiet and kind strength and leadership to Miss Cackle and the plays up the devilish side as Agatha. Kipling is effective as the conventional snobby rich girl, who we love to hate. And come on, Tim Curry is always fun.

However, the viewer must keep in mind that the movie was made for TV in 1986 and the special effects really show this fact. The effects date the film, but the thing that really throws the production off is the inclusion of two horrible songs. Cheesy ‘80s music video production styles don’t help the tunes either. The low budget production values are really such the life out of the story.

Despite the bumps, the film was at least entertaining. The acting is good. Balk makes us care about her character. We want to see her finally succeed. But it is hard to get around the dated feeling of this 18-year-old production. I recommend it for younger kids who like HARRY POTTER, and for everyone else, I recommend just watching any of the HARRY POTTER films.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network