jgtoms

Striking Distance starts out well, but only seems to get worse as it goes along. There are some good action and mystery elements but not too far into the movie, it begins to telegraph too many moves. For example, anytime that the viewer knows the probable ending 15 minutes into the movie, and anytime the viewer can figure out things that the central character can't, you know you have a movie with problems. There's an obvious red herring and other cheesy plot devices along with lines of dialogue that come off as unintentionally funny (not usually a good thing). The old standby "bad guy keeps coming back from the dead" scene at the end of the movie doesn't help either. Overall, I rated the movie a 5 out of 10, and some may say that was too kind. In a few years I may think the same thing.

I personally thought "Bugsy" was the best film of 1991 and should have beaten "The Silence of the Lambs" for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The movie looks great, has great acting all around and Barry Levinson is in top form. Best of all, "Bugsy" avoids most, if not all, cliches that are usually found in gangster movies. If you want a good solid film about a real life crime figure, this is the one. If you want hackneyed, worn out cliches that go nowhere and leave a feeling of unsatisfaction, I would recommend "Mobsters" or "Billy Bathgate".

This is one of the best musical documentaries ever made. The Rolling Stones decided to put on a huge show at Altamont Speedway near San Francisco. And it was huge. There is one long aerial shot of cars parked along the road that seems to go on forever. While looking at it, one has to wonder how far some people actually walked to see the show. I believe the crowd was estimated at just about the number that attended Woodstock so you know it was huge. Like any good documentary, this one has some drama in addition to the great music the Stones were making in the late 60's and early 70's. One problem was that Mick and the boys decided to put the Hells Angels in charge of security for the event and that did not come without a price. In addition to complaints by Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane (who also played along with The Grateful Dead and others) that some of the Airplane band members were manhandled by Hells Angels, one man in the crowd (right in front of the stage) was knifed to death and this helped to cast a dark cloud over the entire event. It's not exactly jumping off every video store shelf, but if you can find it, get it!