Jack-Nicholson Movie Reviews

This movie has an awful lot of chutzpah, but does not go so far as to try to glamorize communism - at least not as it developed in the early Soviet.

But communism was a hideous and genocidal ideology. And Warren Beatty needed to justify John Reed's (clearly Beatty's alter ego) attachment to it. So he gave Reed something to hate - namely his parents.

Communism was as much about hatred as it was about ideology. This movie unintentionally shows that. The movie treats Reed's parents in a gratuitously ugly manner. I guess Beatty thinks that if you mock the people you hate - they somehow deserve it.

I'm glad this movie was made, because this imaginary autobiography by Warren Beatty's could have been written by a whole class of people in the baby boom generation. It does not hide the hatred at its core. That's a good thing to have as part of the historical record.

If he matures well, Warren Beatty will one day be embarrassed by this movie he made.

This movie is largely based on Reed's moving autobiographical portrait of his personal experiences during the October revolution in his best selling book "Ten Days That Shook The World". The movie opens by exploring Reed's relationship with Keaton's early feminist character, and chronicles their growth and evolution toward a socialist perspective and an eventual commitment to political journalism that took them to the streets of Moscow in the days just preceding the October revolution. Also prominently featured in the movie is Jack Nicholson as Reed's intellectual friend, novelist and playwright Eugene O'Neil. This is a quite entertaining, sophisticated, and historically accurate effort to show America's own flirtation with unionism, socialism and communism and the reaction of more conservative forces within the business and civic community. The exploration of lifestyles and constant questioning of tradition and conformity make this a terrific teaching tool by showing how critically we can look at the lessons of history. Enjoy!

This atmospheric thriller is sure to creep you out with its pacing, eery editing and cinematography (those tracking shots are highly effective), and Jack Nicholson's powerful performance as Jack Torrance. Horror films often tend to divide audiences into genre fans who follow the gore and those who laugh in the face of so-called scares, insisting their own resiliancy to cheap thrills and lamebrain plotting.

Fortunately, "The Shining" doesn't make you take sides, because its chills come from plotting and character study as much as they do from odd sights that will make you jump. It may stray from Stephen King's book and not all of it may make sense, but "The Shining" has so much going for it that you won't mind. It's a gripping and satisfying film experience, and in my opinion, one of the best films of the '80s.

This Warner DVD re-release is definitely the version to get. The fullframe presentation comes at the wishes of Kubrick and the video and audio offer significant improvement over the drab initial release. (Unfortunately, the original Mono audio track has been dropped altogether in favor of an effective 5.1 remix. They could have included both with no problem.)

In the way of extras, there is an engaging half-hour on-set documentary, filmed by Kubrick's daughter Vivian. It provides a candid experience of the film's creation, and interviews with some of the actors. In addition, this DVD re-release includes an audio commentary on the documentary (sort of a "making-of the making-of") by Vivian Kubrick. There's also the spooky trailer, which shows how a movie preview can perfectly pique one's interest in a film, without spoiling (or even saying) much.

The ONLY thing I hate about "The Shining" is Shelly Duvall as Wendy Torrance. She must be one of the worse actresses I've ever seen, next to Britney Spears and Mariah Carrey. I think they should've cast someone else as Wendy Torrance then whiny and pathedic actress Shelly Duvall. :-P

Truthfully the story line is quite annoying. The ... haze isn't really my style but I wanted to see what all the hype was about. Liked the scenery of the guys riding through America. The film sets a mood for the 60's biker ... culture and I can relate to what its trying to say.

People who grew up in the sixties or who can related to the ... counterculture will like this film. Nonetheless, I cannot agree that Easy Rider is the universal all time classic that it is reverred as by all these film societies.

The main idea of the film is freedom. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper take a motorcyle trip across the USA while heading for Mardi Gras. Although this is the destination, Peter Fonda (is looking for something. This something could be America, but you feel it is more profound than that. You receive hints from the things he says to others.

For instance, he and Hopper have stopped at a farm to fix one of the bikes and to eat. After talking with the farmer, Captain USA comments about how great it is to be here on the land doing your own thing.

Jack Nicholson has the best lines of the movie when he explains that we love to talk about freedom, but we are scared to death of people who actually live it. A very important idea considering the war that was going on at the time of this movie.

Again, I highly recommend watching this movie.

Truthfully the story line is quite annoying. The ... haze isn't really my style but I wanted to see what all the hype was about. Liked the scenery of the guys riding through America. The film sets a mood for the 60's biker ... culture and I can relate to what its trying to say.

People who grew up in the sixties or who can related to the ... counterculture will like this film. Nonetheless, I cannot agree that Easy Rider is the universal all time classic that it is reverred as by all these film societies.

The main idea of the film is freedom. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper take a motorcyle trip across the USA while heading for Mardi Gras. Although this is the destination, Peter Fonda (is looking for something. This something could be America, but you feel it is more profound than that. You receive hints from the things he says to others.

For instance, he and Hopper have stopped at a farm to fix one of the bikes and to eat. After talking with the farmer, Captain USA comments about how great it is to be here on the land doing your own thing.

Jack Nicholson has the best lines of the movie when he explains that we love to talk about freedom, but we are scared to death of people who actually live it. A very important idea considering the war that was going on at the time of this movie.

Again, I highly recommend watching this movie.

"Wolf" is a pretty good movie. The makeup and the special effects in the movie aren't some of the best, but they get the job done. Jack Nicholson does a good job of acting and so does Michelle Pfeiffer as Will's new love interest. "Wolf" is a moderately exciting movie, it doesn't have as much blood and gore as you would expect it to have. It also doesn't have as much action as I would've liked to have seen, but it was still an entertaining movie and I recommend anybody who likes horror movies to at least watch "Wolf."

Jack Nicholson plays a middle aged, married, senior book editor for a publishing company. Driving home at night from a business trip in New England, he hits an animal on the road. When he gets out of his car to check on the condition of the animal, he discovers it to be a wolf. What happens next will change the course of his life forever.

When Jack gets back to his office, he is feeling the after effects of his interaction with the wolf. He is also concerned about his job, as his publishing house has been taken over by Christopher Plummer. Jack initially plays his character as a somewhat laid back, nice guy, a good man who doesn't see the knife being plunged into his back by his young, ambition driven underling, played with obsequious perfection by James Spader, until it is too late. Publishing is, indeed, a dog eat dog world.

Betrayed by his underling who has been given his job, Jack finds himself undergoing a subtle, physical metamorphosis. He no longer needs reading glasses, his hearing is extremely acute, and he has a keen, very keen, sense of smell. It is these enhanced senses that lead him to discover that his wife, well played by Kate Nelligan, has shockingly betrayed his love and devotion, causing him to leave her. It is a betrayal that is to have dire consequences for her.

Finding himself more robust and aggressive, literally a new man, Jack goes on the attack and, and with the aid of his loyal underling, played to perfection by David Hyde Pierce, gets his job back. He aggressively asserts himself with Spader and lets him know, in no uncertain terms, who is top dog. There is a memorable scene to this effect. In the process of regaining his life, Jack falls in love with the boss's beautiful daughter, played with gritty charm by Michelle Pfeiffer, and she with him.

Still, Jack finds himself battling his inner demons over his change. The transformation of Jack is subtle, and there is very lttle use of special effects to enhance his metamorphosis. Jack is often able to convey to the viewer what he is undergoing with a flick of the eyebrow, a twitch of the nose, a curl of the lips. It is a wonderful piece of acting and a tribute to the power of suggestion.

Certain events transpire that make Jack fear that his transformation will result in injury to Michelle. She eventually buys into his fear, misinterpreting certain events that take place. What he and she ultimately discover is that they both, in fact, have a great deal to fear, but that their initial fear was misplaced. Look to a great finale.

If you are the type of horror film fan who likes excessive gore, as well as many high tech, special effects, this is not the film for you, as there is very little of that in this film. This is a subtle, multi-layered, symbolic type of horror film that will leave the viewer analyzing what they just saw. It is simply a great werewolf film.

"Wolf" is a pretty good movie. The makeup and the special effects in the movie aren't some of the best, but they get the job done. Jack Nicholson does a good job of acting and so does Michelle Pfeiffer as Will's new love interest. "Wolf" is a moderately exciting movie, it doesn't have as much blood and gore as you would expect it to have. It also doesn't have as much action as I would've liked to have seen, but it was still an entertaining movie and I recommend anybody who likes horror movies to at least watch "Wolf."

Jack Nicholson plays a middle aged, married, senior book editor for a publishing company. Driving home at night from a business trip in New England, he hits an animal on the road. When he gets out of his car to check on the condition of the animal, he discovers it to be a wolf. What happens next will change the course of his life forever.

When Jack gets back to his office, he is feeling the after effects of his interaction with the wolf. He is also concerned about his job, as his publishing house has been taken over by Christopher Plummer. Jack initially plays his character as a somewhat laid back, nice guy, a good man who doesn't see the knife being plunged into his back by his young, ambition driven underling, played with obsequious perfection by James Spader, until it is too late. Publishing is, indeed, a dog eat dog world.

Betrayed by his underling who has been given his job, Jack finds himself undergoing a subtle, physical metamorphosis. He no longer needs reading glasses, his hearing is extremely acute, and he has a keen, very keen, sense of smell. It is these enhanced senses that lead him to discover that his wife, well played by Kate Nelligan, has shockingly betrayed his love and devotion, causing him to leave her. It is a betrayal that is to have dire consequences for her.

Finding himself more robust and aggressive, literally a new man, Jack goes on the attack and, and with the aid of his loyal underling, played to perfection by David Hyde Pierce, gets his job back. He aggressively asserts himself with Spader and lets him know, in no uncertain terms, who is top dog. There is a memorable scene to this effect. In the process of regaining his life, Jack falls in love with the boss's beautiful daughter, played with gritty charm by Michelle Pfeiffer, and she with him.

Still, Jack finds himself battling his inner demons over his change. The transformation of Jack is subtle, and there is very lttle use of special effects to enhance his metamorphosis. Jack is often able to convey to the viewer what he is undergoing with a flick of the eyebrow, a twitch of the nose, a curl of the lips. It is a wonderful piece of acting and a tribute to the power of suggestion.

Certain events transpire that make Jack fear that his transformation will result in injury to Michelle. She eventually buys into his fear, misinterpreting certain events that take place. What he and she ultimately discover is that they both, in fact, have a great deal to fear, but that their initial fear was misplaced. Look to a great finale.

If you are the type of horror film fan who likes excessive gore, as well as many high tech, special effects, this is not the film for you, as there is very little of that in this film. This is a subtle, multi-layered, symbolic type of horror film that will leave the viewer analyzing what they just saw. It is simply a great werewolf film.