Tag Archives: Kevin Spacey

The Big Kahuna - * * *

Posted on April 28, 2000 by Madeleine Williams

John Swanbeck directs this 16mm film starring Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli as a trio of salesmen at an industrial lubricans convention in Wichita. Roger Rueff adapted his comic play. Previously titled Hospitality Suite. Capsule Review: Very obviously … Continue reading →

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American Beauty - * * * *

Posted on September 15, 1999 by Madeleine Williams

What is normal? What is ordinary? What is beautiful? American Beauty proposes that appearances are nearly always deceiving, and there’s always more to see if you just look closer. Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is burnt out. At forty-two years old, … Continue reading →

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The Negotiator - * * *

Posted on July 25, 1998 by Madeleine Williams

Like a successful hostage negotiation, hostage negotiation dramas tend to follow a set pattern. As such, most hostage films fall into one of two camps: those where you sympathize with the hostage takers (see Dog Day Afternoon, or Cadillac Man), … Continue reading →

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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - * * *

Posted on November 21, 1997 by Madeleine Williams

John Berendt’s popular nonfiction novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a very difficult book to adapt. Clint Eastwood’s film version might be as good an adaptation of the book as you could hope, but it is … Continue reading →

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L.A. Confidential - * * * *

Posted on September 19, 1997 by Madeleine Williams

It would be easy to label L.A. Confidential a nineties attempt a film noir, but it doesn’t quite fit. That overeager catagorization does a disservice both to the film and to the genre. Sure, the pulpy film takes place in … Continue reading →

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Albino Alligator - * * 1/2*

Posted on December 13, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Kevin Spacey makes his directoral debut with this moody hostage drama. After a botched robbery, three crooks (Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise, and William Fichtner) hide out in a small underground New Orleans bar. Things get tense when the cops arrive … Continue reading →

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A Time to Kill - * * * 1/2*

Posted on July 24, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

A Time to Kill is an outstanding courtroom drama, and easily the best adaptation of one of John Grisham’s legal thrillers. Samuel L. Jackson stars as Carl Lee Hailey, a black lumberyard worker in Clanton, Mississippi, whose little girl is … Continue reading →

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Se7en - * * * *

Posted on September 20, 1995 by Madeleine Williams

Grisly and disturbing, but very, very good. Seven is a thriller about a serial killer obsessed with the seven deadly sins; and the two homicide cops on his trail. Morgan Freeman is the elder cop, seven days from retirement, and … Continue reading →

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The Usual Suspects - * * * 1/2*

Posted on August 16, 1995 by Madeleine Williams

Highly entertaining, highly convoluted whodunnit. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Baldwin and Benicio Del Toro star as five cons who join together after all are picked out for a police lineup. In a series of flashbacks, the film … Continue reading →

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