Marc Sigoloff

Nothing enhances a movie’s image more than unavailability. The High and the Mighty (1954), starring John Wayne, is finally out on DVD after being out of circulation for many years, but it hardly lives up to its reputation as a lost classic. The High and the Mighty is little more than a “soap opera in […]

Why is the public so obsessed with the private lives of celebrities? Is it really important that Katie Holmes had Tom Cruise jumping on a couch? Is it a big deal that Colin Farrell is trying to stop the release of a private videotape? That practice is more common than you might think, but overexposure […]

Chili Palmer (John Travolta), the mobster who infiltrated the movie business in Get Shorty (1995), has moved on to the music industry in the sequel, Be Cool (2005), Palmer is the epitome of cool, and he seems right at home with the various thugs and lunatics he encounters as he works to further the career […]

When a director finds the perfect actor to personify his vision, it can lead to an interesting collaborative history. The most prominent ongoing director/actor relationship right now is that of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, which has resulted in five films. Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryis their new release, and Depp seemed destined to take […]

Clint Eastwood is the only actor to win the Oscar for directing twice, and his most recent victory, Million Dollar Baby, is just out on DVD. Eastwood stars as an old boxing trainer who reluctantly takes on a female boxer (Hilary Swank) and puts her on the road to a championship. Baby is one of […]

Who is Batman? No, not the character’s secret identity, Bruce Wayne. Who is Christian Bale, the star of the new film Batman Begins? Even after a career spanning 18 years, Bale is a relative unknown. Born in 1974, the Welsh actor first became known to American audiences with his starring role in Steven Spielberg’s Empire […]

Batman definitely has issues, but that’s what sets his character apart from other comic-book heroes. Superman has powers far beyond the capabilities of the mere mortal Bruce Wayne, who moonlights as the crazed vigilante in a bat suit, but there has never been a blander hero in all of fiction. Give me crazy anytime. Batman […]

The remake of the football comedy The Longest Yard is quickly becoming one of the most successful sports movies ever made, and Cinderella Man and Kicking and Screaming are headed for respectable business. This new flurry of movies with sports themes should rejuvenate interest in some older classics, ones that avoid the pitfalls of the […]

Jane Fonda’s appearance in Monster-in-Law, after a 15-year absence, has inspired some extreme responses. Detractors have resurrected the “Hanoi Jane” label because of her anti-war activities during the Vietnam War; her fans treat it as the triumphant return of one of Hollywood’s screen legends. I really can’t support either view. Granted, going to North Vietnam […]

Why are most celebrity biopics as flat as encyclopedia entries? They seldom rise above the level of name-dropping and cameos. It takes a director of the caliber of Martin Scorsese to transcend the normal genre limitations, and The Aviator, Scorsese’s biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, is truly on fire. Nervous intensity is the hallmark […]

Bill Murray is the only former Saturday Night Live star who still knows how to choose a good movie. Whereas his co-stars and replacements generally make the kinds of movies they would have ridiculed on the show, Murray instead has developed a successful career as an indie-film actor. His most recent film, The Life Aquatic […]