Reviews
Stone Reader (2002)
enjoyable, but flawed
I enjoyed this movie but the search was too contrived -- in an hour's worth of phone calling, just to the people listed on the book jacket, Dow's location would have been nailed down. Obviously, that wouldn't have made much of a movie, but it is exasperating to watch Mark Moskowitz go through this painstaking, globe-trotting search for someone who wasn't that hard to find.
However, the story of a well-written, well-reviewed book disappearing without a trace, the author's story, and the interesting web of people connected to him make this a satisfying and unique movie.
The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
Ponderous
Good idea for a movie, but this one draaaags. Mick Jagger's acting outshines all others, though James Coburn and Olivia Williams are good. Andy Garcia's character is annoyingly dense, and has a habit of pausing for several seconds before uttering every line. Great looking film -- too bad the script isn't tighter and they didn't cast someone else in the lead.
World Traveler (2001)
don't bother
The worst movie I've seen in a long time. This whole thing rings false, and the Billy Crudup character especially so. The potential for a good story is there, but this movie never comes close to delivering. Every plot element just drifts away.
State of the Union (1948)
Ronald Reagan stole this line.
In the 1980 New Hampshire primary, an exasperated Ronald Reagan blurted out the famous line "I'm paying for this microphone!" when a moderator threaten to turn off the microphones at an unruly debate. It was a hugely successful and defining moment for Reagan, nailing down his image as a man of rugged independence who refused to suffer fools gladly -- to say nothing of his ability to craft a clever quip. However, given his Hollywood roots, it seems more likely he consciously or unconsciously lifted this line from Spencer Tracy's character in "State of the Union."