Peter Boyle
Occupation
Actor
The Cat Returns Review
Good
This rather simplistic entry into the feel-good anime genre comes from Kiroyuki Morita (last seen animating the raunchy Perfect Blue but also responsible for working on the kind-hearted Kiki's Delivery Service). The Cat Returns is Morita's first outing as director, and it's a fair, if ultimately unrealized experience.The story involves young Haru (voiced for the States by Anne Hathaway), who rescues a helpless cat from an oncoming truck, only to find herself in the debt of a feline kingdom she formerly didn't know existed. Haru is awakened one night by a bizarre procession on her street: It's the king of the cats (Tim Curry), bearing gifts. Before she knows it, she's whisked into the world of the cats, where she is transformed into a half-cat/half-person, and is told she will be marrying the cat she saved, who turns out to be the cat prince.
Continue reading: The Cat Returns Review
Death And The Compass Review
Good
The director of Repo Man takes an Argentinian short story by Jorge Luis Borges and brings it to the screen with his curious style. Surrealistic and considerably detailed considering its low budget, the cryptic tale may give you a headache if the jarring editing and fish-eye lenses don't. Peter Boyle is always fun, here as a detective in a city filled with nothing but cops and robbers and few people in between, but Cox's tale isn't nearly the goofy thrill that Repo Man was.
Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story Review
Excellent
Meet Robert Hanssen, a walking contradiction.He's deeply religious (Catholic, four kids) but trades nudie pics of his wife with his friend.
Continue reading: Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story Review
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Review
OK
Scooby and Shaggy save the day in "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" -- or to be more precise, they save the movie. The scaredy-cat dog and his whimpering stoner sidekick get all the laughs (and all the "eeewww!" gags), with such disparity that it's as if a different screenwriter (with half the wit) wrote the balance of the movie.
Alas, James Gunn (who wrote the first "Scooby" movie and last week's clever but dumbed-down "Dawn of the Dead" remake) penned the whole thing -- even the paid product placements for Burger King and the 15-minutes-of-fame sing-along cameo by "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard.
Sigh.
Continue reading: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Review