Review of Mystic Pizza (1988) by Jennifer A — 25 Mar 2006

I'm beginning the rather lengthy task of entering into the database every film I have seen, at least those I have a decent memory of. Some may have the briefest of reviews while many will just have a number. Those films that I consider personal favorites and/or those that have some historical signficance I will add later when I have time for more lengthy reviews.

[b]Mystic Pizza[/b], directed by Donald Petrie, was the first major film role for Julia Roberts. Roberts co-stars as a waitress at a pizza parlor with Lili Taylor and Annabeth Gish. The three women are not sure what they want out of life and we follow their romances in a summer at Mystic. Lightweight, but enjoyable. It's a pretty good introduction to Julia Roberts uneven career.

[b]The Hunger[/b], directed by Tony Scott, is a seductive gothic drama about a vampire named Miriam (Catherine Denevue) who has the capability of bestowing the gift of immortality to her lovers. John (David Bowie) is shocked when he discovers he is not immortal and he begins to age at a rapid rate. Scientest Susan Sarandon soon gets involved. Not particularly loved by critics, I find this to be one of the more fascinating gothic tales. Denevue, Bowie and Sarandon are all very good.

[b]Shanghai Surprise [/b]starred then married Sean Penn and Madonna. The movie flopped just as much as the marriage. Sean Penn's worst moment.

[b]Victory[/b], directed by John Huston, is a sports drama set in a German prisoner of war camp during WWII. The prisoners set to play in the soccer match are also scheming an escape. Stars Max Von Sydow, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and Pele.

[b]Blind Date[/b], directed by Blake Edwards, pairs Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger. It's about as bad as most blind dates.