Review of Running on Empty (1991) by Kok Hoong F — 26 Jul 2012

In this political melodrama, directed by Sidney Lumet, Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch play married couple Annie and Arthur Pope, who due to their left-wing politics and radical activities, have been on the run for years; as students, they blew up a building and accidentally killed an innocent man. River Phoenix gives an Oscar nominated performance as the teenage son of radical parents in Sidney Lumet's interesting but not entirely satisfying politicial melodrama. How do you explain it to your children, when you take the family dog and put it out into the street and say that it will surely find a home - and then you drive out of town, forever? That's what happens in an early scene of "Running on Empty," and the most chilling thing about it is that the children take it fairly well. They've abandoned family dogs before. And they've left town a lot of times. A touching, forgotten drama about a family of radicals still running from the consequences of their actions. River Phoenix, Lahti and Hirsch all are wonderful.

VERDICT: "In The Zone" - [Mixed Reaction] These kinds of movies are usually movies that had some good things, but some bad things kept it from being amazing. This rating says buy an ex-rental or a cheap price of the DVD to own. If you consider cinema, ask for people's opinion on the film. (Films that are rated 2.5 or 3 stars).