Gene Shalit

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan and cartoon favorite Bugs Bunny team up with other basketball greats and Looney Tunes characters in this combination animated/live-action feature. Jordan must help the Looney Tunes gang with a basketball game against a group of outer space creatures whose plan, if they win, is to kidnap the Looney Tunes and take them to a failing intergalactic amusement park as the latest attraction. Also starring Academy Award-nominee Bill Murray ('Lost in Translation,' 'Charlie's Angels') and Wayne Knight (TV's 'Seinfeld,' 'Rat Race'). Gene Shalit says this movie is 'for adults, kids, teenagers, women, men, boys, girls, old folks, young folks, Jordan fans, Bill Murray fans, Wayne Knight fans and every Looney Tunes lover who wants to revel in Bugs Bunny and his pals at their looney tuniest.'

Boxoffice superstar and Academy Award-winner Mel Gibson ('Maverick,' 'Braveheart') and Danny Glover ('The Color Purple,' 'Grand Canyon') team up as L.A. cops in the top-grossing action movie that spawned three sequels. Directed by Richard Donner ('Superman,' 'Maverick'), Gibson is a volatile, unregistered risk-taker, known as a 'lethal weapon' by his colleagues. Glover is the conservative detective with a solid reputation. Forced to form an uneasy alliance, they begin to unravel the mystery of an apparent suicide that turns out to be murder -- and more. The New York Times calls this 'a high-voltage thriller which packs an undeniable wallop;' Gene Shalit calls it 'riveting!...a pair of heroes I hope we'll be seeing again;' and Joel Siegel says it's 'a detective thriller that just won't quit...this one is so good it will be the standard for action films all year long!' Co-starring Academy Award-nominee Gary Busey ('The Firm,' 'Under Siege').

n medieval times, a youthful pickpocket befriends a strange knight who is on a mysterious quest.This unlikely duo, accompanied by awatchful hawk, are enveloped in a magical adventure. Matthew Broderick ('The Freshman,' 'Glory'), Academy Award-nominee Michelle Pfeiffer ('Batman Returns,' 'Dangerous Minds') and Rutger Hauer ('Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' 'Blade Runner') star in this medieval romantic adventure, nominated for two Academy Awards. Co-starring John Wood ('Sabrina'). Produced and directed by Richard Donner ('Maverick,' 'Superman'), Siskel & Ebert call this 'fabulous... a magically wonderful movie... a real classic!' The Los Angeles Times says it 'soars... it's enchanted, enthralling, marvelous; a bold, beautiful vision' and Gene Shalit calls it 'amazing... a double popcorn picture that casts a spell, which is why 'Ladyhawke' spells pleasure.'

This high-voltage sequel continues the adventures of Los Angeles detectives Riggs and Murtaugh (Oscar-winner Mel Gibson and Danny Glover) as they try to thwart a smuggling ring of blond South African 'diplomats'. Gibson finds romance this time around, and Academy Award- winner Joe Pesci ('GoodFellas,' 'My Cousin Vinnie') joins the team as fast-talking con artist Leo Getz. 'At the Movies' calls this '...Pure dynamite!...a summer blockbuster with enough humor, excitement and action for two movies,' while Roger Ebert praises '...Terrific... entertaining from one end to the other.' Gene Shalit sums up all the cheers, calling it '...even more fun than the original ...directed at a mile a minute by Richard Donner...lots of laughs.

Preston Sturges is at it again. The ingenious writer-director spins out a sinfully romantic comedy in The Lady Eve, and the 'lady' of the title is Barbara Stanwyck. She's a calculating card shark who fleeces passengers on transatlantic ocean liners. When she discovers that an ingenious young millionaire (Henry Fonda) is on board, the scheming Stanwyck figures he'll be a pushover if she plays her cards right. Sure enough, he does fall for her, but surprise-she also falls for him. When he's tipped off that true romance is not in the cards because she's giving him a fast shuffle, Fonda's fondness fades. Now Stanwyck realizes that if she wants to win him back, she's got to stop her double-dealing, and she does but not before she turns up a few tricks of her own. 'The Lady Eve has snap, crackle and plot and, with famous character actors also on deck, the movie is a winner, hands down.'-Gene Shalit

Gene Shalit reviews the movies.

Oct. 23, 1980: In an interview with TODAY s Gene Shalit, author Maurice Sendak brushes off critics claims that his book Where the Wild Things is too scary for kids and talks about the Brooklyn woman who inspired Really Rosie.

Gene Shalit reviews the war in the Middle East.

Gene Shalit reviews the movies.

Gene Shalit reviews the war in the Middle East.