CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xkHaqrVzoGUFi3_uTrVDk4FOCtwjRESjpJMe3fUAE0fBQbLLtCaL6wi35bO4KNeV_IbR3x_AX2txyaXqTCtCectHAMmZTqUjgeDdUFxy7aXJRLls_3bUY2A2fQmwPXVoZvt-_WVxwH-q/s1600/Cloudy-with-a-Chance-of-Meatballs-2-Wallpaper-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xkHaqrVzoGUFi3_uTrVDk4FOCtwjRESjpJMe3fUAE0fBQbLLtCaL6wi35bO4KNeV_IbR3x_AX2txyaXqTCtCectHAMmZTqUjgeDdUFxy7aXJRLls_3bUY2A2fQmwPXVoZvt-_WVxwH-q/s640/Cloudy-with-a-Chance-of-Meatballs-2-Wallpaper-01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2013 <b>cast:</b> Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Will Forte, Neil Patrick Harris, Melissa Sturm <b>rating:</b> ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> “Welcome,” says super genius/surreptitious villain Chester X when the island of food/animal hybrids are gloriously revealed, “to Jurassic Park.”<br /> <br /> Okay, not really, but it’s not hard to miss the JP inspiration during this and another scene: where our lovable gang of underdogs are nearly trampled underfoot by a herd of… well with so many pun-inspired animal/food titles, to name them would take up most of the review…<br /> <br /> There are even more homage situations, including a half built dome liken to the semi-constructed Death Star in RETURN OF THE JEDI and even an oceanic JAWS tribute... And for the really obscure cult cinema aficionados, the bad guy wants all food to become a candy bar wafer… SOYLENT GREEN anyone?<br /> <br /> This sequel to the colorful children's disaster film CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS is more or less a "road movie"... that particular genre has shifted almost entirely to kiddie fare…<br /> <br /> THE CROODS and the last ICE AGE had the same setup: a selected group journey through a mazy, often dangerous location. In this case the recently maligned child genius Flint Lockwood (and friends) must find something that will stop the creation of the mutant food beasts, which is what Hitchcock called a “McGuffin,” an important device that moves the story but doesn't mean squat to the audience...<br /> <br /> After a technological setup, the best scenes occur on the island, a calorie-filled Narnia where the perpetually flowing adventure should keep everyone, of any age, mindlessly entertained.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxUtz5KodcQWQFtvvbmZ6J92_D-L8cqjo5xOfHSSfVUzEbvzgH1xI00U7pLHU9PI8Lo3-HHp_YYTZ-pp98Ffx7EjVVT9wDddiwUn8RpIUMyWhNXMNUm_B7YvPtpkJ5HgvBF8wSOCa5svD/s1600/jurrasicpark.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxUtz5KodcQWQFtvvbmZ6J92_D-L8cqjo5xOfHSSfVUzEbvzgH1xI00U7pLHU9PI8Lo3-HHp_YYTZ-pp98Ffx7EjVVT9wDddiwUn8RpIUMyWhNXMNUm_B7YvPtpkJ5HgvBF8wSOCa5svD/s640/jurrasicpark.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Steven Spielberg film that hugely inspired the second Cloudy...</td></tr> </tbody></table> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B008YI91HS&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00CHVJODE&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00304E5NG&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, computer animated, james caan, kids, neil patrick harris, will forte

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2

year:  2013  cast:  Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Will Forte, Neil Patrick Harris, Melissa Sturm  rating:  *** “Welcome,” says sup...

ENOUGH SAID

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6ZHdPt78kiD1ohIg4VW6_9oiuGQvb9hU_Azs3uCrtkUu6RKF2BjWZJK4lB_cGXAaskdC3wC7Y7_WLCfM50neMygR0ad6W6hdLLw8bz_T2OHshC8Xs08SrbgPbQYIT2tF9k4KT6kRmK5y/s1600/james-gandolfini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6ZHdPt78kiD1ohIg4VW6_9oiuGQvb9hU_Azs3uCrtkUu6RKF2BjWZJK4lB_cGXAaskdC3wC7Y7_WLCfM50neMygR0ad6W6hdLLw8bz_T2OHshC8Xs08SrbgPbQYIT2tF9k4KT6kRmK5y/s640/james-gandolfini.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Toni Collette, Tavi Gevinson rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> There's a 90’s romantic comedy called MR WONDERFUL not too many people remember – probably because it isn’t that good. The plot had Matt Dillon trying to set up with ex wife with one of many blue-collar workmates so that hopefully, after she marries, he won’t have to pay alimony. What does this have to do with ENOUGH SAID, the last movie starring the late James Gandolfini?<br /> <br /> Well in MR WONDERFUL, James played an extremely sweet and shy man who also had a mysterious quality, making you want more… and the scene only lasts a few minutes. That’s the first impression of an actor mostly known for his lethal gruffness as a mafia patriarch in THE SOPRANOS. So it's not a huge surprise that James can play a role with subtle charm and cozy humor – one that doesn’t entail anyone getting “whacked” in the process.<br /> <br /> But our <i>main</i> character is television staple Julia-Louis Dreyfus, who fares pretty well on the big screen as hard working masseuse and single mother, Eva. Her daughter is soon off to college and her best friend suggests she, like in all rom-coms, find a man. There’s only one she <i>kind of</i> likes at a party, although he’s got a weight problem and yet… something clicks.<br /> <br /> Gandolfini plays Albert with casual dignity, and not without a slight edge. Especially after Eva starts picking apart his shortcomings. He can’t figure out the sudden change in this woman whose second date in a backyard ended successfully in the bedroom. But the audience knows full well what’s going on. The twist and plotline are simple enough: Eva’s new client, an earthy poetess who can’t say a good word about her ex husband, is also becoming a pretty good friend. It turns out Catherine Keener’s Marianne was married to Albert, and after hearing so many gripes, ranging from guacamole dip to sexual performance, Eva takes a second (and third and fourth and fifth) glance at the man she thought she really liked.<br /> <br /> While not downright hilarious, the humor's as subtle as the characters, who fit like an old shoe right off the bat. And while it’s not easy picturing them in the romantic sense… like imagining somebody’s parents “doing it”… they're a couple who can be themselves together. Which is the best thing ENOUGH SAID has to offer… And that’s saying something.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002WBZD02&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B005FWBKM0&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00003CXOP&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, james gandolfini, julia louise-dreyfus, romantic comedy, tavi gevinson, toni collette

ENOUGH SAID

year: 2013 cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Toni Collette, Tavi Gevinson rating: *** There's a 90’s romantic comedy call...

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT IN DON JON

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXH55Jkzgqwvn0ny_3Flqi2-zWbo7ibWwDH8mWqMvKobBYBBQZW5XF8VnNe-2I6lTJKVqguL058z2rOcyRea3j9rEy7pW9knwN2YXzPaMrGEp3_IhJVgjOXNr1hyIBfr5YvcuYu7SUx3i/s1600/o-DON-JON-TRAILER-facebook_zpsa316b81e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXH55Jkzgqwvn0ny_3Flqi2-zWbo7ibWwDH8mWqMvKobBYBBQZW5XF8VnNe-2I6lTJKVqguL058z2rOcyRea3j9rEy7pW9knwN2YXzPaMrGEp3_IhJVgjOXNr1hyIBfr5YvcuYu7SUx3i/s640/o-DON-JON-TRAILER-facebook_zpsa316b81e.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Tony Danza, Julianne Moore rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> In most movies, a slick, guiltless womanizer is usually the second banana. From SWINGERS to SIDEWAYS, the main character we can relate to is the gentle, passive guy who learns from the gigolo how to (or how not to) play the ladies… So be prepared for the dude who gets all the “action" to tell the whole story…<br /> <br /> After scoring plenty in a noisy strobing nightclub, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s titular lady killer finds <i>the one</i> who puts the rest to shame… Although Jon, called DON JON since he’s kingpin in the bedroom, has something he likes better than random sex or this new hopeful conquest, and that’s porn.<br /> <br /> Quickly edited scenes of various internet porn not only puts the audience into Jon’s busy brain, but provides director Levitt a creative way to show how we view things: No matter what you're into, thanks to high speed Internet, information is fast, flashy and perpetually omnipresent. But what happens when The Don’s not online?<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlT7sVdTaacpJ1r-j8UtGpevJ9DDJ-XL1mNjNAf67v6-CRuMgqWZd9nAuOJufyEZilKSk_5jKbjdoM1Fr7uNvQAgZiRSBDV57kixoc5D_XZMSmGsJKPVn1XdMRosw-ShCTVPOfMRQL0IY-/s1600/tonydanza.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlT7sVdTaacpJ1r-j8UtGpevJ9DDJ-XL1mNjNAf67v6-CRuMgqWZd9nAuOJufyEZilKSk_5jKbjdoM1Fr7uNvQAgZiRSBDV57kixoc5D_XZMSmGsJKPVn1XdMRosw-ShCTVPOfMRQL0IY-/s640/tonydanza.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A Tony Danza comeback... Why didn't Quentin Tarantino think of that? Did he see GOING APE?</td></tr> </tbody></table> A game-changing relationship with the girl Jon considers a “dime” (perfect 10) is his only complication. Scarlett Johansson’s curvaceous Barbara tries her best to change Jon’s habits, and breaks ground where no other ladies have. First by meeting his family, which includes macho Italian Tony Danza, and then giving Jon forceful advice on how to live: from shopping to cleaning house, she has<i> all </i>the answers. But it turns out Barbara’s merely a distraction to an underlying “issue” that must be resolved…<br /> <br /> The initially platonic relationship with night school older lady Ester (Julianne Moore) attempts to change Jon’s outlook for the good… and that’s subjective. The film’s sexually charged, potentially limitless, surprisingly insightful frolic – captured in vivid, frantic motion by a promising first time director – takes backseat to an attempted bittersweet romance that winds up crashing the party: Oh well, it was fun while it lasted…<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B009MO5E10&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B007D0FW3U&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000055ZF8&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, joseph gordon-levitt, julianne moore, romantic comedy, scarlett johansson, tony danza

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT IN DON JON

year: 2013 cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Tony Danza, Julianne Moore rating: *** In most movies, a slick, guiltless wom...

RON HOWARD DIRECTS RUSH STARRING CHRIS HEMSWORTH

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIbZPKW9l4xVugqp4JGJejyY3pvok4c0W_mqXYhJwzxFv1WxGjRbecVQx5ERWQC2Tj2qGVWo2n5a6Hx4x5iP20Y-i5MP0oqivTJkRtq7DxXreXSVexZTFLXgRaBtTPcOGFGXOr_PtS_lp/s1600/rush-ronhoward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIbZPKW9l4xVugqp4JGJejyY3pvok4c0W_mqXYhJwzxFv1WxGjRbecVQx5ERWQC2Tj2qGVWo2n5a6Hx4x5iP20Y-i5MP0oqivTJkRtq7DxXreXSVexZTFLXgRaBtTPcOGFGXOr_PtS_lp/s640/rush-ronhoward.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara rating: ** </td></tr> </tbody></table> It’s been a while since Ron Howard’s first theatrically released motion picture as a director. That was the Roger Corman produced/low-budget cult flick GRAND THEFT AUTO. And now he’s returned to speeding cars but a lot more seriously, and it’s a true story: RUSH centers on the rivalry between two racers who could not be more different, yet both share a heavy dose of navel-gazing narcissism...<br /> <br /> Chris Hemsworth plays James Hunt with the kind of polarizing, unapologetic devil-may-care attitude that makes it nearly impossible to root for the man. With so much confidence and so many girlfriends, why does he need our support? Other than vomiting before each race, he's more of a... well... superhero than human being. And then there's the not so perfect looking fella more professionally in-tuned to the racing life. Enter Daniel Brühl’s Nicki Lauda, with a chip on his shoulder the size of Hunt’s nighttime libido.<br /> <br /> Ron Howard has made a grungy biopic with a realistic, no-nonsense aura but something is missing. While we learn from the start that Lauda is the best in the world, and Hunt is right behind with more hunger to surpass the man he describes several times as a “rat,” we never learn enough about either, deep down, to make their stint on the rip-roaring Indy 500, composed of a year-long globe-spanning circuit shown in speedy montage sequences, really matter.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UVaSBFhMp1LJ2U4_oigKGuHMQUTk2Xg-0GfKMm0Ussj5qPwNWRX_zUgtRxfWLNZG5lZkqpM3umS5XCye0FYh46NhcZJNBG1sVXtpT_PGJ3_EKIm3JR9ZuWmuE4Jd8pAk2MTaTmPYBAXn/s1600/rush-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UVaSBFhMp1LJ2U4_oigKGuHMQUTk2Xg-0GfKMm0Ussj5qPwNWRX_zUgtRxfWLNZG5lZkqpM3umS5XCye0FYh46NhcZJNBG1sVXtpT_PGJ3_EKIm3JR9ZuWmuE4Jd8pAk2MTaTmPYBAXn/s640/rush-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Hemsworth with Daniel Brühl in Ron Howard's RUSH</td></tr> </tbody></table> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004NJC0J8&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00000ILBL&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004R6JG7Q&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, chris hemsworth, race car, ron howard, sport

RON HOWARD DIRECTS RUSH STARRING CHRIS HEMSWORTH

year: 2013 cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara rating: ** It’s been a while since Ron Howard’s first...

BEN AFFLECK AS GEORGE REEVES AS SUPERMAN IN HOLLYWOODLAND

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WGr0IFNkouTLgWzlrdvFlqg0y5iciTBYwYszTCdvO6hXCEHezFosC1NmbNOA4_7EaoXM_MLZEEBpZm-tKplTcIRbFh0cbTUTGe4Sm6jbx9pbXrX6Yat8WMH46VM_egBwvKjNCEszBkW4/s1600/h1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WGr0IFNkouTLgWzlrdvFlqg0y5iciTBYwYszTCdvO6hXCEHezFosC1NmbNOA4_7EaoXM_MLZEEBpZm-tKplTcIRbFh0cbTUTGe4Sm6jbx9pbXrX6Yat8WMH46VM_egBwvKjNCEszBkW4/s640/h1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2006 cast: Ben Affleck, Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Kathleen Robertson, Lois Smith rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> For all Dark Knight fans furious over the casting of Ben Affleck in the upcoming BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, he did convincingly play a superhero, or rather, an actor playing a superhero, with style and finesse…<br /> <br /> So put your DAREDEVIL phobia aside and check out HOLLYWOODLAND, a biopic combined with Film Noir about actor George Reeves, star of the original SUPERMAN television show and who may or may not have committed suicide, giving Affleck the chance of, at that time, returning to indie form after bombing as a big box office superstar…<br /> <br /> At one point, before his directorial/starring successes with THE TOWN and the Oscar winning ARGO, Affleck was no longer allowed to play in the A-list <i>reindeer games</i>...<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-GxDF3lskJC2_0DuInS1dDfv8k9twZo8VhonIXPaqgV_vQEqhBShroaK1lbSKVTz8QER0LLHwCU2yJwSMp2NLQH_oEWXSH20mMrOuey9uSsbJU1B7lfFIttrbb3Pz9U56lCL6YP608dK/s1600/h2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-GxDF3lskJC2_0DuInS1dDfv8k9twZo8VhonIXPaqgV_vQEqhBShroaK1lbSKVTz8QER0LLHwCU2yJwSMp2NLQH_oEWXSH20mMrOuey9uSsbJU1B7lfFIttrbb3Pz9U56lCL6YP608dK/s640/h2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I don't mind the transformation, but I always lose a contact lens."</td></tr> </tbody></table> Enter the struggling, melancholy Reeves, a square-jawed character actor whose most prominent role was a brief scene in GONE WITH THE WIND. Like anyone in the biz, he desperately yearned for a game-changing cinematic opportunity, and finally landed a part he didn’t want – as Clark Kent, the mild-mannered newspaper reporter who is really, beneath a stiff suit and horn-rimmed glasses, the “greatest” superhero of them all.<br /> <br /> The best scenes have Reeves conflicted with the show's success, having to appease unpredictable women while keeping a good image for the children who worship him. But since the story goes back and forth in time, much of the film centers on rogue private eye/gumshoe Louis Simo...<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnNA2yOU4X-7duVPZuumtWXm6vVA8IQ08ygUjo9lX3j_RrsEZh4Xp9qR8EKF9UddyerjFyDwQNJjAEgve0GYqzu3sWSQTZknYoujV8baG2I4uaUAay6hpfKTSvS3sUms5jAqRQpWyvxmE/s1600/h4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnNA2yOU4X-7duVPZuumtWXm6vVA8IQ08ygUjo9lX3j_RrsEZh4Xp9qR8EKF9UddyerjFyDwQNJjAEgve0GYqzu3sWSQTZknYoujV8baG2I4uaUAay6hpfKTSvS3sUms5jAqRQpWyvxmE/s640/h4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Private Dick Adrien Brody confidently questions Kathleen Robertson</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> A sleek, manipulative Adrian Brody... who's told<i> the world doesn’t need any more Ralph Meeker types </i> right off the bat... is a pretty good snoop, but his character is much too convinced – way early on – that Reeves was murdered by his fiancé rather than a self-inflicting gun shot, making him more of a conspiracy theory mouthpiece than an ambiguous pawn gathering clues.<br /> <br /> Particular scenes involving Simo shrugging from one location to the next, in the usual Noir fashion, tend to drag in this entertaining but overlong project. Making the sporadic backstory about George Reeves and his fledgling career, even when he was on top of the world, that much better.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13L9jTHamPfYo8lJRikU7Bn3t0uB4NV-Tgippr4iXGkSwrdMCvF0qk63uUdXtryDP7lkJnOZHQKAmGtAhOXT_oLcioUb_JbQvXSthzC_wuPwZpcz1fbvC4qFrGAtnk-NrUm3Fckoj-6PQ/s1600/h5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13L9jTHamPfYo8lJRikU7Bn3t0uB4NV-Tgippr4iXGkSwrdMCvF0qk63uUdXtryDP7lkJnOZHQKAmGtAhOXT_oLcioUb_JbQvXSthzC_wuPwZpcz1fbvC4qFrGAtnk-NrUm3Fckoj-6PQ/s640/h5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superman with the legs of Mr Fantastic</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_irBaiYbbfgTXP010SivYyiySEoKLqPoKyOJtRv7CEt-xEoetCHHoOuTWDs9SOG6xjEEljczWXf7-b2YmqzcGYPjP_-MJNdTS7WjGMmfcu7AifMshy6w6pF2yOMr9u0RdqsNNQXoYhOo/s1600/h6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_irBaiYbbfgTXP010SivYyiySEoKLqPoKyOJtRv7CEt-xEoetCHHoOuTWDs9SOG6xjEEljczWXf7-b2YmqzcGYPjP_-MJNdTS7WjGMmfcu7AifMshy6w6pF2yOMr9u0RdqsNNQXoYhOo/s640/h6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No one punches a horse in this town... Take that, Mongo!"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zkX9-9MIgHIC71OeI5f2VeHDhZsrBf5dgfbRXoQV2U3VmItf2-MIzR1aYnuTKla5VSNd3u36HFh2wLRRUOZV2_fpaekcm-5nDjQQnacFXbBobOzRmN1EWExeSVL7GLZTvwJrnnukAz6p/s1600/h7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zkX9-9MIgHIC71OeI5f2VeHDhZsrBf5dgfbRXoQV2U3VmItf2-MIzR1aYnuTKla5VSNd3u36HFh2wLRRUOZV2_fpaekcm-5nDjQQnacFXbBobOzRmN1EWExeSVL7GLZTvwJrnnukAz6p/s640/h7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Able to leap tall... wooden fences in a single bound!"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000A5046K&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00BHMEALA&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000KWZ7JC&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

adrien brody, ben affleck, biopic, bob hoskins, kathleen robertson, neo noir, superhero, zeroes

BEN AFFLECK AS GEORGE REEVES AS SUPERMAN IN HOLLYWOODLAND

year: 2006 cast: Ben Affleck, Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Kathleen Robertson, Lois Smith rating: *** For all Dark Knight fans furious over...

PRISONERS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclk0svElJHM3_aEulKWZ1RfzHMxY-FVCeXYwLoW0I8oM6GIkvn_pjAeyApu7kRsPQ2T62eR-8rEDHdONlZRvZElwc-gQwQWrHZKG58M__VDBSZ67vEf1YVltPF0UqpPeikMh86d2f5v5R/s1600/Prisoners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclk0svElJHM3_aEulKWZ1RfzHMxY-FVCeXYwLoW0I8oM6GIkvn_pjAeyApu7kRsPQ2T62eR-8rEDHdONlZRvZElwc-gQwQWrHZKG58M__VDBSZ67vEf1YVltPF0UqpPeikMh86d2f5v5R/s640/Prisoners.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Paul Dano rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Within the first half of PRISONERS it’s obvious the title fits just about every character, and not all in the literal sense…<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jXPu9SRIX60NbIR9N9tsBXD9KS9LghClcQdtcgI14QNxiHXseXmYBl5K2QJq9NeOkYoWBZwukxYeuyU6AIAiTr32z7gTlBBNIlfSATw5lJzcw3SQGp1mm-KwRwpvMIXDpBVepMwWBwQ/s1600/Prisoners-film-still-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jXPu9SRIX60NbIR9N9tsBXD9KS9LghClcQdtcgI14QNxiHXseXmYBl5K2QJq9NeOkYoWBZwukxYeuyU6AIAiTr32z7gTlBBNIlfSATw5lJzcw3SQGp1mm-KwRwpvMIXDpBVepMwWBwQ/s1600/Prisoners-film-still-008.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hugh Jackman</td></tr> </tbody></table> Hugh Jackman’s Keller Dover is an extreme, narrow-minded carpenter, father of a son and daughter: the latter abducted (along with her friend) in mysterious circumstances, throwing several people into emotional and mental chaos...<br /> <br /> Emotional for the Dover family and mental for the officer in charge of the case, a tattooed, rapidly blinking Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki, who spends more time following Keller – who has his mind made up – than the few possible leads.<br /> <br /> All the characters are flawed, troubled. This makes Loki’s treadmill search more interesting within the film's contained, claustrophobic atmosphere forcing our withered hero to feel as captivated, or rather, captured as Paul Dano’s Alex Jones, a simple-minded young man that Keller holds hostage, resulting in bouts of grueling torture to get answers for his daughter’s vanishing.<br /> <br /> While there are an abundance of red-herrings to distract Loki (and the audience) from the real culprit, prolonging a two-and-a-half hour melodrama that could have fit in a more fashionable two, and many of the side-characters eventually become peripheral and insignificant, the intensely sparse performances of Jackman and Gyllenhaal exceed the villain-revealing/monologue-spouting climax, resulting in yet another (semi) ambiguous ending: only this time it doesn’t seem artsy or pretentious.   <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002CMV1N4&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0002IQLHQ&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00EAW7T1W&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, drama, hugh jackman, jake gyllenhaal, neo noir, paul dano

PRISONERS

year: 2013 cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Paul Dano rating: *** Within the first half of PRISONERS i...

HORROR NOIR THE HOWLING REVIEW HAS RELOCATED

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrKYdgPBCQgKP2c7vh6V_zJbN39A5HRqrxYUIy1yaeTI13S4MricAchJd3rjRFGSIzu7tnj9zakNpyOC9i7wAI2eDMWGFx7ArxQdHX-wSWmWGvmc_A-Saq7QqD2Hz1fCCnm4QSyx5vUVE/s1600/h5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrKYdgPBCQgKP2c7vh6V_zJbN39A5HRqrxYUIy1yaeTI13S4MricAchJd3rjRFGSIzu7tnj9zakNpyOC9i7wAI2eDMWGFx7ArxQdHX-wSWmWGvmc_A-Saq7QqD2Hz1fCCnm4QSyx5vUVE/s640/h5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/10/HOWLING.html"><span style="font-size: large;">THE HOWLING HORROR NOIR REVIEW IS NOT MISSING LIKE EDDIE'S BODY'S, IT'S MOVED AND CLICK THIS ENTIRE SENTENCE TO FIND IT</span></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

belinda balaski, christopher stone, dee wallace, dennis dugan, dick miller, eighties, elisabeth brooks, horror, joe dante, john carradine, kevin mccarthy, neo noir

HORROR NOIR THE HOWLING REVIEW HAS RELOCATED

THE HOWLING HORROR NOIR REVIEW IS NOT MISSING LIKE EDDIE'S BODY'S, IT'S MOVED AND CLICK THIS ENTIRE SENTENCE TO FIND IT ...

MANDINGO

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdoJD8NNRIcHVzMOmZI_Ivqkt2uGTd40WWiwPc00UspfG5gQopbCwfvRT6NBllnF6c1oCmsDzeJxIrv9s7upFn-yjrAe7LY9vq8hsTIME7SvjSTdclcd2ENUVZ0V3y0rx0Gy7zkaF8AU/s1600/mandingo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdoJD8NNRIcHVzMOmZI_Ivqkt2uGTd40WWiwPc00UspfG5gQopbCwfvRT6NBllnF6c1oCmsDzeJxIrv9s7upFn-yjrAe7LY9vq8hsTIME7SvjSTdclcd2ENUVZ0V3y0rx0Gy7zkaF8AU/s1600/mandingo.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">year: 1975 cast: Perry King, Susan George, Ken Norton, James Mason, Richard Ward rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> What makes this an infamously guilty pleasure, and an extremely politically incorrect movie, might not have been intentional. Perhaps the writers wanted to show slave owners in the deep South exactly how they were, or how they hadn’t been betrayed in other films or TV shows – as completely unapologetic and comfortable with their lifestyle.<br /> <br /> For example, James Mason’s plantation owner Warren Maxwell laying his feet on a slave kid’s chest to get rid of his rheumatism. This is but one example of how MANDINGO takes racism to a completely new level: since owning slaves was legal, it’s shown in a workaday fashion.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke7VkJDfJfcijFHFIQtSwaHLsqb2naDu_A00brKyFRnUp040MQ9A4jTG7RvWfgrCCVwTjH8YA7hI7yEgjgAu_OTg_RnGZ8t1rvIeTxx7TpKsqb-jhOcAVFrcCkly9TCv5zStm76K1hChO/s1600/Mandingo5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke7VkJDfJfcijFHFIQtSwaHLsqb2naDu_A00brKyFRnUp040MQ9A4jTG7RvWfgrCCVwTjH8YA7hI7yEgjgAu_OTg_RnGZ8t1rvIeTxx7TpKsqb-jhOcAVFrcCkly9TCv5zStm76K1hChO/s1600/Mandingo5.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The recently departed Ken Norton as Mede the Mandingo fighting slave</td></tr> </tbody></table> But after the first fifteen minutes of blunt dialogue there’s a pretty decent story involving Warren's son Hammond, played by Perry King, who reluctantly marries his cousin Blanche, brought to life with vicious melancholy by STRAW DOGS ingénue Susan George. Blanche is jealous of her husband’s slave “wench” and, basking in rueful isolation within the dilapidated mansion, she throws a violent tantrum that is quite chilling.<br /> <br /> The real stuff occurs when Hammond purchases a Mandingo Fighting slave, Mede. Real life boxer Ken Norton proves his worth as an actor and is especially good in the intense fight-to-the-death scenes that make you forget about all the other stuff, unfairly categorized by film historians as camp cinema… Perhaps they were just too stunned to take this seriously, and too ashamed to really enjoy it. Either way, this is a film that could have only come out of the 1970's. That alone makes it truly worthwhile. <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0N6OJJ98qcJLC_yAHaUhYHv8-Q4ZRuuWHTjPg1rRee2YgZQ_5DeDFvHK2dF7TtiemaplRESPoxo1DJLYdbUMkYixX-uEhlyz6FTEAf402coIWS1-1zmhawPZ8Fo3aYNTdJgnKGTMqis3/s1600/mandingo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0N6OJJ98qcJLC_yAHaUhYHv8-Q4ZRuuWHTjPg1rRee2YgZQ_5DeDFvHK2dF7TtiemaplRESPoxo1DJLYdbUMkYixX-uEhlyz6FTEAf402coIWS1-1zmhawPZ8Fo3aYNTdJgnKGTMqis3/s1600/mandingo.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As Ridiculously Exploitation as can be... James Mason uses a very weird way to get rid of rheumatism </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

blaxploitation, exploitation, james mason, ken norton, perry king, seventies, susan george

MANDINGO

year: 1975 cast: Perry King, Susan George, Ken Norton, James Mason, Richard Ward rating: *** What makes this an infamously guilty pleasu...

JACK BLACK DELIVERS AS BERNIE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPshrl4cGADGI_Egb1zCTiKOmf9v56uGRV4a1GtZRVbflVi-NvQ2jGFfQcDhePawBM7xPeqmOThVlIZW8UNYIOKr3ed0iNC8u3JnBCVQ5pFKFrL6Eq2ktz8qKknpEIczfHnBcCY2IJHsk/s1600/jack+black+bernie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPshrl4cGADGI_Egb1zCTiKOmf9v56uGRV4a1GtZRVbflVi-NvQ2jGFfQcDhePawBM7xPeqmOThVlIZW8UNYIOKr3ed0iNC8u3JnBCVQ5pFKFrL6Eq2ktz8qKknpEIczfHnBcCY2IJHsk/s640/jack+black+bernie.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2012 cast: Jack Black, Shirley MacClaine, Matthew McConaughey, Sonny Davis rating: ****</td></tr> </tbody></table> BERNIE is a very pleasant surprise, and a nice way for Jack Black to show anyone not familiar with his music career he has a really soulful voice, and, as a usually comedic actor, that he can do more than goof off.<br /> <br /> Black plays a real life small town Texas mortician Bernie Tiede, thoroughly beloved by all the residents, especially old ladies/widows grieving their late husbands, who Bernie not only prepares for burial but gives each ceremony the sort of personal touch, including hymns and doves, that you won’t find anywhere else.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63lGHE5ljDNIN078-14mPiZ4CYM0hxheGUjLblJ_lpJBD5odrnPl9MuOnqp-hRZiR03g6TU1d1kjgxZVJPgaIB3MFhxKddRJvUVoGsYj3dpIGlH3oSFRZJw4zYlOXUlhtTGLmhbnFPZqP/s1600/bernie3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63lGHE5ljDNIN078-14mPiZ4CYM0hxheGUjLblJ_lpJBD5odrnPl9MuOnqp-hRZiR03g6TU1d1kjgxZVJPgaIB3MFhxKddRJvUVoGsYj3dpIGlH3oSFRZJw4zYlOXUlhtTGLmhbnFPZqP/s640/bernie3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine in BERNIE</td></tr> </tbody></table> Of all the widows, one is worth the most money... she’s also the meanest. Shirley MacClaine plays curmudgeon Marjorie Nugget, heir to big oil money Bernie spends like it’s going out of style but not on selfish things: The town receives gifts ranging from new cars to church buildings to children’s swing sets.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> The best scenes occur during the buildup, introducing Bernie and the small town, and then as he puts up with the bullying Marjorie as she annoyingly chews food and orders menial tasks – all the while they vacation in New York City and Europe. And he’s able to spend even more after her death, which isn’t such a natural cause.<br /> <br /> After Bernie gets caught, this pseudo documentary/dark comedy… with townspeople providing insight in almost every other scene (Sonny Davis' summary of Texas is a hoot)... enters the courtroom where Matthew McConaughey, playing it up as the local D.A., does his best to put poor Bernie behind bars.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4jS51rJz2ak3RAnqG2OAodwRz7-Caf8pQu7ap80aAdYNAops06XiPeCh3_D-Aw9Mwze-dNujb1Rm42svXy1rxTB9xnUZU8pcbR16fQL6NFC_hOHTQgx7uMTEqNEonDL940eU2WpZq5gL/s1600/bernie1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4jS51rJz2ak3RAnqG2OAodwRz7-Caf8pQu7ap80aAdYNAops06XiPeCh3_D-Aw9Mwze-dNujb1Rm42svXy1rxTB9xnUZU8pcbR16fQL6NFC_hOHTQgx7uMTEqNEonDL940eU2WpZq5gL/s640/bernie1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matthew McConaughey promises to uphold justice in BERNIE</td></tr> </tbody></table> McConaughey, while a talented actor, takes a little getting used to during interview sequences... When he's first introduced with forced "homophobic" rants and macho bias, he deviates from the documentary style and seems like he's doing his best to parody small town mentality. But as the trial begins he gets more realistic and intense, and as a District Attorney heading an open/shut case, extremely logical.<br /> <br /> It's never quite clear whether this quirky biopic sides with Bernie Tiede or not... On the one hand his victim is shown as an annoying witch the entire town wants dead, yet Bernie often comes off as a cartoonish Christian dolt oblivious to reality.<br /> <br /> Either way you'll enjoy Jack Black’s performance, showing more range than ever as a character that, although right up front and open as a book, is still quite mysterious. <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkvzaIEwZr_fzxuHYaltId02MZyB_21Cr366xiSw9eBMgSUSAVw2bVzoIxQIfsZJT-bY1AYjfYMiNqtHQgyUgpDyhSg401vHZxpsyvVUkixzT8LhnW2dRc_M_5hA5Hjn1Q0ot7uYXqoaY/s1600/bernie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkvzaIEwZr_fzxuHYaltId02MZyB_21Cr366xiSw9eBMgSUSAVw2bVzoIxQIfsZJT-bY1AYjfYMiNqtHQgyUgpDyhSg401vHZxpsyvVUkixzT8LhnW2dRc_M_5hA5Hjn1Q0ot7uYXqoaY/s640/bernie.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sonny Davis steals the interview sequences scenes in BERNIE</td></tr> </tbody></table> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00007AJFB&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000I9X6HC&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B008PF8Q8U&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2012, biopic, carl davis, dark comedy, jack black, matthew mcconaughey, pseudo documentary, shirley maclaine

JACK BLACK DELIVERS AS BERNIE

year: 2012 cast: Jack Black, Shirley MacClaine, Matthew McConaughey, Sonny Davis rating: **** BERNIE is a very pleasant surprise, and a ...

OUT OF THE HAT REVIEW OF 'TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE'

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMiWrphaX1tkVRI9AATMEmm4rA9_QrydISPc9OYiaEADI8QPpXXxSzbrFr8LkCtr7CCLqc5v4Rysa87UVvaRCcP7eP-h7kV0L-pNtmUK76t9S2Y6MArpVK4pSMZSg9f6QSgcwcvI7uxs/s1600/twilight+zone+movie+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMiWrphaX1tkVRI9AATMEmm4rA9_QrydISPc9OYiaEADI8QPpXXxSzbrFr8LkCtr7CCLqc5v4Rysa87UVvaRCcP7eP-h7kV0L-pNtmUK76t9S2Y6MArpVK4pSMZSg9f6QSgcwcvI7uxs/s400/twilight+zone+movie+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1983 cast: Vic Morrow, John Lithgow rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> The tragic deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two children aside, this theatrical version of Rod Serling’s groundbreaking television series has a few other problems...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> The first story, directed by John Landis, centers on Morrow as a racist loudmouth spouting epitaphs in a bar – overheard by a group of tough black dudes who, if they only beat him up when he walked out the door, would have deleted any need for the character’s descent into various historical settings where racism reigned: From walking a ledge as a Jew in Nazi Germany to sloshing through swamps as a Vietnamese native (the tragic helicopter sequence was filmed there), Morrow discovers sticks and stones have nothing on words.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02HIPgLFx4hEd9_maGlmtnQbeuWzf8yOooMSFGgjUVuIo66_2PFJPw497r14EpWApZMYdknnVuvTPYMm3YZpk-YweZwqZq9GfayuyInI3Eb6F4EGd-7mUc2K9EDE37u18Uddj_bksdec/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-13+at+1.17.25+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02HIPgLFx4hEd9_maGlmtnQbeuWzf8yOooMSFGgjUVuIo66_2PFJPw497r14EpWApZMYdknnVuvTPYMm3YZpk-YweZwqZq9GfayuyInI3Eb6F4EGd-7mUc2K9EDE37u18Uddj_bksdec/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-13+at+1.17.25+AM.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not Shining Here</td></tr> </tbody></table> The story itself is somewhat intriguing – you’ll wonder what’ll happen next – but the ultimate punishment of the main character, as unlikable as he might be, is too forced and would have been much different had there been no on-set tragedy: Vic Morrow's Bill Conner could have learned his lesson and saved the Vietnamese children.<br /> <br /> The worst of the lot is Steven Spielberg’s KICK THE CAN. Making for an eerily nostalgic fable on the original series, Speilberg's take, with his flowing signature style overdosing to the point of seeming like a Spielbergland Theme Park, is a mushy melodrama centering on rest home old-timers who yearn for youth. The discontented coots turn into youngsters that seem part of a corny stage play. The child actors, instead of simply being children, are doing imitations of their older selves, so the entire episode feels like a parody. Veteran icon Scatman Crothers, as the mysterious traveler who wields the magic, tries his best but to no avail.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWuXfHJbM1eLPVDRPnu29ps-SKKxPMyEk4oKjqpAOKyO_mL38wm0g-hdUvYVsOoSIWNKgnSYyQ9v_WnEhufvRjx1UHIQvtca8YSqHs-6QzpSdaNECsjxM7MbdwxVYvX09GRUrkU4nwI8/s1600/twilight+zone+movie3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWuXfHJbM1eLPVDRPnu29ps-SKKxPMyEk4oKjqpAOKyO_mL38wm0g-hdUvYVsOoSIWNKgnSYyQ9v_WnEhufvRjx1UHIQvtca8YSqHs-6QzpSdaNECsjxM7MbdwxVYvX09GRUrkU4nwI8/s400/twilight+zone+movie3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bart Simpson's voice actress stalked by killer cartoons</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> Leading to the third entry as THE HOWLING director Joe Dante re-imagines one of the coolest episodes of the original series. Remember Billy Mumy as a sinister child holding his family, and the residents of a small town, at bay with evil powers to send chosen people into the Cornfield?<br /> <br /> The boy this time around is, like director Dante himself, heavily into cartoons. His house has a TV in each room and his family makes sure everything goes his way. When the maniacal brat brings home a beautiful passerby (Kathleen Quinlin), she witnesses this strange behavior. Although it can get too bizarre for its own good, Dante builds suspense nicely, setting a taut vibe where anything can happen – including the actress who’d later voice Bart Simpson being hunted by demonic cartoons: inside a television set!<br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXK8okdn1deax0kWmhXxnZX6EyshQ0IFIQAK6T1vu75X19f1j7NjOJkJcWFG8hK5YU3ZW5rkYoD3cNmRI3jEC7Vg5TP4wycbMF0SucFVJUtXyVfFYlBnvDlTJaj4oGv_HLei2eO5RZEmx/s1600/twilight%252Bzone%252Bmovie%252B6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="324" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXK8okdn1deax0kWmhXxnZX6EyshQ0IFIQAK6T1vu75X19f1j7NjOJkJcWFG8hK5YU3ZW5rkYoD3cNmRI3jEC7Vg5TP4wycbMF0SucFVJUtXyVfFYlBnvDlTJaj4oGv_HLei2eO5RZEmx/s400/twilight%252Bzone%252Bmovie%252B6.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Monster on the wing in the best segment</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Leading to the last, and by far the best, episode: John Lithgow (reprising William Shatner) plays a man terrified to fly. Stuck on a plane during a raging lighting-packed thunderstorm, he sporadically witnesses a scheming creature on the wing.<br /> <br /> MAD MAX director George Miller paints an intense canvas. From the claustrophobic fuselage to the storm-struck exterior where the monster wreaks havoc, each element adds nightmarish touches of one man’s descent into a personal hell. Lithgow turns-in the best performance, balancing manic desperation and edgy pathos, eventually facing off with the sinister ALIEN-looking Gremlin. And although Landis's first story fails in content... His prologue/epilogue involving hitchhiker Dan Aykroyd getting a ride from nice guy Albert Brooks – jovially discussing old TV shows like THE OUTER LIMITS and, yes, THE TWILIGHT ZONE – is both humorous and ultimately intense, leading to a terrific twist ending... Making you forget the first half was practically, and tragically, a complete throwaway. <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE1mllhCnTZ02nkMXRKDwqFzu9O5niSKb_SBGhcYGVa9CrpAjJlaCUHCcwEn7oMElSaNZfDRxSl0cZcD7kQ5IxrDNXOoi-1RwjG1hxeXNEN0lD3VSN4M6f1E7TtbX6Kk7JsGlgXrjcus/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE1mllhCnTZ02nkMXRKDwqFzu9O5niSKb_SBGhcYGVa9CrpAjJlaCUHCcwEn7oMElSaNZfDRxSl0cZcD7kQ5IxrDNXOoi-1RwjG1hxeXNEN0lD3VSN4M6f1E7TtbX6Kk7JsGlgXrjcus/s1600/13.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The demonic alligator creature just ate Bart Simpson...</td></tr> </tbody></table>

dan aykroyd, eighties, joe dante, john landis, john lithgow, remake, rod serling, scatman crothers, science-fiction, steven spielberg, vic morrow

OUT OF THE HAT REVIEW OF 'TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE'

year: 1983 cast: Vic Morrow, John Lithgow rating: *** The tragic deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two children aside, this theatrical ...

INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_1ZmgDhsGyYmjJFYcTG2zGJOy5iDMGfQzvKDEvHxPNGmo3a1R_U7zyngmZnsrtbMtJwu8uLlXzsqPI-N8zKgJ9pMpCLyfhQosbuet2_HVdqOX0V6ihXYYh_nEPiEgOvCuKR7D0gH8I4r/s1600/insidious2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_1ZmgDhsGyYmjJFYcTG2zGJOy5iDMGfQzvKDEvHxPNGmo3a1R_U7zyngmZnsrtbMtJwu8uLlXzsqPI-N8zKgJ9pMpCLyfhQosbuet2_HVdqOX0V6ihXYYh_nEPiEgOvCuKR7D0gH8I4r/s640/insidious2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey, Angus Sampson rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Having avoided the first INSIDIOUS, this is an attempt to review CHAPTER 2, a haunted house horror flick that goes beyond sudden jolts and cheap thrills with a creative, multi-layered storyline…<br /> <br /> Centering again on the Lambert family, we begin with Patrick Wilson’s Josh as a young boy. Like the poor kid in SIXTH SENSE he sees dead people, and, according to paranormal expert Ellise, played by Lin Shaye, one wraith has stubbornly latched on, making the “Why don’t they just move out of the house?” question completely futile: The scares are effective, and most importantly, so are the chills. The difference being: scares occur for the moment while chills are omnipresent. But what really makes this work is the eclectic cast, sharing equal time in a story building mystery along with terror and, thanks to neurotic ghost hunters Specs and Tucker, a few worthy laughs as well.<br /> <br /> As Josh goes under a spell from the formidable lead ghost, whose presence is revealed further in, the changeling makes him a dead ringer for Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance in THE SHINING, including a frantic door-bashing scene sans the ax, and Rose Byrne as wife Renai is the perfect Shelley Duvall: Her sheepish aura helps boost Josh's frantic intensity, and the multiple back stories – gliding smoothly to the forefront while a few confusing layers taper off – lead to an ambitious third act when a few characters enter (or reenter) a misty spirit world that, although resembling the exterior of Disney’s Haunted Mansion, makes for a satisfying, unpredictable experience...

2013, barbara hershey, franchise, horror, patrick wilson, sequel

INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2

year: 2013 cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey, Angus Sampson rating: *** Having avoided the first INSIDIOUS, t...

THE FAMILY

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6mHgK4CoGnmK6doiezcPDhYmdJB1Ebm-LX2w2yEtMTM8wb_W2BU6lt-tuq5T9cCZ0UfsbCc_yQch78QD2j3wQlP17rotOdB2nb_FLq4pJ4ummup18ZT9OUFQzC0m8cRoM2Mtm3DJhLfS/s1600/family.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6mHgK4CoGnmK6doiezcPDhYmdJB1Ebm-LX2w2yEtMTM8wb_W2BU6lt-tuq5T9cCZ0UfsbCc_yQch78QD2j3wQlP17rotOdB2nb_FLq4pJ4ummup18ZT9OUFQzC0m8cRoM2Mtm3DJhLfS/s16000/family.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, Tommy Lee Jones rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> At the end of Martin Scorsese's mob classic GOODFELLAS, Ray Liotta, after ratting out the mobsters who practically raised him from childhood, fears living the rest of his mundane life as a “Schnook.” In layman's terms he will no longer party like a king, which is basically where THE FAMILY begins: only in a dilapidated France manor instead of suburban Middle America.<br /> <br /> There's a double-meaning title, relating to both The Mafia and this particular clan consisting of DeNiro’s bearded and reflective Fred Blake (a fake name) and his much more assertive wife Maggie, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who doesn’t take crap from anyone – especially the snotty folks at a grocery store she winds up firebombing. And it’s a shame since Pfeiffer’s character has the most bloody fun, but not for long – eventually she’s part of the backdrop as the kids, a gorgeous daughter and geeky son in a new high school, pretty much take over the film.<br /> <br /> Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D’Leo) are polar opposites. Warren gets beaten by bullies but soon manipulates other students to cut corners – think Tom Sawyer meets Ferris Bueller with connections. And Belle makes crazy like mom, only with more gusto and for a lot longer… With the exception of a young gaunt-faced teacher she winds up falling dreadfully in love with, anyone who crosses her path gets the kind of pummeling you only see in, well, really violent mob films. Only here, in a quirky dark comedy backed by goofy Italian restaurant music to remind us of such, the beatings are much too simple…<br /> <br /> From thrashing people into bloody pulps to random acts of terrorism, The Family does whatever they feel like without any repercussions (save for a few lectures from Tommy Lee Jones's FBI man). The characters are more like caricatures – it's no wonder Robert DeNiro heads the bill. Since we all know his status as a famous actor in the mob genre, his Fred... formerly Giovanni... needs only a few hollow flashbacks to make everything clear. <br /> <br /> As an ultra-violent satire about a family that can’t adapt to normalcy given their violent nature, the movie goes too far off the deep end without allowing us to know them better. And one pivotal scene... when DeNiro winds up critiquing a very familiar film... breaks the fourth wall so bad, hardcore cinema fans might not be laughing like a conventional audience, who can easy forgive a project more dependent on past glories… from GOODFELLAS to THE UNTOUCHABLES… than the story at hand, which, in this particular case, offers only clichés.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcbnrPEXeakCn4DeVp4bUvLKlfxgOUvPBor9ll2bvyKFWKYdqVI5tVsO_K5G3ZLk-FPooLTCoquDkg12W06jFRoOXstmMpsHyuYzOBq3xm5NJypzH-D2QW6HwWRXzO28HcyBS5gqVyDG_/s1600/Goodfellas+photo.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcbnrPEXeakCn4DeVp4bUvLKlfxgOUvPBor9ll2bvyKFWKYdqVI5tVsO_K5G3ZLk-FPooLTCoquDkg12W06jFRoOXstmMpsHyuYzOBq3xm5NJypzH-D2QW6HwWRXzO28HcyBS5gqVyDG_/s16000/Goodfellas+photo.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert DeNiro having much better and younger times in GOODFELLAS with Ray Liotta</td></tr> </tbody></table>

2013, dark comedy, michelle pfeiffer, mob, robert deniro, tommy lee jones

THE FAMILY

year: 2013 cast: Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, Tommy Lee Jones rating: ** At the end of Martin Scorsese's mob clas...

BEWARE OF THE GRANDMASTER

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmUsQwKzAlGfeyiCAhTWbuQhxpu-QCQFFbRFSP6AsEOPOQp3T1oWgPdOtuTBSIG6ADBfRnSMVO1O4caj_lx_J4hGcsgbTvF5CSmzfLhZqsOYd_Lt30DroLfjgL6S3CGq9XLEbuME9ynU1/s1600/dragon2_zps08954cfc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmUsQwKzAlGfeyiCAhTWbuQhxpu-QCQFFbRFSP6AsEOPOQp3T1oWgPdOtuTBSIG6ADBfRnSMVO1O4caj_lx_J4hGcsgbTvF5CSmzfLhZqsOYd_Lt30DroLfjgL6S3CGq9XLEbuME9ynU1/s640/dragon2_zps08954cfc.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE GRANDMASTER attempts the popular prequel-device to the Bruce Lee canon</td></tr> </tbody></table> Having briefly met both Jim Kelly and John Saxon, who played Williams and Roper, co-leads in the Bruce Lee classic ENTER THE DRAGON, and being a personal friend of Sharon Farrell, who appeared in MARLOWE, a Neo Noir starring James Garner wherein The Master provided a glorious cameo...<br /> <br /> Knowing these people have provided more of a "mystical aura" connecting to the Lee legend than this new motion picture about Bruce's trainer, THE GRANDMASTER…<br /> <br /> This is a double-edged warning. First off, it’s <i>not</i> a review. The GRANDMASTER was such an awful experience that there was no way to sit through the entire movie. The second warning is this: if you want to feel some kind of residual magic concerning the greatest Martial Artist of all time, avoid this dud at all costs…<br /> <br /> Consisting of a choppy collection of close-up and medium shots lacking both suspense and structure, the cinematography resembles a glossy MTV video if produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, sans the entertainment value, making THE GRANDMASTER a ponderous kick in the pants to everyone wanting part of the Bruce Lee Experience…<br /> <br /> For that, just rent or buy ENTER THE DRAGON and, like the rest of us, watch it 100 times and then some… It never gets old! <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aZtN3IFT19s10PmA_w0J8J0yoa9Q0Kd87-5G9mJU4oc8zdcYrs33T4DpoerTM38bG6F2chODN1JOZpTJh2Mvszm0BPvh-1OHXuM3ecv5umu_kTQiope4a4G3_alRLRLCMnV0ZWfaXsof/s1600/photo-13_zps82185fea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aZtN3IFT19s10PmA_w0J8J0yoa9Q0Kd87-5G9mJU4oc8zdcYrs33T4DpoerTM38bG6F2chODN1JOZpTJh2Mvszm0BPvh-1OHXuM3ecv5umu_kTQiope4a4G3_alRLRLCMnV0ZWfaXsof/s640/photo-13_zps82185fea.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Personally autographed ENTER THE DRAGON poster by Jim Kelly and John Saxon</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000TRXRUY&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000ICZD5C&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002U4UZT0&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, bruce lee

BEWARE OF THE GRANDMASTER

THE GRANDMASTER attempts the popular prequel-device to the Bruce Lee canon Having briefly met both Jim Kelly and John Saxon, who played ...

CAL WORTHINGTON JOURNEYS INTO THE NIGHT

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmrxx8Rryn5vF1GK5Y7C5b3ltqh6DP-Qs2aCz6gULY3xQqvj-3EZU6j6gT5ABpdcfMFDRO8AmS8g-eAwxofAoOTiFg8AZyYGvUsPV-wydh1S-Zkc5xcPEzj_x5em8WJwuy5CPQ4aX3X4c/s1600/into5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmrxx8Rryn5vF1GK5Y7C5b3ltqh6DP-Qs2aCz6gULY3xQqvj-3EZU6j6gT5ABpdcfMFDRO8AmS8g-eAwxofAoOTiFg8AZyYGvUsPV-wydh1S-Zkc5xcPEzj_x5em8WJwuy5CPQ4aX3X4c/s640/into5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cal Worthington hops off his hippo while Stacey Pickren eats Hagen Daz Ice Cream</td></tr> </tbody></table> For residents of Southern California, the dynamically intrepid car selling guru CAL WORTHINGTON was something of a television fixture. Whether riding on a stunt plane or a hippopotomus, or hanging out with his "dog spot," actually a tiger... Cal always delivered. <br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> At one point in time, there wasn't a day without seeing Cal on television, and hearing the catchy theme song/jingle, in which "Go See Cal" sounded very much like "Pussy Cow."<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aSSOMOKOxeHfTdMsk0GO5Nz1cRMcKVqjWLJtmxykh7uqAP7lLBaqLIvb9I5OxmCI7X9ihf9htgJgA6A3ODxRNTrPuvi4IH7ycEydjqw24HJO26pvy3AMIY5RhiDzQP_T-M1npmGqZ3UY/s1600/into4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aSSOMOKOxeHfTdMsk0GO5Nz1cRMcKVqjWLJtmxykh7uqAP7lLBaqLIvb9I5OxmCI7X9ihf9htgJgA6A3ODxRNTrPuvi4IH7ycEydjqw24HJO26pvy3AMIY5RhiDzQP_T-M1npmGqZ3UY/s640/into4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff Goldblum watches a television commercial that just never ends</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> Fitting Cal into cult cinema, we take a look at the underrated John Landis Neo Noir Comedy INTO THE NIGHT, a film that played pop culture to the hilt. </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Jeff Goldbum's character, whose sexy wife (Stacey Pickren) is cheating on him, cannot sleep a wink. But before being catapulted into the heart of downtown Los Angeles, he's at home watching Cal Worthington on the TV set: Like in real life, Cal's commercials were impossible to escape from. </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Cal died today at 92 years old... And since you probably won't find any other INTO THE NIGHT photos featuring the iconic car king, here are a few... </div> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIYPBU5BhDax2HLmRba3L1652jSRsMCEzr3K0-i0DCso3_X6m5se4xRPbCXLD4NlY4LIy-jYN6muPg88Dj9SuUrACk-GKHw0MFRWItJsQE1umKzMMXK5I33wbXcPKq6gq2BMNxIcaYWNB/s1600/into1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIYPBU5BhDax2HLmRba3L1652jSRsMCEzr3K0-i0DCso3_X6m5se4xRPbCXLD4NlY4LIy-jYN6muPg88Dj9SuUrACk-GKHw0MFRWItJsQE1umKzMMXK5I33wbXcPKq6gq2BMNxIcaYWNB/s640/into1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cal Worthington, a former WWW2 flier, riding on an stunt plane</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvtIBd7WjxUHeP9HgXPPCVFn0nXS20cUMNz0nCa6-VjjJcqpcHWwc8a_GtfZjgzu2TMuNJV7pF5I-bmO8u8C53NLqn4xUBY_-HazwJrGdFN1jHDwICtCmQrGaV1aooFWblkNI6Z5BRMUX/s1600/into3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvtIBd7WjxUHeP9HgXPPCVFn0nXS20cUMNz0nCa6-VjjJcqpcHWwc8a_GtfZjgzu2TMuNJV7pF5I-bmO8u8C53NLqn4xUBY_-HazwJrGdFN1jHDwICtCmQrGaV1aooFWblkNI6Z5BRMUX/s640/into3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If a man is willing to do this, he deserves to sell a lotta cars...</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QEuOVZf5GuP501OwaVQ1bOX2pi60e9tMO7VdGT_nxBYgKxeqfY60i6VvsWZPwV7y1VF2reOMyGdrkZCUsknrL3u_Lje2-rh4t9Mk79ool5LPln6Oo7D5bz6mQQyRgwQv_zPNoxPFC9LN/s1600/into8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QEuOVZf5GuP501OwaVQ1bOX2pi60e9tMO7VdGT_nxBYgKxeqfY60i6VvsWZPwV7y1VF2reOMyGdrkZCUsknrL3u_Lje2-rh4t9Mk79ool5LPln6Oo7D5bz6mQQyRgwQv_zPNoxPFC9LN/s640/into8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">REST IN PEACE CAL WORTHINGTON 1920 - 2013</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

john landis, tribute

CAL WORTHINGTON JOURNEYS INTO THE NIGHT

Cal Worthington hops off his hippo while Stacey Pickren eats Hagen Daz Ice Cream For residents of Southern California, the dynamically i...

GENE HACKMAN RETURNS IN THE FRENCH CONNECTON II

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY-Cd1FdZdBFovWULcoqjAtbXJ3PT1g7BdRNCxHyPkYPcxtSD9CY7NerXXtY_8HtUL8AP1hNdzsTWmy8C1qgxX4VkVExYG_or-jmAr1ujBDzTJfniejwAj7OTAsUcaS-HWMuGovXW2ddd/s1600/french-connection-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY-Cd1FdZdBFovWULcoqjAtbXJ3PT1g7BdRNCxHyPkYPcxtSD9CY7NerXXtY_8HtUL8AP1hNdzsTWmy8C1qgxX4VkVExYG_or-jmAr1ujBDzTJfniejwAj7OTAsUcaS-HWMuGovXW2ddd/s320/french-connection-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Hackman's a more vulnerable Popeye Doyle Year: 1975</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> There's a guilty pleasure watching, for nearly a half an hour, a thinned-down Gene Hackman as New York's favorite tough cop Popeye Doyle being force-fed heroin in a Euro-slum, and then kicking it cold turkey whilst squirming, vomiting, and eventually screaming about Mickey Mantle. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jRfecNYy-sitFriVNfFvhUEnY7D-MGzq1F-AYkf7eQtzGrSeufwORcVpNzLtGTK6EgqPeg7m4On7lrVdubKYIAZLM69mL2oU873qm4tPitF6TpVke_qwSr-X7BQoWfnVaDzZdUIU-0Y/s1600/MPW-29442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jRfecNYy-sitFriVNfFvhUEnY7D-MGzq1F-AYkf7eQtzGrSeufwORcVpNzLtGTK6EgqPeg7m4On7lrVdubKYIAZLM69mL2oU873qm4tPitF6TpVke_qwSr-X7BQoWfnVaDzZdUIU-0Y/s320/MPW-29442.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>French Two Score: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> We begin in France and this time remain there. Unlike his New York stomping grounds, Doyle can't get a decent whiskey buzz, finds it impossible interrogating perps, and is without partner/anchor Roy Scheider, who, that same year, was busy hunting a Great White Shark for Steven Speilberg. But the good news is Scheider's replacement, French actor Bernard Fresson, does a great job, starting out as Doyle's bitter, lecturing lead on the French beat, and then beginning to trust each other's rhythm, and making a fine team.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3j8uPbm5CcYy8B48okZbKBf9KW2eWi8Di3bqo6ssAZrMSiELqJXUmVnYwWTuRwll0zsgX8pe-bEap5ieBnHfnbs8NKVDz_M34LFM3reLJRW4BwuJfMADKt_NVdQj2U3sDto-biyIcH3D/s1600/15940458_255003861595464_5694268395123807628_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3j8uPbm5CcYy8B48okZbKBf9KW2eWi8Di3bqo6ssAZrMSiELqJXUmVnYwWTuRwll0zsgX8pe-bEap5ieBnHfnbs8NKVDz_M34LFM3reLJRW4BwuJfMADKt_NVdQj2U3sDto-biyIcH3D/s200/15940458_255003861595464_5694268395123807628_n.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Brand New Partners</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The involving cat-and-mouse chase between the ragged anti-hero Doyle and classy villain Charnier (Fernando Rey) is more of a crippled dog verses a lazy lion this time around. Perhaps because a less mysterious English-speaking Charnier is too comfortable as he meets with American military agent Ed Lauter, while Popeye has absolutely nowhere to turn in this grungy sequel...<br /> <br /> Which does merit some excellent handheld camerawork, feeling like a visitor game without much of a home team. But at times the claustrophobic journey is somewhat intriguing. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be enjoyed, but rather, experienced. And for conventional audiences aka those who like a happy ending, the last frame will be much more satisfying than the original's ambiguous cliffhanger.

action, cop, ed lauter, fernando rey, gene hackman, sequel, seventies

GENE HACKMAN RETURNS IN THE FRENCH CONNECTON II

Hackman's a more vulnerable Popeye Doyle Year: 1975 There's a guilty pleasure watching, for nearly a half an hour, a thinned-dow...

RIDDICK

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uYDRnjlK4AwJcEeyp01GSVdp1Be9GqUooJIeExj-Hwlf1zPQiZ4g4IieF3i3CFrFK1mB81sd1vC8RbTgtBD22d1SU6xObYV477lqlnUHwVStjBYSE4HK7irQatXQhL7erhV1R_WwDCJ0/s1600/riddick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uYDRnjlK4AwJcEeyp01GSVdp1Be9GqUooJIeExj-Hwlf1zPQiZ4g4IieF3i3CFrFK1mB81sd1vC8RbTgtBD22d1SU6xObYV477lqlnUHwVStjBYSE4HK7irQatXQhL7erhV1R_WwDCJ0/s640/riddick.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2013 <b>cast: </b>Vin Diesel, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista<b> rating:</b> ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Forget all the backstory and let's start fresh… Vin Diesel’s RIDDICK has been abandoned on a desert planet where the only creatures are dingo-like, zebra stripped man-eaters on land, while in pools of water live some kind of poisonous tentacle beast that makes the hell hounds seem like butterflies. For Riddick this is only a problem till he figures out how to get past the water-creatures after giving himself, and a tamed land animal he raised from a pup, immunization to survive. And survival is what RIDDICK: RULE THE DARK is all about.<br /> <br /> If you’ve seen FIRST BLOOD, where Green Beret Vietnam vet John Rambo is hunted by lawmen way out of their league, you’ll remember the line: “We’re not hunting him, he’s hunting us.” That’s exactly what happens when two groups land on the planet after a contrived distress signal – one a motley crew led by a gruff Spanish bounty hunter; the other an official uniformed team including a stalwart captain and a sexy blond woman tougher than nails. <br /> <br /> The suspenseful second act, after Riddick learns to survive on a planet literally out to devour him, could be called THE LEGEND OF RIDDICK as we hardly see him at all. He’s nervously discussed by the converged party, who wants his head for money, and in the Rambo fashion they’re picked off one-by-one… especially at night when Riddick has the most power. Despite some Cable-TV special effects and corny muscle-bound dialogue, these are the best scenes: our ghostly hero, appearing in silhouette, wreaks havoc on the same people he’d warned from the onset.<br /> <br /> But the energetic cat and mouse game morphs into an all-out creature feature as, during a thunderstorm, the formidable water beasts inhabit the entire planet. Eventually our anti-hero has to reluctantly band together with those determined to kill him... here's where most of the action occurs. It’s too bad the characters, fleshed out during Riddick’s absence, become much-too-easy victims of a menace so large in number you’ll wish it never rained in the first… or rather… the last place. From here a movie that took its time in the build-up races desperately for a conclusion.<br /> <br /> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000EQHXN2&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0019IIPXQ&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

action, franchise, science-fiction, sequel, vin diesel

RIDDICK

year: 2013 cast: Vin Diesel, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista rating: ***1/2 Forget all the backstory and let&#...

THE NEW CENTURIONS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96740kyWEwx5n7JvnCuLLpeRkBGO_nYUScemooYhuWW2IR-wz72PEDnSGOxamQ5Vf7uqgLTU-aDEnPKT9TrXqvvh4KnG63ef9FI6FyQNV-Fou4oMruLh5gydYVzhFFU6tllsvspEannaE0h9eZTgITvpLVPMbMZMart2sYrftE7mzrPQoDfwYh3DuNZC2/s840/nc7_zpsaad0b7b6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96740kyWEwx5n7JvnCuLLpeRkBGO_nYUScemooYhuWW2IR-wz72PEDnSGOxamQ5Vf7uqgLTU-aDEnPKT9TrXqvvh4KnG63ef9FI6FyQNV-Fou4oMruLh5gydYVzhFFU6tllsvspEannaE0h9eZTgITvpLVPMbMZMart2sYrftE7mzrPQoDfwYh3DuNZC2/s16000/nc7_zpsaad0b7b6.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1972 cast: Stacy Keach, George C. Scott, Erik Estrada, Scott Wilson, Clifton James rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table> Whether it’s an exploitive early 70’s crime flick with an underlying mainstream influence, or a mainstream cop movie that sporadically delves into a gritty no-nonsense peripheral, THE NEW CENTURIONS is an entertaining piece of cinema…<br /> <br /> After an opening credit montage of rookies – including Stacy Keach’s Roy Fehler, Scott Wilson’s Gus and Erik Estrada’s Sergio – training at the police academy, we skip right to the chase… almost. Your typical gruff sergeant (Dolph Sweet) is barking orders to a group of world-weary police officers… And with a fresh rookie partner in tow, they enter into the dark Noiry streets of downtown Los Angeles.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8aWf0Nb4fGZNBGTE-sa2hnoSLC3qNQMWFwyEMfe-LcqX1zmf6c0xY0ACDSQqbOHWyugQ4eHqk8-t4XwNUHYW4SqjIeCceUUv2KBlShXzW7_6Z4H5qLEFdSEl3noQDl78jxvz7LRmiCBh/s1600/nc1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8aWf0Nb4fGZNBGTE-sa2hnoSLC3qNQMWFwyEMfe-LcqX1zmf6c0xY0ACDSQqbOHWyugQ4eHqk8-t4XwNUHYW4SqjIeCceUUv2KBlShXzW7_6Z4H5qLEFdSEl3noQDl78jxvz7LRmiCBh/s1600/nc1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George C. Scott as Kilvinski in THE NEW CENTURIONS</td></tr> </tbody></table> At first, the centerpiece is George C. Scott’s veteran cop Kilvinski, who, with his own implied “laws” aka philosophies of life, provides Keach's clean slate Roy exposition through random busts including bickering prostitutes and, cutting back and forth from Clifton James’s Whitey paired with Scott Wilson's Gus, and Ed Lauter with former gang member Sergio (Estrada), domestic dispute calls that wind up humorously reminiscent of a television cop show.<br /> <br /> But there’s a point where CENTURIONS, compared by Kilvinski as a new brand of Roman guard (equally hated and needed by that society like our own) kicks into second gear. Standout scenes include Wilson’s Gus gunning down an innocent man… The IN COLD BLOOD actor’s shocked expression, as well as Estrada’s Sergio explaining his backstory as a gang member reluctantly brought back to his hellish home town, make this more character-driven than action-packed.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRURMytb90qJD3TpOrfta9NMauv__DfSOc2eJ2YozgG0t_Uy9U7MvKbQksr1l_H1Ao0unBnYEQIrJGdb66zqzleew8JVpSwrFzXeiyPZHhdAd-0IxLpcZQkxMKBnEz4RLQBkzrIrD428dY/s1600/nc9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRURMytb90qJD3TpOrfta9NMauv__DfSOc2eJ2YozgG0t_Uy9U7MvKbQksr1l_H1Ao0unBnYEQIrJGdb66zqzleew8JVpSwrFzXeiyPZHhdAd-0IxLpcZQkxMKBnEz4RLQBkzrIrD428dY/s1600/nc9.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacy Keach as Roy in THE NEW CENTURIONS</td></tr> </tbody></table> Although noted as a vehicle for the PATTON Oscar-winning Scott, remaining the wise mentor till a gloomy retirement, the story truly belongs to Stacy Keach, whose character-arc from an idealistic rookie to a seasoned cop to a reluctant vice squad officer to a hopeless drunk is underlined by the dwindling relationship with his wife and child: the domestic scenes border on melodrama but never take away from the gritty base: We always promptly return to the streets. <br /> <br /> Based on a novel by former lawman Joseph Wambaugh, insightful glimpses outshine the sporadic cinematic clichés, and a few scenes would be considered politically-incorrect to modern audiences. But underrated director Richard Fleischer… whose eclectic hit & miss career labeled him more of a talented hired hand than creative auteur… using grainy film stock makes even the lighter moments look and feel completely intense and (despite a tacked-on conclusion) jarringly unpredictable.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_BH9G1B4qjPsVrUwJAWP6tdacp5-m4l_RKWUQSt5i-REpMifq3OjK5RtrNGCvdVeOoq9D3nRtQbtKdMIM15hhqEN5fo9xZyCJu1K0r7xt_ftWB4yCq7TNpEn4TcQtCTXdmjTELKn0YfX/s1600/nc2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_BH9G1B4qjPsVrUwJAWP6tdacp5-m4l_RKWUQSt5i-REpMifq3OjK5RtrNGCvdVeOoq9D3nRtQbtKdMIM15hhqEN5fo9xZyCJu1K0r7xt_ftWB4yCq7TNpEn4TcQtCTXdmjTELKn0YfX/s1600/nc2.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott Wilson as Gus in THE NEW CENTURIONS</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkIp03WdDCBN5oxErE5DGscensR8skCzTOQo7dc9pPU0IVsqQPTaZ48ktVs29l4ZEdqZj6nIOQM6BHjNrq_PcDyJNZmwXYJT05CrIDM7Dj5Z18iWio5Qk2PB-AD3kM9CuctIik9Y23T13/s1600/nc3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkIp03WdDCBN5oxErE5DGscensR8skCzTOQo7dc9pPU0IVsqQPTaZ48ktVs29l4ZEdqZj6nIOQM6BHjNrq_PcDyJNZmwXYJT05CrIDM7Dj5Z18iWio5Qk2PB-AD3kM9CuctIik9Y23T13/s1600/nc3.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roger E. Mosley being hassled in THE NEW CENTURIONS</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lLetI1WemUu8BoAgzGW38NYU-kcSbbC1-AwUsBJF2X0UIVaDbfTA9U-fl7OrGNZrmubwUPfkqtEaKea3kJFWtWUlDHyOZVBsd5sR4rgBuimMcKh6HPb6yEEbCWc7hCKqSn9p1wxLJltk/s1600/nc4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lLetI1WemUu8BoAgzGW38NYU-kcSbbC1-AwUsBJF2X0UIVaDbfTA9U-fl7OrGNZrmubwUPfkqtEaKea3kJFWtWUlDHyOZVBsd5sR4rgBuimMcKh6HPb6yEEbCWc7hCKqSn9p1wxLJltk/s1600/nc4.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pepe Serna getting some help in THE NEW CENTURIONS</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtJilCS9BKOdZJH2PBq1BK76Wr3r1qjpNeLzhNt0xI9oQ6j8LZ8NyZKUdYaTfqrWj_CnvNeLZLVMCVLyhHd2tGBigBZELJSCVAHr9LpmuurB-IUQw9i-__1A1p4ssxTVlehjuveUNKhtT/s1600/nc8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtJilCS9BKOdZJH2PBq1BK76Wr3r1qjpNeLzhNt0xI9oQ6j8LZ8NyZKUdYaTfqrWj_CnvNeLZLVMCVLyhHd2tGBigBZELJSCVAHr9LpmuurB-IUQw9i-__1A1p4ssxTVlehjuveUNKhtT/s1600/nc8.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed Lauter listens to Erik Estrada in THE NEW CENTURIONS</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiAtNZsBXi7kPO3XRRvjP-CtjMyQ-FCDLAWupmB6qG2DeWl8r_golJ5JU8SBf4fJmmT3nw8N40s_xrQBVSOp4qQhGOcVllmNHNASBgFSHSvnyDaMymK8Y1ZZwxYLd0dGeUV4Z-x6Q1gaC/s1600/nc6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiAtNZsBXi7kPO3XRRvjP-CtjMyQ-FCDLAWupmB6qG2DeWl8r_golJ5JU8SBf4fJmmT3nw8N40s_xrQBVSOp4qQhGOcVllmNHNASBgFSHSvnyDaMymK8Y1ZZwxYLd0dGeUV4Z-x6Q1gaC/s1600/nc6.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George C. Scott in THE NEW CENTURIONS</td></tr> </tbody></table>

action, clifton james, cop, crime, erik estrada, george c. scott, richard fleischer, scott wilson, seventies, stacy keach, vice

THE NEW CENTURIONS

year: 1972 cast: Stacy Keach, George C. Scott, Erik Estrada, Scott Wilson, Clifton James rating: ***1/2 Whether it’s an exploitive early 70...