REVIEW OF AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

<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/AVvXsEjAkew4mU2TDQpcfzhHtXJ8xwWgMgLXSn1mxteTmmbBMaOd1vD8RutCCJXa05P0K57vyEKcMudYBqKSkrtNeeQtdcGHLxyPdfWQF2cvP2h_gwpRz1FjtIKSXSTUyeH9dtIul-pmifg0Pdw/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEjAkew4mU2TDQpcfzhHtXJ8xwWgMgLXSn1mxteTmmbBMaOd1vD8RutCCJXa05P0K57vyEKcMudYBqKSkrtNeeQtdcGHLxyPdfWQF2cvP2h_gwpRz1FjtIKSXSTUyeH9dtIul-pmifg0Pdw/s320/Picture+1.png" width="202" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> In the first AVENGERS, the villain was Thor’s personal albatross, and now Tony Stark’s invention is out to save the world by destroying it, or something like that… And while it took over half the original movie for the eclectic group to warm up to each other, now we begin with so much bantering camaraderie it's like hanging out with the popular kids after prom… <br /> <br /> And there are about five jokes per minute, as if Robert Downey Jr’s quick-witted sarcasm was infected onto everyone else – even Ultron, Tony’s dominating Artificial Intelligence Robot, is full of wry wisdom: His nefarious motivation to do very bad things but unlike Loki, with an entire THOR film to catapult his dastardly menace, the titular heavy's purpose is completely forced and thoroughly confusing. Making the few good action sequences… like Hulk and Iron Man squaring off… impressive eye candy that lacks any rhyme or reason. <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/AVvXsEjfld3lITQxkbzFyqgEKOaJH7gYN-JPIJ6NScjG0EeqOmw8LjLWEpPypMs8k2HJiSS6oza5rhNqkA7bgVknD6x8F6OkOptrSXIgcjJWe4eM6dk7sLGtzy69w4RH3DRxr_1KFIqdNErpGqU/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEjfld3lITQxkbzFyqgEKOaJH7gYN-JPIJ6NScjG0EeqOmw8LjLWEpPypMs8k2HJiSS6oza5rhNqkA7bgVknD6x8F6OkOptrSXIgcjJWe4eM6dk7sLGtzy69w4RH3DRxr_1KFIqdNErpGqU/s200/Picture+1.png" width="186" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stark & Ultron circa 1980's</td></tr> </tbody></table> With such an immense fan base, it’s pretty dangerous to not like THE AVENGERS. They <i>are </i>perfectly cast, and proved themselves a beyond-worthy franchise. The problem with AGE OF ULTRON is that the plot's as dull as the lame newcomers… including a mind-reading witch girl giving everyone surreal hallucinations; a blond-haired kid who runs really fast; and a red-faced crusader as strong as Thor, deleting the big guy's main asset.<br /> <br /> And with so much excruciating downtime this time around, you would think the gang was saving up their energy… and for what, exactly? With all the jesting, where's the danger? The urgency? Robert Doweny Jr is once again the man of the hour, and he has a natural sense of humor, but he's overreached in constantly trying to please the audience. Meanwhile, Stark's lethal creation should be no laughing matter. Yet AGE plays out like The Rat Pack detonating an A-bomb, and not even that entertaining. 

2015, comic book, franchise, robert downey jr., sequel

REVIEW OF AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

2015 rating: *1/2 In the first AVENGERS, the villain was Thor’s personal albatross, and now Tony Stark’s invention is out to save the wo...

EVE PLUMB STARS IN 'DAWN: PORTRAIT OF A TEENAGE RUNAWAY'

<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/AVvXsEgwE7WlO48h5YIP5SbVTNCMX6EDMzj28hW7QgLF9PyFNKap7w4-yU1kX_NvQE5Yc4vrowKVxTpn0twACBDBf9mBCh34Zsw5fjpW_j1PIxJuNfPGpcxJHHaEvJ3MvNWHbGWgt0lQLNUxv-A/s1600/photo-285-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwE7WlO48h5YIP5SbVTNCMX6EDMzj28hW7QgLF9PyFNKap7w4-yU1kX_NvQE5Yc4vrowKVxTpn0twACBDBf9mBCh34Zsw5fjpW_j1PIxJuNfPGpcxJHHaEvJ3MvNWHbGWgt0lQLNUxv-A/s320/photo-285-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1976 rating: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> “I wish you were a radio,” says DAWN to a meddling parole officer, “so I could turn you off.” And if you can survive a few bad lines like this you’ll do just fine, because PORTRAIT OF A TEENAGE RUNAWAY is an entertaining made-for-TV movie where Eve Plumb… the troubled middle child Jan from THE BRADY BUNCH… makes a new life on the streets of Los Angeles.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEhwwX_kecXEHbsHPm9L2z_jhMIHbr38JyVifMU2l1Xh_DYvN6JQsu4z38IawHKYpGT7z7xGGI6CgyrbgIwL9dDHMftvzszpS13iFCbjYfnM-CGTI4JeV7PR_QbtnxOTkOskoxNJzdvnbaJu/s1600/photo-194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="849" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwX_kecXEHbsHPm9L2z_jhMIHbr38JyVifMU2l1Xh_DYvN6JQsu4z38IawHKYpGT7z7xGGI6CgyrbgIwL9dDHMftvzszpS13iFCbjYfnM-CGTI4JeV7PR_QbtnxOTkOskoxNJzdvnbaJu/s320/photo-194.JPG" width="210" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Signed by Suzanne Crough</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> On the bus ride we get flashes of Dawn's recent past: Although her suburban mom’s a neglectful drunk, there’s no worthy explanation to why a sweet blond-haired fifteen-year-old would make the leap from a small town to the big city, where our hopeless heroine wanders the sleazy streets and (way too soon) meets the man of her dreams.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEgyZ3-vbzff2Zov8j6PrR_6dhDzhNybMLIoSjw7zZov7AI2vCbCRJ-ryiGfUg4RFfZDJYlk2OJ7zPZZpKeV7YLIs1vMHSLtoet6UI0oK_l-9SpVCspKsirYN5z3tf2nAfIdQzZUx0i_l9g/s1600/suzanne-crough-dawn.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/AVvXsEgyZ3-vbzff2Zov8j6PrR_6dhDzhNybMLIoSjw7zZov7AI2vCbCRJ-ryiGfUg4RFfZDJYlk2OJ7zPZZpKeV7YLIs1vMHSLtoet6UI0oK_l-9SpVCspKsirYN5z3tf2nAfIdQzZUx0i_l9g/s1600/suzanne-crough-dawn.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Eve Plumb and Suzanne Crough </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Enter Leigh McCloskey as Alexander, a starving artist with dreams of escaping the street life, providing a safety net yet without enough money for both to survive. Either way, Dawn winds up a hooker under pimp Bo Hopkins, who loves being mean and seedy. And although a 1970’s TV-movie can’t do the subject matter justice, there’s no other decade worthy of such groovy melodrama: The marquee-laden streets of Hollywood Boulevard is a character in itself backed by a rocking RUNAWAYS track... pun obviously intended.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" 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/AVvXsEg8dFJqgEDku_SGbpHVzRtspBaNYpUaQ8iIctoIqRMARvOseeal91NUpszAsJHUQifaT1a0SKVViIL9Jws0g1IQgqr9NNDNutrpa2JnoeRbuefPgv2mnfN2dvwAWbjL53YGSquay4WYk5Px/s619/photo-287-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dFJqgEDku_SGbpHVzRtspBaNYpUaQ8iIctoIqRMARvOseeal91NUpszAsJHUQifaT1a0SKVViIL9Jws0g1IQgqr9NNDNutrpa2JnoeRbuefPgv2mnfN2dvwAWbjL53YGSquay4WYk5Px/s320/photo-287-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Leigh shakes Eve's Plumb but good </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> As the story progresses, Alexander’s male hustler day job is shown in glimpses (he'll get his own sequel two years later) as Dawn’s nightlife gets distracted by parole officer Georg Stanford Brown, teaming with Alexander to set things right, turning an edgy exploitation into an After School Special. But there’s still an edge throughout: Hopkins makes a worthy antagonist while Plumb’s acting picks up the worse her life gets<span style="font-size: small;"><i>.</i></span><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/AVvXsEgU84LbtgmTPQ8XvB6t8xv-hPPTbguBJMbVoljV2iw1T42Ss3Sx0ZQZPgZY93_79gvzYLAO8bj6OH4hoSCmR1kmMnR75_xO-dnKlN5GyQQgOiaqj8LAReuXigUuXQdYWMafUun-etIDUx6X/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-09-17+at+8.59.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU84LbtgmTPQ8XvB6t8xv-hPPTbguBJMbVoljV2iw1T42Ss3Sx0ZQZPgZY93_79gvzYLAO8bj6OH4hoSCmR1kmMnR75_xO-dnKlN5GyQQgOiaqj8LAReuXigUuXQdYWMafUun-etIDUx6X/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-09-17+at+8.59.09+PM.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Eve Plums in DAWN: PORTRAIT OF A TEENAGE RUNAWAY</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <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>

bo hopkins, drama, eve plumb, exploitation, leigh mccloskey, made-for-TV, seventies, suzanne crough

EVE PLUMB STARS IN 'DAWN: PORTRAIT OF A TEENAGE RUNAWAY'

year: 1976 rating: *** “I wish you were a radio,” says DAWN to a meddling parole officer, “so I could turn you off.” And if you can surv...

RUSSELL CROWE DIRECTS AND STARS IN THE WATER DIVINER

<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/AVvXsEhXyBJrYsLiaZhVNSUIbluK9CEiOC6Uc2TjvnxOOG1oNz_v68IyuxuAps9hZwP9wmwYqhiE8sTHz1MRRmrsTcUUo41qdX4c0nuhR-PkL71YJaw5YYTQRGjR1BNw0IuFfQ4tahZQyRD_Q0M/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEhXyBJrYsLiaZhVNSUIbluK9CEiOC6Uc2TjvnxOOG1oNz_v68IyuxuAps9hZwP9wmwYqhiE8sTHz1MRRmrsTcUUo41qdX4c0nuhR-PkL71YJaw5YYTQRGjR1BNw0IuFfQ4tahZQyRD_Q0M/s320/Picture+1.png" width="233" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Some of us who are more well viewed than well read only know history through cinema, and anyone who has experienced the Australian anti war epic GALLIPOLI, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee has, as viewers, been through the ringer, in droves. And now actor and first time feature-length director Russell Crowe turns the tables while providing a brand new setting as THE WATER DIVINER serves up tea and sympathy back in Turkey, four years after the bloody battle. <br /> <br /> While centering on Crowe’s Connor, a hopeless widower on a journey to locate and bury his three dead soldier sons, it’s more of an overall chance to make amends – to the Turks. For example, a cold Catholic priest, where Connor owns a sparse Australian farm and has the ability to seek out water beneath dead soil, refuses to bury his wife on sacred ground – far contrasting from the Turkish Muslim locals who provide help later on, but not without obstacles including sporadic bouts of racism towards Connor, who, upon arrival, winds up at a quaint hotel owned by a much too beautiful widow; although Olga Kurylenko is a good actress and makes the role work despite seeming a bit too... Hollywoodish. Yet the real connections are between Connor and her resilient son, and especially a wise Turkish major played by Yilmaz Erdogan, a sort of Omar Sharif to Crowe’s quiet yet strong-willed "Lawrence". <br /> <br /> While not a perfect film, often brooding too long in arthouse sentiment whenever the potential for suspense or adventure arises, there is a quaint, gentle aura to the historic location and the characters absorbing it.

2015, jai courtney, russell crowe, war

RUSSELL CROWE DIRECTS AND STARS IN THE WATER DIVINER

year: 2015 rating: *** Some of us who are more well viewed than well read only know history through cinema, and anyone who has experienc...

REVIEW OF TOOTSIE STARRING DUSTIN HOFFMAN TWICE

<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/AVvXsEj1QDWGRhBXUoZN6uW9eCXP2r2TjruAmnQREtGmIftgJ_ulhO73HJKns_7kEFG8QjM71lXl5OtHeah9mFrgHGF5z-jTzGjq5_nFuC2ssJjT-NnAHYPkRPQVJQogmyqqaYJ19y8gVP18Sx4/s1600/1.png" 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/AVvXsEj1QDWGRhBXUoZN6uW9eCXP2r2TjruAmnQREtGmIftgJ_ulhO73HJKns_7kEFG8QjM71lXl5OtHeah9mFrgHGF5z-jTzGjq5_nFuC2ssJjT-NnAHYPkRPQVJQogmyqqaYJ19y8gVP18Sx4/s320/1.png" width="231" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year: 1982 Grade: A+</td></tr> </tbody></table> Perhaps the only reason Dustin Hoffman didn’t win the Best Actor Oscar for TOOTSIE is... his best moments occur as an actress, literally. His character Michael Dorsey, according to rumor, had the kind of difficult personality that Hoffman waged on Hollywood during his prime in the 1970’s. In other words, he could have been Dorsey without THE GRADUATE catapult, which makes the moments between Michael and his agent perhaps the funniest in the entire film…<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/AVvXsEg8JKnHbGRHgljMH77mkugmxuWV59MbuhIV_qe4vDTdLQDYcQQbcY4yC0AH2pNwf3E7N4UVpdFZHnkiq5tiy3qnpSNq-lcxhkrb8NSrnVhQReJs_I1v83HkMU1Ld2p8NDV1rinUdBGC-c4/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JKnHbGRHgljMH77mkugmxuWV59MbuhIV_qe4vDTdLQDYcQQbcY4yC0AH2pNwf3E7N4UVpdFZHnkiq5tiy3qnpSNq-lcxhkrb8NSrnVhQReJs_I1v83HkMU1Ld2p8NDV1rinUdBGC-c4/s320/2.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessica Lange</td></tr> </tbody></table> Behind the scenes, director Sydney Pollack (originally an actor) and Hoffman were constantly at odds, so this edgy energy transitioned perfectly on screen. It’s Pollock’s bigwig George Fields who tells his frantic client he will never be hired in New York, or anywhere. That’s when the movie truly begins…<br /> <br /> TOOTSIE is one of the greatest comedies of all time, taking the Billy Wilder canvas into the “modern era” and one of the first motion pictures to begin defining a brand new shiny decade, the 1980’s. And what keeps it from cult status is the mainstream popularity upon release, and the glossy, feel-good, painfully catchy Stephen Bishop tracks and also the title; the latter an intentionally ironic take on the dying art of male chauvinism narrowed into Dabney Coleman’s soap director, Ron. The 9 TO 5 villain plays a surprisingly vulnerable sexist boyfriend of our ingenue love interest, and the only Oscar winner, Jessica Lange, whose beautiful actress Julie is the apple of our androgynous hero's eyes. Her performance is also the most subtle; a gentle turn relying on bouts of pallid reverie – the single mother struggling for true love in a era, and industry, merely masquerading progression for the still maligned "second sex.”  <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEidhFsKb7E6khR28uVdk-VwoCq7QjxUYDT2WeowiET4bqUxgsryjCQQCbwjcGCzxgr6OK60n5PtQLCc_xwdN9K2cmnVIWNlfvS3oYKGfrs6Cj16KnIel1R4y-svg7rdHwVuxonD9I33wvA/s1600/3.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/AVvXsEidhFsKb7E6khR28uVdk-VwoCq7QjxUYDT2WeowiET4bqUxgsryjCQQCbwjcGCzxgr6OK60n5PtQLCc_xwdN9K2cmnVIWNlfvS3oYKGfrs6Cj16KnIel1R4y-svg7rdHwVuxonD9I33wvA/s320/3.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Murray & Dustin Hoffman</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Dorsey, who alters his name to Dorothy Michaels and becomes a strong female character on the soap, has a few suitors including Charles Durning as Julie’s friendly father and scene-stealer George Gaynes as the soap's stock veteran bad actor, eventually serenading Dorothy in a scene that ends with one of the funniest lines ever: no surprise (yet in a surprising non-credited role) it comes from Bill Murray, providing one of his wittiest roles as Michael’s oddball writer roommate. Also, Murray smoothly bridges the two main templates: Michael at home preparing for his job on the set, a sublime balance of personal life and show business.  <br /> <br /> In the Thankless Supporting department is a wildly emotional Teri Garr as a struggling actress whose initial failure for the soap leads to the open door wherein Michael's desperate changeling occurs. Giving Hoffman one of his greatest performances and is, with the exception of a sympathetic yet one-dimensional Oscar winning RAIN MAN four years later, the epitome of his genius as a shape-shifter who could vanish into any eclectic role: Centering not on the overall humor of Dorsey’s ruse, it’s the subtle observations… like how cutthroat shopping women can be, to the look in a man's eyes full of lust… that brings to life a modern woman who is still wholesome, old fashion, and not even female. Thus, tapping into his feminine side, Dorsey, and the script by Larry Gelbart, never gets too obvious or sentimental.

dabney coleman, dustin hoffman, eighties, jessica lange, teri garr

REVIEW OF TOOTSIE STARRING DUSTIN HOFFMAN TWICE

Year: 1982 Grade: A+ Perhaps the only reason Dustin Hoffman didn’t win the Best Actor Oscar for TOOTSIE is... his best moments occur as ...

WOODY ALLEN AND MIA FARROW IN 'BROADWAY DANNY ROSE'

<div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table align="center" 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/AVvXsEiO9oWdMYgwtLApOoGZve6PqRC7gB0DaYW4ZP1gjJAMojFMQ6NV23YLq9d5Rqijn-HmKNlzPpSqCTram3DorhvhsHvt2pOjF_5URighlvFJCLduuiN9RTvgBIkaXfC8QBKQ6r4ArK-IgGE/s1600/Picture+3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9oWdMYgwtLApOoGZve6PqRC7gB0DaYW4ZP1gjJAMojFMQ6NV23YLq9d5Rqijn-HmKNlzPpSqCTram3DorhvhsHvt2pOjF_5URighlvFJCLduuiN9RTvgBIkaXfC8QBKQ6r4ArK-IgGE/s320/Picture+3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Long Live Underdog, and all he represents</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Not only one of Woody Allen’s best and most stylish films, but his performance goes outside the box...<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/AVvXsEh9mPfX1e8SjkBJ1nnTgqhxjHzS-QjyRZjp93ModcyRDSroxwa7qXBMfx4XmrJyQkjKYf7C_NatfMV4RxlJZi-XS6EkgZodVz3PmiaoYB6ie5-ru8i2neE7bDcFyepBckVskpS721ctpAY/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mPfX1e8SjkBJ1nnTgqhxjHzS-QjyRZjp93ModcyRDSroxwa7qXBMfx4XmrJyQkjKYf7C_NatfMV4RxlJZi-XS6EkgZodVz3PmiaoYB6ie5-ru8i2neE7bDcFyepBckVskpS721ctpAY/s1600/2.jpg" width="164" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1984</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> While the hardworking but low-rent New York talent agent Danny Rose... whose quirky clients range from a lady playing music on wine glasses to a blind xylophone player to a parrot pecking songs on a piano... embodies the usual Woody Allen nervousness and quick release of one-liners, they don't seem meant as punchlines. And there’s a kindhearted, fervently optimistic side you won't see in other Allen protagonists: He really cares about humanity; especially the ones in his stable of industry rejects. <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/AVvXsEhwVMpdwTf3J5v2mLrafaC_OGceSrbKA8chYf9YqF7iZCVGkSaxCcjbuLg2NkMtTK3ZrOi45vc3S0Yn4FcKNRJf-l-CELa702tAc07mOss4I4c1-q3acTvBBPUmMnyZD7GyEoqB5cnUaaM/s1600/2.png" 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/AVvXsEhwVMpdwTf3J5v2mLrafaC_OGceSrbKA8chYf9YqF7iZCVGkSaxCcjbuLg2NkMtTK3ZrOi45vc3S0Yn4FcKNRJf-l-CELa702tAc07mOss4I4c1-q3acTvBBPUmMnyZD7GyEoqB5cnUaaM/s1600/2.png" width="173" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Score: ****1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Among the bouquet of bottom-barrel acts, he has one client who might have a future. Hefty lounge singer Lou Canova spent his fifteen-minutes long ago, yet the nostalgia craze reignites possible interest. Danny, who will do anything to make sure the extremely superstitious Lou doesn't screw up this strategically important gig, picks up his  feisty good luck charm, Tina, played in true character-actress form by Mia Farrow, for that night's show – but she ain't happy: the married crooner's got another "other woman" beside Tina. So Danny joins Tina in a party full of mobsters where he, mistaken as her lover by a jealous Italian, becomes a marked man.<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/AVvXsEiiCfBfL0SfBmuZKV7hTt5GAOBM4wjOYvIsuYA05fqLN23vbmCZcuHbHl-bDnNbIpqtx0yj8t6PyJh-g-qO45PPTMzvwEDNQ7XYkhi9JGCF8Jn7pZROjdToY4ioz5yxGlLTdmkeZ-zD_ss/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEiiCfBfL0SfBmuZKV7hTt5GAOBM4wjOYvIsuYA05fqLN23vbmCZcuHbHl-bDnNbIpqtx0yj8t6PyJh-g-qO45PPTMzvwEDNQ7XYkhi9JGCF8Jn7pZROjdToY4ioz5yxGlLTdmkeZ-zD_ss/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="120" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A Glass Act</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The best scenes have Danny and Tina pursued by bloodthirsty goons, venturing through ghostly reeds and then, back in the city, captured within a giant warehouse harboring parade floats. The gorgeous black & white cinematography is richly enhanced by various insert shots of people’s reactions...<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/AVvXsEjLzNKJQzJKUtiEwJjfTPOAm1cidN1A-awdUAl9Zr8uWeO_vH5Q-5BxFxewF4mCKdcbPw15eMz46YoSEHszXIaEyzET7wW1zTAk5qFgAjjgaaGsY2bRJGlTV4fKC4DIoDhQZFjrs7WxSVA/s1600/Picture+2.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzNKJQzJKUtiEwJjfTPOAm1cidN1A-awdUAl9Zr8uWeO_vH5Q-5BxFxewF4mCKdcbPw15eMz46YoSEHszXIaEyzET7wW1zTAk5qFgAjjgaaGsY2bRJGlTV4fKC4DIoDhQZFjrs7WxSVA/s320/Picture+2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Woody Allen's Underdog character... literally</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> From lounge audiences to party goers to mobsters. And the entire story's told by Sandy Baron at a Delicatessen to his contemporaries, providing a documentary-style legitimacy: making Rose an underdog folk hero, legendary to only those "in the know". So while Farrow plays the guiltless moll with perfection, and this being Danny and Tina’s time-racing adventure, Nick Apollo Forte’s genuinely cozy charm as the singing/songwriting Lou Canova ultimately steals the show. As the kind of flaky womanizer Allen's characters usually detest, this guy has heart... or does he?<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/AVvXsEgoqY8wanl0cGCq9q6gOwNlyLKKW3f10FdGKfLBqC50ooHtouLb4g_485FDxReA0v426nnq70ldO2-bYyj7orHARWiAcQnvuwugFd955Ghs6TduKe0wlp0sFBcFQIwR27yAlYziYdgLN00/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqY8wanl0cGCq9q6gOwNlyLKKW3f10FdGKfLBqC50ooHtouLb4g_485FDxReA0v426nnq70ldO2-bYyj7orHARWiAcQnvuwugFd955Ghs6TduKe0wlp0sFBcFQIwR27yAlYziYdgLN00/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marquee Showing Woody Allen's ex girlfriend Stacey Nelkin's most famous role</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div>

comedy, eighties, mia farrow, nick appolo forte, paul greco, race against time, woody allen

WOODY ALLEN AND MIA FARROW IN 'BROADWAY DANNY ROSE'

Long Live Underdog, and all he represents Not only one of Woody Allen’s best and most stylish films, but his performance goes outside ...

REVIEW OF EX MACHINA

<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/AVvXsEjJYtZMvuH9fotHT-nOTrBi-MnOyFLhbasODT7RcAgKzK5SMbayalVSQj8JeMs8fnr5buxESlYgM3_LDY4XmGJdhkUZf1tcNLr_JEPtWBYxIQCs7tcYww0H7-9nbUBynf8p8fgFm8FiyfU/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEjJYtZMvuH9fotHT-nOTrBi-MnOyFLhbasODT7RcAgKzK5SMbayalVSQj8JeMs8fnr5buxESlYgM3_LDY4XmGJdhkUZf1tcNLr_JEPtWBYxIQCs7tcYww0H7-9nbUBynf8p8fgFm8FiyfU/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="212" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> At one point, as we move slowly towards a conclusion, Oscar Issac, playing tech genius entrepreneur Nathan, tells his special guest how time flies. And in this particular case, time flies coach. <br /> <br /> Although EX MACHINA, mirroring science-fiction cult cinema ranging from 2001 to BLADE RUNNER, is first class in structure, aesthetics, and characterization: too bad we don’t get to know the humans as well as the Artificial Intelligence – that being Alicia Vikander’s beautiful Ava… <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8UkDwK-zrqt6vYgpMbScQ66mIK2LBNhzknHbSlV2mjz42FyfyQcWm5mvWbweO9zC692dHWwfeiedMUWslSPvszZfcHmuNw1f6OL-62HdzVRwT2zhJp0FBDAKCZ33Cf0uvq_ZPx75JRU/s1600/ex-machina-poster-2.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8UkDwK-zrqt6vYgpMbScQ66mIK2LBNhzknHbSlV2mjz42FyfyQcWm5mvWbweO9zC692dHWwfeiedMUWslSPvszZfcHmuNw1f6OL-62HdzVRwT2zhJp0FBDAKCZ33Cf0uvq_ZPx75JRU/s320/ex-machina-poster-2.jpeg" width="184" /></a></div> With a soft, passive countenance, she manipulatively seduces her creator’s employee, Domhnall Gleeson’s Caleb, who isn’t quite sure what his job is, exactly. Called upon to a rural wilderness outpost to test his boss’s new “robot,” he spends most of the time in cerebral conversations with either Nathan or Ava: One likes to drink, spout pop culture references and avoids the point at hand while the other seeks freedom from the glorified FRANKENSTEIN mansion.  <br /> <br /> Issac wields a snarky, roguish charm that will hopefully serve him (and us) in the upcoming STAR WARS 7: THE FORCE AWAKENS – a blunt manner balancing the vulnerability of that highly anticipated film’s other young star, Gleeson. But in MACHINA, we hardly focus past all the expository wallpaper: A real shame since there's the right kind of “genuine sci-fi” elements, from an ominous soundtrack to dialogue that goes way over your head, and then some.

2015, domhnall gleeson, oscar issac, science-fiction

REVIEW OF EX MACHINA

year: 2015 rating: ** At one point, as we move slowly towards a conclusion, Oscar Issac, playing tech genius entrepreneur Nathan, tells ...

TOM HARDY & NOOMI REPACE IN CHILD 44

<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/AVvXsEgNWidNFzIh139uONstBj7fBvx3T6iMudQWDvzXfbI6h9no9SKxWYx0smbB0GGfnQubYbcfdMD7_u94jKCCArE1daFkwALBDtCfi2H3YrjQ9ZtiwMaSv3ythllbn2Cma2LaLXFWwr0YgcY/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWidNFzIh139uONstBj7fBvx3T6iMudQWDvzXfbI6h9no9SKxWYx0smbB0GGfnQubYbcfdMD7_u94jKCCArE1daFkwALBDtCfi2H3YrjQ9ZtiwMaSv3ythllbn2Cma2LaLXFWwr0YgcY/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="128" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> If you think American-set crime flicks like SEVEN are gruesome, depressing and hopeless, prepare for two full hours of torture that often feels like getting bitten by a cobra snake in hell... Death upon death, as it were. And that’s not really strange since CHILD 44, taking place in Russia after World War II, is deliberately morbid and futile i.e. the uncomfortable shoe fits. <br /> <br /> Enter Tom Hardy's rugged war hero, Leo Demidov, who eventually decides to hunt down a psychotic "phantom" mutilating young boys between Moscow and other small cities: one dark factory town in particular where Leo is sent for not “selling out” his wife, Raisa Demidov, played by Noomi Repace. The couple travel around by train – the tracks wind through forests where exterior shots capture gorgeous scenery between the bleak, prison-like locales. And it takes well over an hour before the actual investigation begins... not an easy task in Russia where armed officials remain in strict denial of any problems. A decade after the war, and Hitler's still being blamed. <br /> <br /> The performances fall short of the talent on board, also including Gary Oldman and Vincent Cassel in somewhat wasted roles. The direction, while not by producer Ridley Scott, mirrors his Neo Noir vibe, intense close-ups and action sequences that put you rolling and tumbling in the often dizzy pandemonium. But the most intriguing aspect... the search for the killer... is hindered by sluggish reality as the actors, using distractingly thick Russian accents, are still speaking English – making CHILD 44 only halfway genuine, and even less entertaining.

2015, crime, noomi repace, ridley scott, tom hardy

TOM HARDY & NOOMI REPACE IN CHILD 44

year: 2015 rating: ** If you think American-set crime flicks like SEVEN are gruesome, depressing and hopeless, prepare for two full hour...

BELATED REVIEW OF UNFRIENDED

<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/AVvXsEjObD-0ZplXbzf5sLM5ZyvfCStgfPhbG9FyPW47Ni2ldHby1fowfKbbGFuMhVtLXNSjWuKDRyhdQRXC6GiP7eFwH7NWmWXQ5Hz6SFoqWL0xfV3F18G9vGorYBDtznR_ty4OCqZCse1u7bE/s1600/unfriended_t103209_png_290x478_upscale_q90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObD-0ZplXbzf5sLM5ZyvfCStgfPhbG9FyPW47Ni2ldHby1fowfKbbGFuMhVtLXNSjWuKDRyhdQRXC6GiP7eFwH7NWmWXQ5Hz6SFoqWL0xfV3F18G9vGorYBDtznR_ty4OCqZCse1u7bE/s1600/unfriended_t103209_png_290x478_upscale_q90.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *</td></tr> </tbody></table> Credit must be given once again to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT above all the PARANORMAL flicks for actually inventing the frenzied "documented on video as it occurs" premise, but UNFRIENDED goes a step further, or perhaps backwards, as we experience a five person visual chat (on Skype, or something) turning downright deadly when a girl who, a year after committing suicide from cyber bullying, possibly returns as a random user. Here's when an annoying teenage gathering morphs into an annoying teenage body count horror. <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/AVvXsEhMOsDEIzt5O_2rOy6eDDjPLw8FQozj29TNY5jmNYv3JTZZMRs7UrvqorlxDCAshWocsWuszYAJZ4CjIRQbfuslZX9SGkK82jOMA1Y7scE9B5oXI1VWB1hLh-TBZNzH4T4fpPoaTqEWJl8/s1600/large_ip2IqmvCqFzvPe8RAHpT1My6XM9.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/AVvXsEhMOsDEIzt5O_2rOy6eDDjPLw8FQozj29TNY5jmNYv3JTZZMRs7UrvqorlxDCAshWocsWuszYAJZ4CjIRQbfuslZX9SGkK82jOMA1Y7scE9B5oXI1VWB1hLh-TBZNzH4T4fpPoaTqEWJl8/s200/large_ip2IqmvCqFzvPe8RAHpT1My6XM9.jpg" width="157" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Similar Artwork</td></tr> </tbody></table> Maybe WARGAMES was another inspiration since most of the film has an inevitably lethal game being played as the “killer” posts limited-time <i>truth or die</i> questions wherein the group must turn on each other to remain breathing…<br /> <br /> Problem is, we don’t know these kids enough to care if they screw each other around or not… Revenge is the key element, yet there’s no reason to suffer through 90 frantic minutes of it without a worthy, palpable antagonist. Meanwhile, an attempt to make the process seem ultra realistic has a mouse-cursor scrolling throughout the computer screen, seeking random information as well as typed private messages – stuff we do every single day and shouldn't have to pay to watch, for so long, between the "good parts." 

2015, body count, horror, teen

BELATED REVIEW OF UNFRIENDED

2015 rating: * Credit must be given once again to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT above all the PARANORMAL flicks for actually inventing the fre...

JAMES FRANCO & JONAH HILL GET SERIOUS IN TRUE STORY

<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/AVvXsEgW-n1HICGilX8ajy-Vpsu6blE8Pcd1u5nZD56AeB_XmUKhkY1v7TI1VXLvwggtoCMC5re0DFRzzSXIcFvkItf5kszQXLlH3AGxRDMBQgrzk9WCJyy_n6x4XgXiLBU-5yY5Xi38PfSPP_Q/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-n1HICGilX8ajy-Vpsu6blE8Pcd1u5nZD56AeB_XmUKhkY1v7TI1VXLvwggtoCMC5re0DFRzzSXIcFvkItf5kszQXLlH3AGxRDMBQgrzk9WCJyy_n6x4XgXiLBU-5yY5Xi38PfSPP_Q/s200/1.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Paraphrasing Truman Capote, who studied, befriended and wrote a groundbreaking novel concerning death row inmate Perry Smith titled IN COLD BLOOD… Capote<i> </i><u>felt as if</u> he were Perry’s brother: both grew up in the same house, and while he went out the proverbial front door, Perry exited the back... <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/AVvXsEhrMHcJpEmltxIJI5OZGUtlRwhGfr_rL_pQJzQlIaf4zSPEQGNftBbUGwKcB0cpCn-fET-cAMXhgtVJk2S4MQk0eEF0AEn1h-GhFEVhYWX1TR8rg7O980j9qs2FjxxIWNc6FGG26zNcUQE/s1600/2.jpg" 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/AVvXsEhrMHcJpEmltxIJI5OZGUtlRwhGfr_rL_pQJzQlIaf4zSPEQGNftBbUGwKcB0cpCn-fET-cAMXhgtVJk2S4MQk0eEF0AEn1h-GhFEVhYWX1TR8rg7O980j9qs2FjxxIWNc6FGG26zNcUQE/s200/2.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Franco</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Not much difference when Jonah Hill’s real life journalist Michael Finkel puts his own notes beside accused killer Christopher Longo’s "recent" scrawls, pointing out the similarity in style… There’s something, perhaps irony or excitement, that makes writers yearn to connect with murderers… Norman Mailer tops that list… Or perhaps it’s that their subject’s TRUE STORY has the potential for a great book… And books usually become movies wherein fame and money follow suit…<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> As a New York Times journalist specializing in helping the little guy, Finkel desperately needed a comeback after being caught cheating facts on a story about Africa… His name was poison in the writing community, and Longo, played by James Franco, literally used Finkel’s name when captured in Mexico… Turns out the accused, charged with murdering his wife and children, was a fan of the maligned journalist's work…<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/AVvXsEg8Fjik21koajJDzD_6KgJ0BJC8YO4SP2ta9D1Z5UuZdlMa6bov-JuUmU0aunqlsh-DWeVw2nQ10mjXNjCBjSg94hlPRF4RPlEFLsiEuX-tgjO1sPbf3Sq5JWFCmS6mEIuolJwfB-5d3ew/s1600/3.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Fjik21koajJDzD_6KgJ0BJC8YO4SP2ta9D1Z5UuZdlMa6bov-JuUmU0aunqlsh-DWeVw2nQ10mjXNjCBjSg94hlPRF4RPlEFLsiEuX-tgjO1sPbf3Sq5JWFCmS6mEIuolJwfB-5d3ew/s200/3.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonah Hill</td></tr> </tbody></table> And like the aforementioned CAPOTE, the writer needs to put the story into book form as both polar opposites use each other in the process: one gets the scoop, the other receives lessons in becoming a writer.  <br /> <br /> As intriguing as it sounds, there’s not much here other than a few talking head scenes between author and convict, bonding together as mind games occur in such a subtle way, their joined synergy isn’t as captivating as Longo obviously was to Finkel, and vice versa. Which doesn’t mean the performances aren’t decent: Jonah Hill gets even more intense than his WOLF OF WALL STREET nomination, especially effective when he calls Longo’s bluff; while Franco, hinting at sinister creepiness, has the potential to stretch outside the box, yet he never really does. And by far the biggest non-fiction irony is saved for last: The flawed writer was fired from The New York Times while the convicted murderer provided sporadic articles to the same paper. Talk about scruples!

2015, james franco, jonah hill

JAMES FRANCO & JONAH HILL GET SERIOUS IN TRUE STORY

2015 rating: **1/2 Paraphrasing Truman Capote, who studied, befriended and wrote a groundbreaking novel concerning death row inmate Pe...

GROUCHY GROWNUP REVIEW OF THE LONGEST RIDE

<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/AVvXsEguaxosHXdo2oeU0WozdCqaP_kAab6b2BodJr61EC7W4euBz8-gTlnOX1k3tQXQbRYhIGYrPPQnkxKz_KrpH5r6lW-grVAO_GIe1ZrDUPP0mA5STyAPnaoiR1YjKr0gaqEcxyAMEx6ijaU/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEguaxosHXdo2oeU0WozdCqaP_kAab6b2BodJr61EC7W4euBz8-gTlnOX1k3tQXQbRYhIGYrPPQnkxKz_KrpH5r6lW-grVAO_GIe1ZrDUPP0mA5STyAPnaoiR1YjKr0gaqEcxyAMEx6ijaU/s320/Picture+1.png" width="192" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Not a dry eye in the house, or on screen… The female audience sniffling as the characters are, like THE NOTEBOOK and all things Nicholas Sparks, getting drenched in perpetual rain… <br /> <br /> Not that THE LONGEST RIDE doesn't also include "plenty of sunshine" – after all, one cannot ride a bull on muddy soil. And here our leading young man doesn’t speak much: Enter Clint Eastwood’s son, Scott, as Luke Collins, a bull rider who yearns to be number one. He meets a vulnerable and initially reluctant, soon-to-be city girl, Sophia, an art student played by Britt Robertson. Thus a friendship ensues that’s not much different than the inevitable lustful romance that follows: both are extremely attractive so what’s to lose? Yet the real plot evolves after the young couple saves an old man from a car accident (in the rain, no less): savoring a box of letters revealing a backstory more important than their dull, one-dimensional mainline: A recovering, narrating Alan Alda, in younger form, is smitten with a strong-willed Jewish girl who appreciates art; something he and the audience will take for granite till the twist finale, proving (once again) how money cures everything in cinema...<br /> <br /> Well love is involved too, and despite the barrage of soap operatic clichés there’s a genuine (if rushed) heartfelt longing in the 1940’s b-story that leaves enough residual for the modern couple's romance to stretch (just a tad) beyond Tearjerker 101.

2015, romance

GROUCHY GROWNUP REVIEW OF THE LONGEST RIDE

year: 2015 rating: ** Not a dry eye in the house, or on screen… The female audience sniffling as the characters are, like THE NOTEBOOK a...

GEORGE LAZENBY 'ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE' AUTOGRAPH

<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/AVvXsEg1R0Cl-e5Os3F0hVHq-7ZamJubblJ0N6RGkoRFe3RcuOSn8hCz2G1Ii_xXAtp9XXnZjwMcO5XedBsVxb6EQqQW5COoTLzGut8fIiNQDgf86S_0mu5vcDsfOMIoc4ovdoHqs8KNSJZQObjK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-18+at+2.05.41+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1R0Cl-e5Os3F0hVHq-7ZamJubblJ0N6RGkoRFe3RcuOSn8hCz2G1Ii_xXAtp9XXnZjwMcO5XedBsVxb6EQqQW5COoTLzGut8fIiNQDgf86S_0mu5vcDsfOMIoc4ovdoHqs8KNSJZQObjK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-18+at+2.05.41+PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>George Lazenby autographed ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE Blu Ray</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Got this autograph at the Hollywood Show in Burbank. A friend had been his "handler" the day earlier, and supposedly, George Lazenby, who starred in only one James Bond movie, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, owned her money, so when he signed this, she was sitting near him, keeping him "in check" as it were, and he was not happy in her presence. Either way, this is a great signature on a Blu Ray that stands alone as a studio release and not one of any Bond Collection.

autographs, diana rigg, george lazenby, james bond, sixties, spy

GEORGE LAZENBY 'ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE' AUTOGRAPH

George Lazenby autographed ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE Blu Ray Got this autograph at the Hollywood Show in Burbank. A friend had...

KEVIN JAMES RETURNS IN PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2

<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/AVvXsEiFQdQbr5fdHa7D5Ognz3V0xDRCO4ltfJLSlR9551IzF71siiRDvP6rd2c-4auLqPRLpRNSbytYVDsKdcX6v_E121NVfN8euQJZ5E-e7I5C9gy3FJC0L_RzueoaT6DafJ_91MnA5-KOpN0/s1600/Picture+2.png" 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/AVvXsEiFQdQbr5fdHa7D5Ognz3V0xDRCO4ltfJLSlR9551IzF71siiRDvP6rd2c-4auLqPRLpRNSbytYVDsKdcX6v_E121NVfN8euQJZ5E-e7I5C9gy3FJC0L_RzueoaT6DafJ_91MnA5-KOpN0/s320/Picture+2.png" width="207" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: *</td></tr> </tbody></table> The first PAUL BLART: MALL COP starred the underdog of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison ensemble, who have more perpetually connected projects than Judd Apatow. That being KING OF QUEENS actor Kevin James as an anal, unappreciated mall security cop playing strictly by the rules and getting absolutely nowhere in life… And surprisingly enough, the dark horse project made tons of money at the box office. <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/AVvXsEjEkbrcwAZqZ4u5vL5IlRUqUpGEvl9jg5C0ofpemTc3zeDUgCEl-cSU48Pl4RszJ_m0EtYExnjZv1vgMIxIXWQD0PT0Z3Zfou3MrOofucmWSQFTGFPryndTHvP43_FQ4EOIawBOwA77LnI/s1600/Picture+1.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkbrcwAZqZ4u5vL5IlRUqUpGEvl9jg5C0ofpemTc3zeDUgCEl-cSU48Pl4RszJ_m0EtYExnjZv1vgMIxIXWQD0PT0Z3Zfou3MrOofucmWSQFTGFPryndTHvP43_FQ4EOIawBOwA77LnI/s1600/Picture+1.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dolphin One</td></tr> </tbody></table> It’s tough getting a handle on James’ particular comedic niche, especially in the BLART films. He’s kind of lovable and completely unlucky, mumbling words that are supposed to mean something important only to apologize for the attempt at heroism or depth, right after. Too nice for sarcasm and practically glued to a stand-up scooter, he plays up the Happy Fat Guy routine with energetic gusto, and can really move and shake: like Chris Farley and, going back even further, John Belushi and, for the really obscure pop culture fanatics, Fred Rerun Berry!<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/AVvXsEhMvh7EXkJ3Ru8mPkJavHCE8OeMXA4rVqxBJrJJqDpElGhS9Fg05RIHEaJ8GMloPSPTRsCe-v7YprwZIYoE0Qc9CXpnkbMiDUyEAuqqqTUYIqnqCBNZOXYnDvR1cpVu9vVQBMSxDlU0Cdg/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEhMvh7EXkJ3Ru8mPkJavHCE8OeMXA4rVqxBJrJJqDpElGhS9Fg05RIHEaJ8GMloPSPTRsCe-v7YprwZIYoE0Qc9CXpnkbMiDUyEAuqqqTUYIqnqCBNZOXYnDvR1cpVu9vVQBMSxDlU0Cdg/s320/Picture+1.png" width="134" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Dolphin</td></tr> </tbody></table> So now, Blart travels from his New Jersey gig to Las Vegas where a convention of other security guards are meeting. The first half deals with really long, awkward bits where Paul attempts simple tasks. From checking into the hotel to opening a candy bar, he takes things slow, meticulous and clumsy... For a little while... <br /> <br /> Wherein most comedies wait till the end to get serious enough for the subliminal plot to be resolved, usually through some kind of action sequence, halfway though PAUL BLART 2 the bad guys kidnap his daughter, igniting a frantic hijinx DIE HARD as our obese hero battles a gang of art thieves. And although there are practically no laughs beyond lame physical gags, we’re delivered from that painful set-up, wasting a good (if overused) location and an opportunity to meet more than one pretentious rent-a-cop. In other words, there's a lot more going on this time, and none of it's the least bit funny. So do yourself a favor and check out <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2012/11/here-comes-boom.html">HERE COMES THE BOOM</a>, a worthy Kevin James vehicle that doesn't try too hard – although trying too hard seems to be his signature style.

2015, comedy, kevin james, sequel

KEVIN JAMES RETURNS IN PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2

year: 2015 rating: * The first PAUL BLART: MALL COP starred the underdog of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison ensemble, who have more perpetu...

SECOND STAR WARS FORCE AWAKENS TRAILER

<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/AVvXsEhMJkQ7Nn-W9vgXTTWbIWZNcAodKPiDQeFZWGZ15Ta_3Qsx1lFCcIOPhJuS7Z36eGxtSYh7TZDLEfq4QWdpuSxLWNWYT6KjzN2svqZ_gmTlkCtozYi2E08FHMEUxDgVxSuxOV-khktHexw/s1600/Picture+5.png" 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/AVvXsEhMJkQ7Nn-W9vgXTTWbIWZNcAodKPiDQeFZWGZ15Ta_3Qsx1lFCcIOPhJuS7Z36eGxtSYh7TZDLEfq4QWdpuSxLWNWYT6KjzN2svqZ_gmTlkCtozYi2E08FHMEUxDgVxSuxOV-khktHexw/s320/Picture+5.png" width="135" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Droid</td></tr> </tbody></table> The second STAR WARS VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS trailer has crept up on us, and it’s much better than the <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2014/11/teaser-force-awakens.html">first, highly anticipated and publicized teaser</a>, now beginning with a narration by a great voice-over actor, and main player of the original trilogy, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, and a fantastic image that makes this promotion truly worthwhile…<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/AVvXsEiEtg6J4dN2qfFbfOB_5qFpwDFrJK3bF4VwoOhzrkT6kRqcrGgcW2s61Rg6oGtmhmHLd2Qahr8DEJ_XqRTNEZbAqtvPYsJfJIAAPnILYbxlNKcOuko4T2ljpjsLiB5CeQUs0_dH7avdfss/s1600/Picture+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtg6J4dN2qfFbfOB_5qFpwDFrJK3bF4VwoOhzrkT6kRqcrGgcW2s61Rg6oGtmhmHLd2Qahr8DEJ_XqRTNEZbAqtvPYsJfJIAAPnILYbxlNKcOuko4T2ljpjsLiB5CeQUs0_dH7avdfss/s320/Picture+6.png" width="145" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Falcon chase</td></tr> </tbody></table> As a lonely french horn from a reposeful section of John Williams' classic soundtrack plays, we see, on (what's obviously) the familiar planet of Tatooine (months later, we've learned it's not), the shadowy remnant of an Imperial Cruiser along with a fallen X-Wing, both having plunged into the sandy depths a long, long time ago…<br /> <br /> A grainy ghost ship epitomizing George Lucas’s <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2012/11/disney-should-keep-star-wars-on-run.html">original concept</a> of a “used future,” horrendously abandoned in the slick and glossy prequels: While the Stormtrooper helmets and a few other quick images also seem high-tech reminiscent of those millennial catastrophes...<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/AVvXsEjD-SMj8pXfzUIil1m4ZhXS-L0IjqKRKzOP2ydmB8p4IgEAlFQRuFs2vbDZPnOB26GONOpscdhphXhvBp95CfwwO6GBQV3acF3RZONk64KgO04mz3fwuUTg51twa3bejUnmt-vTW7jnMVA/s1600/Picture+1.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/AVvXsEjD-SMj8pXfzUIil1m4ZhXS-L0IjqKRKzOP2ydmB8p4IgEAlFQRuFs2vbDZPnOB26GONOpscdhphXhvBp95CfwwO6GBQV3acF3RZONk64KgO04mz3fwuUTg51twa3bejUnmt-vTW7jnMVA/s1600/Picture+1.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute Ingenue</td></tr> </tbody></table> And it’s hard to figure if the R2 Volley Ball will be the Jar Jar of Droids… The black dude still has major Stormtrooper issues, once again taking off the helmet with a stunned expression of, “Why am I wearing this damn thing?” But since he’s now battling and/or running away from laser-happy villains along with our cute ingénue, it’s not as awkward as before. <br /> <br /> Closing once again is the Millennium Falcon chased through the desert by Tie Fighters… Oscar Isaac is having a literal blast piloting an X-Wing… And last and certainly not least, the audience gets what’s truly been anticipated: A glimpse of Han and “Chewie,” the famous smuggler says, now donning what looks like an Indy leather jacket instead of his signature vest: <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/p/star-wars.html">“We’re home!”</a> <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/AVvXsEifRoSAa07o_iAfAeKNxT5ulZT5j6Y4jS00iN7anNpOKmLkRfw9oGGWMacaaVMiHdAT9fBiVNVjbNiuHSIJdPf97tACKV5R5Q0kkDPpt0YxNMALZrpcomv_aoa-S4SwMRkkloch9oMwZ1Q/s1600/Picture+77.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRoSAa07o_iAfAeKNxT5ulZT5j6Y4jS00iN7anNpOKmLkRfw9oGGWMacaaVMiHdAT9fBiVNVjbNiuHSIJdPf97tACKV5R5Q0kkDPpt0YxNMALZrpcomv_aoa-S4SwMRkkloch9oMwZ1Q/s1600/Picture+77.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A purgatory graveyard of forgotten cinematic greatness</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ngElkyQ6Rhs" width="560"></iframe>

2015, science-fiction, star wars

SECOND STAR WARS FORCE AWAKENS TRAILER

New Droid The second STAR WARS VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS trailer has crept up on us, and it’s much better than the first, highly anticipate...

BEN STILLER & NAOMI WATTS IN WHILE WE'RE YOUNG

<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/AVvXsEg9UgDmPkYy_gbO8A2mk82CEOBXhkcMXKwmbEbod9FKQOvxBNq6MnuazSK20cJhlZtaWjH3u6QyWMUBYzFxhhxvyA44xl9VBNvGsnJJrAWRY84pQ6YdoCfdzqEcaOa2j4r8FLP69VS1V2g/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEg9UgDmPkYy_gbO8A2mk82CEOBXhkcMXKwmbEbod9FKQOvxBNq6MnuazSK20cJhlZtaWjH3u6QyWMUBYzFxhhxvyA44xl9VBNvGsnJJrAWRY84pQ6YdoCfdzqEcaOa2j4r8FLP69VS1V2g/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="180" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> After an excruciating all-night spiritual exercise of literally cleansing the body and soul by using peyote, the next morning Ben Stiller’s struggling New York based documentarian Josh points out to his wife Cornelia, played by Naomi Watts, that the Shaman has a Vespa; reminiscent of Woody Allen’s quip to Shelley Duvall about the Maharishi at Madison Square Garden in ANNIE HALL: “Look, there’s God coming out of the Men's Room.” <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/AVvXsEjPHt-SlI12ltzdaUM_9Pmw-j-tBT0f4lCItFfGmz9eekRrTFaf590N8HAz-gWvWGkTv3q1wHo8wEa6FUgWeMWD1NPFmzuFr1DqaLnQagFtP0Vz0FvGjd-9kPIodxNG8PNgcBFZrPz8hA4/s1600/Picture+2.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHt-SlI12ltzdaUM_9Pmw-j-tBT0f4lCItFfGmz9eekRrTFaf590N8HAz-gWvWGkTv3q1wHo8wEa6FUgWeMWD1NPFmzuFr1DqaLnQagFtP0Vz0FvGjd-9kPIodxNG8PNgcBFZrPz8hA4/s1600/Picture+2.png" width="129" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben Stiller</td></tr> </tbody></table> Clever and strategic for writer/director Noah Baumbach to, from the very beginning, admit his WHILE WE’RE YOUNG is inspired by... some classic play, distracting from the similarity to Allen’s neurotic style including a barrage of self deprecation, navel gazing and an eventual envious competition between one failed and one lucky filmmaker straight from another Woody classic, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. Although Adam Driver’s 25-year-old inspiring documentarian, Jamie, is anything but a roaring success…<br /> <br /> Especially when he first meets his mentor, Stiller’s 44-year-old Josh, who winds up going through a crash course mid-life crisis ranging from hipster clothing to a brand new appreciation for the pop culture he grew up on (from ROSEMARY’S BABY to THE GOONIES to "Eye of the Tiger" to Carvel Ice Cream) and that this generation knows only from You Tube clips. <br /> <br /> The friendship between old and young artist is more interesting than the trite connection of Cornelia and Jamie’s girl Darby, played by Amanda Seyfried, and yet either odd couple hardly wields enough intriguing humor to make YOUNG as inspired as it tries too hard to be. Thankfully for the audience and our put-upon hero, there’s a nice pivotal twist involving Jamie’s integrity as a filmmaker, making Ben Stiller rise above the clichés and finally, actually, <i>need</i> something.

2015, adam driver, ben stiller, comedy, naomi watts

BEN STILLER & NAOMI WATTS IN WHILE WE'RE YOUNG

year: 2015 rating: *** After an excruciating all-night spiritual exercise of literally cleansing the body and soul by using peyote, th...

PUTTING FEELERS OUT FOR THE ANT-MAN TRAILER

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9R88yYzkjAGRRmgcZgwxb0hm5gxVKbJNshOdj7WAl6zx0H0wtCSQtTYxUgUDJ86I2vmE6EPsGXNLqjZ5wG9NaCes29N4pT_Z9hVdrYVDD-y1RLYG0aqyCLdxrZCotVL41AsJl2RmRBQU/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9R88yYzkjAGRRmgcZgwxb0hm5gxVKbJNshOdj7WAl6zx0H0wtCSQtTYxUgUDJ86I2vmE6EPsGXNLqjZ5wG9NaCes29N4pT_Z9hVdrYVDD-y1RLYG0aqyCLdxrZCotVL41AsJl2RmRBQU/s1600/Picture+2.png" width="120" /></a></div> “Imagine a soldier the size of an insect,” begins the trailer for the next Marvel comic book cinematic adaptation and possible franchise. “The ultimate secret weapon.” <br /> <br /> Well if they play their cards right, the potential of Paul Rudd’s casting can go a long way. While impossible for anyone to ever equal Robert Downey Jr’s sarcastic genius of Tony Stark as IRON MAN, Rudd has an established gift of glib that could work wonders.  <br /> <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-74pH0AT4vUQxNUp9YcM0xa3IVP7SzcBT6NI544u1YthiufJFi3yyEqkSkavvs9WI-ykDoASwZHxpQzBpXLU7k_KwOeIeTuqiHOeh3k2hiLH_OjHZ1gQk4v3TEG88haUjV2bRxy2qYQ/s1600/Picture+3.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-74pH0AT4vUQxNUp9YcM0xa3IVP7SzcBT6NI544u1YthiufJFi3yyEqkSkavvs9WI-ykDoASwZHxpQzBpXLU7k_KwOeIeTuqiHOeh3k2hiLH_OjHZ1gQk4v3TEG88haUjV2bRxy2qYQ/s1600/Picture+3.png" width="168" /></a>Speaking of sarcasm, something occurs in many modern comic book flicks, especially highlighted in trailers – which is getting a tad annoying. In order to adhere to hip millennials or embarrassed mid-lifers, the titular hero has to apologize for the moniker he’s given: “I’m Ant-Man,” says Rudd’s Scott Lang, a thief hired by Michael Douglas’s Hank Pym to literally shrink his sneaky talents. “I know,” he then quips, embarrassed. “It wasn’t my idea.” <br /> <br /> Strange why they keep having to qualify superheroes in this fashion. Sure, parts of the trailer looks like a high octane HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS, especially when ants are shown. The successful camp of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY has provided leeway to have fun with the usual intense, geek-serious genre. And ANT-MAN is no SPIDER-MAN as far as household names go… It all seems a bit silly and farfetched even for this kind of thing, making the original, replaced director, Edgar Wright, an inspired choice to turn an anthill into a mountain of frantic fun and creativity… Sad he had to split. <br /> <br /> But it’s a cool enough trailer, and a worthy cast. Douglas will probably go through the motions and they will be good motions since he's a capable actor. Evangeline Lilly looks like a tough enough kick ass ingenue. But with Wright leaving his built-in style and fanbase audience in the wake, it's almost solely up to Rudd and how much he puts himself into the role to make it shine, his own way.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPe6aIbgaDVEy4pskW_OS44xRppTa9lggFhJoXzxRNImWMTFCAuovs5-KQTcvwU77hSkK0G7dKhysj28JnTrEDizT59_VkdwkOEw19hRld_iuHH3gExMj-pEIfI8cy9pehrn12kpa9ErE/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPe6aIbgaDVEy4pskW_OS44xRppTa9lggFhJoXzxRNImWMTFCAuovs5-KQTcvwU77hSkK0G7dKhysj28JnTrEDizT59_VkdwkOEw19hRld_iuHH3gExMj-pEIfI8cy9pehrn12kpa9ErE/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWdKf3MneyI" width="560"></iframe>

2015, michael douglas, paul rudd, trailer

PUTTING FEELERS OUT FOR THE ANT-MAN TRAILER

“Imagine a soldier the size of an insect,” begins the trailer for the next Marvel comic book cinematic adaptation and possible franchise. ...

A BRIEF GLIMPSE INTO A MAD MEN BINGE IN PROGRESS

<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/AVvXsEhYNIoDdgTPkIL_TbocLJGQ3E1LMYC10YfC2BxO8w9835zOXySzPtgoHb7CLrksIYF5vXcxPmthaQbU9BPgUhnxX0hureBNrTOHk2hivfhG6Xc1wd-0Pmihe1WKSlGn8M-W_JS9_qOfivg/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNIoDdgTPkIL_TbocLJGQ3E1LMYC10YfC2BxO8w9835zOXySzPtgoHb7CLrksIYF5vXcxPmthaQbU9BPgUhnxX0hureBNrTOHk2hivfhG6Xc1wd-0Pmihe1WKSlGn8M-W_JS9_qOfivg/s1600/1.png" width="165" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January Jones as Betty </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> What’s a better way to punch Political-Correctness square in the nose than to base a show before the PC climate even existed: welcome to the early 1960's.  <br /> <br /> In that, the female characters, trapped in a man’s world... especially belonging to Jon Hamm’s ad man extraordinaire Don Draper... are stronger and more capable than most modern female roles in the last twenty years...<br /> <br /> Up against, looked down upon and lusted after by an office full of young and middle-aged men clamoring for attention and their piece of the pie, these "gals" on board, including red-haired bombshell Christina Hendricks as super secretary Joan and secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson, played by Elizabeth Moss, have more power than one would realize... Or maybe <i>control</i> is a better word. To paraphrase that German fella; it only makes 'em stronger. <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/AVvXsEixtpwE9igFf0Nirh0O5gMkU16rw82_FEjvVJDBhGaR029IMUR9lMc_kVQyTHG1_E0zuIjBX_bwMA24Xc5URKNSj-ws27rkA1caw_xENKxjZuBcfLgQinr8Ktg4ls_GijmmKzznBotNZhw/s1600/3.png" 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/AVvXsEixtpwE9igFf0Nirh0O5gMkU16rw82_FEjvVJDBhGaR029IMUR9lMc_kVQyTHG1_E0zuIjBX_bwMA24Xc5URKNSj-ws27rkA1caw_xENKxjZuBcfLgQinr8Ktg4ls_GijmmKzznBotNZhw/s1600/3.png" width="132" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pacino in G2</td></tr> </tbody></table> In the midst of a very belated MAD MEN binge, not too much should be revealed here… Only to say that Jon Hamm won't be an Al Pacino of the big screen but, based on the first two seasons, his television Don Draper has the kind of formidable silence Pacino wielded in the first two GODFATHER films: With an expression like he knows what everyone’s thinking, and beyond.  <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEhmszh2rnFM51m4uXvJcj1UZqkWxDh-RvGUmFS_hcyB8-zvbPjV50-wxWD14Wg7PZXny8DC-0-ua5oTzJ09IgmUrZwjNXcClY_8cr7-seG42oJhvic9PdoFunoxxq4h0md0yepk3GMz9IE/s1600/2.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/AVvXsEhmszh2rnFM51m4uXvJcj1UZqkWxDh-RvGUmFS_hcyB8-zvbPjV50-wxWD14Wg7PZXny8DC-0-ua5oTzJ09IgmUrZwjNXcClY_8cr7-seG42oJhvic9PdoFunoxxq4h0md0yepk3GMz9IE/s1600/2.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jon Hamm as Don Draper</td></tr> </tbody></table> While keeping a poker face around his ambitious, sometimes pretentious, amusing and always entertaining employees, trying to land the next product ranging from coffee to soda pop to clothing to major airlines, Don gets involved in more sideline monkey business than anyone else: taking extended breaks and prolonged lunches equaling the number of cigarettes he smokes in the office (well, not really). Cutting back and forth from the central New York ad agency location to upper class suburbia with a childlike but ultimately resilient housewife Betty, played by January Jones, and then on his surreptitious excursions and escapades as the steely Eisenhower 50's marches into the colorful Kennedy era.<br /> <br /> And now, having ventured a quarter into Season 3, the tightly wound mini-series vibe of the first two is somewhat lacking. Feels like watching an actual TV show: the epic scope has narrowed into a much less focused, domesticated aura while the characters are more breezy; their problems far less urgent – a decent sequel to the original incredible 26-hour film. Although, that big party with the John Deere Killdozer did bring things back in gear. So, for what it's worth, MAD MEN is all topnotch fare. And there's a long way to go, "Sweetie... Close the door behind you."  

2015, cable, january jones, jon hamm

A BRIEF GLIMPSE INTO A MAD MEN BINGE IN PROGRESS

January Jones as Betty What’s a better way to punch Political-Correctness square in the nose than to base a show before the PC climate...

AL PACINO STARRING IN DANNY COLLINS

<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/AVvXsEh3VFxTFLmLf6l1Zz6xE45m8ujOSquG8SgaKgpye_dzI0k74e2ammzo1mhePa0qjSsZxc6ePKrN3DIkt9mZK8O83G1vN2ObwjxBRYfvex2yqwYP75f6-X2lT9jW8c419p6lflipuGl-M7c/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEh3VFxTFLmLf6l1Zz6xE45m8ujOSquG8SgaKgpye_dzI0k74e2ammzo1mhePa0qjSsZxc6ePKrN3DIkt9mZK8O83G1vN2ObwjxBRYfvex2yqwYP75f6-X2lT9jW8c419p6lflipuGl-M7c/s320/Picture+1.png" width="210" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> The difference between mainstream and arthouse cinema is in the first, you’re supposed to either like or hate any character upon introduction, and in the latter it should take about half the movie before deciding upon if he or she is worth frowning on, smiling at or applauding over. So DANNY COLLINS is a cross between both: you'll like the title character right off the bat because he’s Al Pacino, but you’re supposed to feel a tad guilty since he’s very flawed and… all that jazz.  <br /> <br /> Loosely based on the true story of a musician who received a note from John Lennon that changed his way of thinking, COLLINS has a difficult-to-believe premise: that Al Pacino would not only be taken seriously as a music icon, but he'd be a recognizable legend in that regard. With dated bubblegum ballads liken to a Barry Manilow and the voice of McGruff the Crime Dog, we never really hear our man sing – just long enough to know the music is fluffy enough to not take as seriously as we’re supposed to take a musician who wants to be taken more seriously, especially by his polar opposite John Lennon, whose long lost letter puts Danny in a belated mid-life crisis: quitting a lucrative tour and holed up in a New Jersey Hilton, he flirts with an age-appropriate woman while patching holes with his estranged (and annoyingly stubborn) blue collar son. That’s it in a nutshell. <br /> <br /> With an overindulgence of melodrama ranging from drugs to disease, COLLINS gets a bit too syrupy for its own good. But with nine Lennon songs making up for the lack of any proof that our schlock rock star is legitimate, and a few moments where Pacino provides a speck of that old magic, it’s a decent two-hours spent. Of course don’t expect THE GODFATHER yet be thankful it isn’t JACK AND JILL.  

2015, al pacino, christopher plummer

AL PACINO STARRING IN DANNY COLLINS

year: 2015 rating: *** The difference between mainstream and arthouse cinema is in the first, you’re supposed to either like or hate any...

RICHARD DONNER DIRECTS MEL GIBSON AS MAVERICK

<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/AVvXsEgVjSnWMJKEfnb8mWLycsoXmdDbrwDJ4KJNcX8hR46FqZoQfWPG_vgL7NwYnsuAQJUSqjfoLyZHiXlsVMn4VhmOqQbqwVn7NzvSTWj738YXnmC8nMqEl1HIHcCycxbo69GFxPFMvLgRwtM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjSnWMJKEfnb8mWLycsoXmdDbrwDJ4KJNcX8hR46FqZoQfWPG_vgL7NwYnsuAQJUSqjfoLyZHiXlsVMn4VhmOqQbqwVn7NzvSTWj738YXnmC8nMqEl1HIHcCycxbo69GFxPFMvLgRwtM/s1600/1.jpg" width="98" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1994 Grade: B–</td></tr> </tbody></table> When Johnny Depp played THE LONE RANGER, it was basically his endearingly ragged PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Captain Jack Sparrow in another form. Robert Downey Jr’s smart aleck Sherlock Holmes could very well be IRON MAN Tony Stark roaming through the fog-shrouded Baker Street. And that concept of a popular actor bringing their beloved niche persona from one vehicle to another wasn’t entirely new...<br /> <br /> In the course of the 1990’s when Mel Gibson reigned supreme, his LETHAL WEAPON director Richard Donner decided to reboot an old TV series, a concept that, in itself, hadn't snowballed like it would a few years later. And taking over James Garner’s Bret Maverick was Mel himself, acting just as silly and crazy-brave as Detective Riggs, only he’s not suicidal from the onset: the ironic fact we begin with Maverick about to hang himself, well, it wasn't his choice. <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/AVvXsEjWAPKNhU3swC2vaLtCWBg1E7U92vj7uHT1a8vHjDfUXRQm34k0ST2Ru1TRJ0SQ1JPYhgL9Aec5SCaFB5KpF_AdY1FAAg6rgJrcILR8cWSMCWauhhy3Q47-jNVBQz4UQNO4Sp4MYcHANCU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAPKNhU3swC2vaLtCWBg1E7U92vj7uHT1a8vHjDfUXRQm34k0ST2Ru1TRJ0SQ1JPYhgL9Aec5SCaFB5KpF_AdY1FAAg6rgJrcILR8cWSMCWauhhy3Q47-jNVBQz4UQNO4Sp4MYcHANCU/s1600/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rest in Pace Geoffrey Lewis</td></tr> </tbody></table> Lead villain Alfred Molina has everything against the roguish gambler, and when we cut back days earlier, Maverick is looking forward to and trying to save up for a half million dollar gambling tournament, serving as a plot-horizon throughout the various cons, most of which are completely farfetched and distractingly banal. Especially one concerning Native American actor Graham Greene, fresh from an Oscar nom in DANCES WITH WOLVES, turning in one of the worst performances ever filmed: pretending to be the typical “racist Indian stereotype” from the old black & white movies, he's not funny enough for a parody or genuine enough to be a worthy sidekick.  <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/AVvXsEiDL45yJHc1sEa0nspvvvBLdzUlunbjKT2mtZKxG7G_Yblc5flNZ5XIz7qjP4pUz27SjYR_WYZmF_lLocVY4x1UcwLzo5B-Niz6OeS-cgtK1vYjBxN1AkUpMz4rsg0yVqI9c3yuql7rQdc/s1600/3.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/AVvXsEiDL45yJHc1sEa0nspvvvBLdzUlunbjKT2mtZKxG7G_Yblc5flNZ5XIz7qjP4pUz27SjYR_WYZmF_lLocVY4x1UcwLzo5B-Niz6OeS-cgtK1vYjBxN1AkUpMz4rsg0yVqI9c3yuql7rQdc/s1600/3.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Original</td></tr> </tbody></table> But we’re skipping past Maverick’s two main co-stars: first his ingénue, a resilient tart stealing from every man she meets. Herein, Jodie Foster is the most miscast on board (first choice Meg Ryan would have worked better). The edgy character-actress hasn’t much of a mainstream leading lady persona. Thankfully our wily hero prefers to roam alone, and spends most of the time avoiding her and lawman Marshal Zane Cooper, where the original 50's era MAVERICK James Garner has a piece of the action… somewhat.<br /> <br /> Although Garner really sinks his teeth into the only sequence that matters: The river boat tournament led by James Coburn’s Commodore Duvall, harboring a location that's a plush version of the HIGH NOON main street with a neat surge of twists and tricks making up for the banality of the road adventure leading to what (and where) the entire ride is about. And with cameos by character-actors Dub Taylor, Denver Pyle, Paul L. Smith, the recently departed Geoffrey Lewis, Donner’s former Lois Lane, Margot Kidder and a handful of others including a surprise Danny Glover punchline-appearance, MAVERICK not only caters to the built-in fan-base of the original series, but that cop movie franchise where Mel Gibson was able to steal a show he already had in the bag.

con man, james garner, jodie foster, mel gibson, nineties, remake, road movie

RICHARD DONNER DIRECTS MEL GIBSON AS MAVERICK

1994 Grade: B– When Johnny Depp played THE LONE RANGER, it was basically his endearingly ragged PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Captain Jack Sp...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: SEASON ONE FINALE

<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/AVvXsEjbP7NiMFrGPQPUWMcx0xM9saoSBzY51dcfs6eJ-zhYP1c4FYk4wdCBR1QXz9Kw2GswAdRP3zpUqtvZZC1mwSURhobJ7SyfuDzUlI64KHSgI1G53pJf0YGAq7tmyYFGhR8Z2N6W6vLziT8/s1600/1.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/AVvXsEjbP7NiMFrGPQPUWMcx0xM9saoSBzY51dcfs6eJ-zhYP1c4FYk4wdCBR1QXz9Kw2GswAdRP3zpUqtvZZC1mwSURhobJ7SyfuDzUlI64KHSgI1G53pJf0YGAq7tmyYFGhR8Z2N6W6vLziT8/s1600/1.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Episode: 110 MARCO</td></tr> </tbody></table> Slippin’ Jimmy was the nickname for Jimmy McGill in his young wild days. Jimmy who we all knew as Saul Goodman from BREAKING BAD, a now legendary show that had an edgy moment occurring about every ten minutes, or less...<br /> <br /> And when the news came out that Walter White’s slimy lawyer would have his own series titled BETTER CALL SAUL – and his tough sidekick Mike was along for the ride – the possibilities were endless. One couldn’t imagine how many exploits Saul could get into and out of, all within the pulpy, pot-boiling, visual page-turner of a template; which this spinoff takes on in a much slower pace than its mile-a-minute predecessor.<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/AVvXsEjL1T6l1Z7OYwU6mytv78AnTNlvHH0oRsBYN0kfNyc654slwWtIpq4Vk1J2_jWOd66EDUZoSs2it6oJwNuN89HwH4KGZqApA6Jrj0WTFlPaXf0gqf463qptGdfiYa4aAxCwil-DbyvCH10/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1T6l1Z7OYwU6mytv78AnTNlvHH0oRsBYN0kfNyc654slwWtIpq4Vk1J2_jWOd66EDUZoSs2it6oJwNuN89HwH4KGZqApA6Jrj0WTFlPaXf0gqf463qptGdfiYa4aAxCwil-DbyvCH10/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grade: D</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> The genius of Bob Odenkirk’s acting can serve as a downfall, at times. For example, one scene in this lackluster season finale titled MARCO has Jimmy doing the usual bingo game (the machine sounding strangely like a bong) for his Elder Law clients. The performance, as Jimmy slowly breaks down while reading the numbers, is, as usual, sublime – problem is the scene drags on way too long. <br /> <br /> So when Jimmy returns back home to Chicago and reunites with the episode’s tubby title character, becoming a barroom/alleyway con artist once again, thanks to farfetched ruses and a handsome montage there’s a lot to take in… it's just not very interesting. A trip down memory lane is fine – only we never experienced his shady past long enough for this odyssey to mean to the audience what it supposedly means to Jimmy. Which isn't much. He's happier when the magnet of fate pulls him back home, where good news awaits. We all know, though, the future never remains bright for our perpetually unlucky hero. And thankfully, the way things turned out, Slippin' Jimmy has been put to rest, because he pales to Jimmy the Lawyer. Who pales to Saul Goodman. 

2015, bob odenkirk, cable

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: SEASON ONE FINALE

Episode: 110 MARCO Slippin’ Jimmy was the nickname for Jimmy McGill in his young wild days. Jimmy who we all knew as Saul Goodman from B...

HELEN MIRREN & RYAN REYNOLDS IN WOMAN IN GOLD

<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/AVvXsEgnLUY-57Qn7Pe28WrBhI0ysh9OOFwfz9zH6PlcLYWLT3PXTXS9YJ5xL8prbzgFClkmE44sVv0EsJtMZa2TsgNGfszyzgEBP4XMPszgb6ylNmRnsMOOXbNJAzk7PZfBDb-1M-62aEbvASM/s1600/Picture+1.png" 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/AVvXsEgnLUY-57Qn7Pe28WrBhI0ysh9OOFwfz9zH6PlcLYWLT3PXTXS9YJ5xL8prbzgFClkmE44sVv0EsJtMZa2TsgNGfszyzgEBP4XMPszgb6ylNmRnsMOOXbNJAzk7PZfBDb-1M-62aEbvASM/s320/Picture+1.png" width="198" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Based on a true story, WOMAN IN GOLD is named after a family-owned painting taken by the Nazis right at the goose-stomping heels of World War II, and in Adolf Hitler’s origin country, Austria…<br /> <br /> The piece itself looks somewhat tacky. What’s universal is the concept of a historic yet personal right being wronged, something GOLD handles with breezy precision despite trying too hard to make both leads a bickering odd couple that eventually, and predictably, connect.<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/AVvXsEjckKa7SqBwFpGNwWT5ScaAa27nL4fvIBxzKhU_eVMiSyd4QRwMXACxdn0qtuMPlkR-tMk4TXAwfCyatBHM94EPCDTmC4ebcZ4nnMJaLi9kI5E7pkTjpcb3kUaTGjoHjrqoQENjbkVYlQI/s1600/Picture+2.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckKa7SqBwFpGNwWT5ScaAa27nL4fvIBxzKhU_eVMiSyd4QRwMXACxdn0qtuMPlkR-tMk4TXAwfCyatBHM94EPCDTmC4ebcZ4nnMJaLi9kI5E7pkTjpcb3kUaTGjoHjrqoQENjbkVYlQI/s320/Picture+2.png" width="161" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Titular Artwork</td></tr> </tbody></table> Helen Mirren’s Maria Altmann, a surviving Jew whose aunt was the painting's subject, and Ryan Reynolds as young American lawyer Randol Schoenberg, struggle to get along during filler moments bridging a globe-spanning court battle ending up in Washington DC. Meanwhile, flashbacks showing the young Maria, played by a fitfully vulnerable yet equally determined Tatiana Maslany, provide a few suspenseful scenes: one in particular involving a foot chase throughout the overtaken city, where, years later, Mirren's Altmann feels very uneasy, and for good reason. <br /> <br /> Sometimes too catered for mainstream audience reactions, other times genuinely thoughtful and always lightly entertaining, GOLD shines more in the past than present. Which doesn’t mean our two leads aren’t capable. Mirren is always good, and wields an endearingly stubborn persona to ultimately counter-balance a more subtle Reynolds, ultimately proving himself worthy in a role that takes the entire film to deliver.

2015, helen mirren, ryan reynolds

HELEN MIRREN & RYAN REYNOLDS IN WOMAN IN GOLD

year: 2015 rating: *** Based on a true story, WOMAN IN GOLD is named after a family-owned painting taken by the Nazis right at the goose...