1979. While performing his drag act, Rudy Donatello (Cumming) catches the eye of a handsome man whose just sat down. Later, in the car, introductions are made after a police officer surprises them. Handsome young stranger is Paul Fliger (Dillahunt) and he’s a lawyer in the local District Attorney’s office. Always a few dollars short [...]
Dustin Hoffman has always been a perfectionist in his acting career. He’s had some famous battles over the years with directors regarding how to play a role. It therefore is surprising that his directorial debut is the laid back QUARTET. It is a breezy pleasant film about retired musicians that doesn’t tax the mind, but [...]
The year of 1968 was a tumultuous one: Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered in Memphis; Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles; police incited riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. And the whole world was watching. MEDIUM COOL is about many things: racial and social tensions, the zeitgeist of ‘60s America, the [...]
I did not see JACK THE GIANT SLAYER during its initial theatrical release and it’s mediocre performance at the box office was in the back of my mind when I sat down to view the film in its Blu-ray debut. And I’m glad I did. Where some films “based” on popular tales are horrible – [...]
There are probably enough “prison movies” that have been made throughout the history of cinema to warrant (that’s right, pun intended) its own specific genre. However, once you eliminate all the B-grade plots that serve no other purpose than to perpetuate gratuitous violence or simply place attractive women in close quarters, you’re probably only left [...]
A few years ago, Hollywood clearly decided it was far better to recycle or re-mix old stories than to write new ones. It’s actually been occurring for many, many years but less notably than the recent stream of comic book and other features based on stories already told, already written. Let me be clear, I [...]
As I prepare to write about my love and amazement with Aaron Sorkin’s latest venture into television, ‘The Newsroom’, I pause to reflect on the subject matter the show covered and the way it covered it. For those that aren’t familiar with the show, it focuses on the producers of an evening news program that [...]
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO centers on two young girls, Satsuki (voiced by Noriko Hidaka; dubbed by Dakota Fanning) and Mei (Chika Sakamoto; Elle Fanning, appropriately enough), whose father (Shigesato Itoi; Tim Daly), moves them out to the country while their mother (Sumi Shimamoto; Lea Salonga) recovers in a nearby hospital. While exploring the grounds one day, [...]
There’s an emptiness that engulfs Disney’s OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL from the opening scenes through the duration of the film. It’s partly due to the general shallowness of star James Franco, but it’s mostly due to every star in the film over-acting as if they’re in an animated princess movie. The film’s shortcomings don’t [...]
Occasionally you’ll be watching a really bad movie, and then out of nowhere a respected member of A.M.P.A.S. who possesses at least one gold statue with a name that’s synonymous for a grouchy Muppet, suddenly appears. Some of these high-brow actors even make a habit out of “slumming it” in films that without their name [...]
When 20th Century Fox was looking for a cheap property to make some quick bucks, a young executive named David Brown, who would later go on to produce such classics as THE STING and JAWS, went into the archives and came out with an old Theda Barra starrer called CLEOPATRA. Make it cheap, earn a [...]
Ask the suits at Spike TV how many ways there are to die and they would probably say 1,000. Ask the producers of THE ABCS OF DEATH and they would say 26—with the possibility of 52, should the movie do well. THE ABCS OF DEATH is comprised of 26 segments, all designated by the letters [...]
Flix66.com and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are proud to offer you a chance to win A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD on Blu-ray Bruce Willis is back in action — mind-blowing, heart-stopping, rip-roaring action — as John McClane, the heroic New York cop with a knack for being in the wrong place at the [...]
We all know countries do some shady stuff for the sake of the country. Or so they say. The people must be protected in their minds. The people also must be shaded from the ugly truth that exists out there. THE NUMBERS STATION tries to shed some light on these nefarious activities. It is unfortunate [...]
Over the last couple of years there have been a TON of new films featuring our aging Hollywood elite. You’ve seen them and maybe enjoyed them, some of which have even spawned sequels (RED 2 coming this July). In general I think can be fun if you accept them for what they are, fluff cinema. [...]
Any notion I had that Hollywood legends should be developed with good scripts and respected by the studios were erased by George Lucas. That just isn’t the fairytale world we live in and the sad truth is, studios want to turn a buck quickly and legendary characters like John McClane are just paychecks to the [...]
Roman Coppola has received some pretty high praise for his collaborative work with director Wes Anderson on the Academy Award nominated MOONRISE KINGDOME in 2012. However, with his solo shot at directing his first feature film, A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE MIND OF CHARLES SWAN III, signs are starting to point toward Coppola’s contribution on “Moonrise” [...]
Every year there are a handful of animated films released, many of which never really garner much attention aside from having star-studded casts. Most of them are forgettable entries in the genre… aside from Pixar, which tends to put out quality every time. Hit-or-miss doesn’t begin to describe our typical animated releases. ESCAPE FROM PLANET [...]
When the history of Hollywood is written some actors and directors are destined to be paired together: Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese (and, for that matter, Leonardo DiCaprio and Scorsese), Bill Murray and Wes Anderson and perhaps the greatest two of the bunch, Marlon Brando and Elia Kazan. Brando and Kazan made three films together. [...]
One of the simplest and most primal fears we have is the fear of the unknown. Things we cannot see, cannot understand, cannot fathom are inexorably terrifying. Recent Hollywood horror films have tried to capitalize on this with varying degrees of success. DARK SKIES, which arrived in theaters in February 2013 and is now available [...]
There is a lonely train…called the 3:10 to Yuma…The pounding of the wheels is more like a mourning sigh… And the man on that train will be Ben Wade (Glenn Ford, who, it turns out, has a face ripe for a heel), a notorious outlaw who has just held up a stagecoach and is, as [...]
Flix66.com and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are proud to offer you a chance to win a Blu-ray of THE LAST RIDE. Ride off into the sunset with the most legendary country artist of all-time when THE LAST RIDE arrives on Blu-ray and DVD June 4 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Featuring an all-star [...]
“In revenge, there’s a fine line between life and death.” So goes the tagline for the Hong Kong crime thriller NIGHTFALL. That revenge involves two men: Wong Yuen-yeung (Nick Cheung, 2008’s BEAST STALKER and 2010’s THE STOOL PIGEON, both directed by Dante Lam), out on parole after serving years for the murder of a teenager, [...]
SHANGHAI NOON 7/10 When SHANGHAI NOON was released in 2000 it was the mainstream sophomore outing of long-time Asian action/martial arts star Jackie Chan. He had only appeared in one other major American picture, RUSH HOUR (1998) and this was his second buddy-cop film with a twist. It’s funny to look back now on just [...]
During the winter of 1942 a terrible drought came over the Henan province in China. The drought took its toll, especially when combined with a locust invasion and the continued war with Japan. When the dust settled, no less than 3 million people were dead. Based on the novel “Remembering 1942” by Zhenyun Liu (who [...]
Before they toppled Stonehenge or hosted the most dysfunctional Christmas gathering ever or thwarted Wayne Newton’s devious ways, the Griswold clan embarked on a pilgrimage to see a moose. The destination: Walley World. And since getting there is half the fun, patriarch Clark (Chevy Chase) decides to skip the airways and packs up the group—wife [...]
As someone that has lived in both houses and apartments I can honestly say that, when all of the planets are aligned, having neighbors is a great thing. If you draw the right card and you’re fortunate enough to live next to the right people you can sometimes find yourself making life-long friends. The wives [...]
Flix66.com and Image Entertainment are proud to offer you a chance to win a Blu-ray of THE NUMBERS STATION. After his latest mission goes disastrously wrong, veteran CIA black ops agent Emerson Kent (John Cusack) is given one last chance to prove he still has what it takes to do his job. His new assignment: [...]
It’s more than fair to compare BEAUTIFUL CREATURES to the Twilight Saga since it’s essentially a gender reversed rehash of the basic story, with slightly more intrigue. But unlike the first Twilight film, where Summit was searching behind couch cushions to find funds for the production, Warner Bros. decided to do this right. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES [...]
I used to listen to Art Bell’s Coast to Coast AM, an overnight show all about the paranormal, abnormal and the flip side of reality. One show that I remember vividly focused on the existence of “shadow people”, or grey people who appear at night. They have been witnessed by humans in every civilization going [...]
A priest, a fire captain and three clowns walk into a state fair. Sounds like the beginning of joke. But it’s really the start of a heist, wherein the five hired men head to the Ohio State Fair to stake their claim on a million dollars in cash. After a successful steal, the priest (who, [...]
K-11 is an immensely confusing film. It attempts to be a prison drama, a story of redemption in a man lost to the world of drugs and vice, and a poorly executed, quirky, dark comedy on the state of humanity. K-11 suffers from an identity crisis that renders it nearly unwatchable. Thankfully the leading actors [...]
As a big fan of HBO’s ‘True Blood’, it pains me to say that the series jumped the shark in season four. I refused to accept that last season because I was waiting to see where they’d go with season five, but after finishing up the last episode, I feel comfortable calling the time of [...]
The prologue picks up right after the 1974 events, which started with a van full of hippie teenagers and ended with Leatherface swinging his beloved power tool wildly in the sun. The cops and other townspeople hunters have tracked down the maniac and his family to their isolated farmhouse. Not content with a mere arrest [...]
It is the 14th century, just a decade after the Black Plague left 60% of Norway’s population dead. In the distance, a wagon and horse trudge along the empty land, carrying a family of survivors looking for a better place to live. A short while later, they encounter a group of thieves and murderers, and [...]
When someone disagrees with you on a very intellectual or existential film, it’s easy to resort to telling them “you just didn’t get it”. Even though that’s sometimes true, it’s insulting to whoever you’re debating with because what you’re essentially saying is; “I’m smarter than you because I like this movie”. I find myself in [...]
I was intrigued by THALE ever since it was a featured trailer on the iTunes Trailers application for iPhone a few months ago. Let’s run through the checklist: A scary movie about a seemingly foreign world that exists right under our noses? Check. A woman with a furry tail featured semi-nude? Check. Creepy cinematography and [...]
I have to say that Nicholas Sparks is a very important person in our house. My wife is an avid reader of his books and, when available, there is an autographed copy of his latest under the Christmas tree each year. That being said, I haven’t seen many of the films made from those books, [...]
Most big stars eventually have an opportunity to take a role that allows them to show their acting range to potentially be an Oscar contender. Sadly, most of those films are, like BROKEN CITY, not very good. I can almost envision the pitch taking place with Wahlberg, explaining his characters emotional journey, the slight action [...]
It’s hard to believe there was a time that Tom Hanks was better known for his comedic, and then dramatic, turns as an actor than for his work behind the camera. One of his first forays into behind the screen work, THAT THING YOU DO!, was a classy and beautiful homage to the original boy [...]
Barbra Streisand has always had a towering presence in anything she has tackled in her career. She has conquered every entertainment medium that there is out there. Broadway, Hollywood, television and the music industry has fallen prey to the Streisand touch. This was never more evident in her first movie role in FUNNY GIRL. She [...]
JACK REACHER is based off Lee Child’s book “One Shot”, which was actually the eighth book in the Jack Reacher series. And maybe that’s why the film feels like a sequel. In fact, JACK REACHER would have made a great sequel since the film is set up just like what you’d expect a sequel to [...]
BANGKOK REVENGE excels at utilizing a flashy title, supplemented with some outstanding martial arts mastery; however that’s where the accolades are struck with a mortal death touch. The story is a schizophrenic mess compared to the fluid and often original Thai fighting sequences. In fact, the only time this film had even a slight instance [...]
In 1964, Jerry Herman’s musical “Hello, Dolly!” took Broadway by storm, winning 10 Tony Awards, including the top award as Best Musical. One of the musicals it beat that year was “Funny Girl,” starring a young 22 year old named Barbra Streisand. In 1968 FUNNY GIRL was made into a film and Streisand won the [...]
There are the great bands, the idols that sell out concert tours and change the way you feel about life. And then there are the bands that want to be the greats, the ones that spend their first practices playing half-tuned covers and hoping that they too will be rich and famous. It doesn’t take [...]
THE SWEENEY, a nickname for the London based “The Flying Squad” (because in cockney, it rhymes with Sweeney Todd), is a new UK film released to Blu-ray. The Flying Squad are the armed task force who deal with especially violent crimes within London, immortalized for many a Brit during the iconic 70’s television show. The [...]
Flix66.com and Anchor Bay Home Entertainment are proud to offer you a chance to win a Blu-ray prize pack featuring 6 great movies, including SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, THE DETAILS, LAY THE FAVORITE, BACHELORETTE, BUTTER and SUNSHINE CLEANING. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK: Life doesn’t always go according to plan…Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) has lost everything — his [...]
NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN introduces us to Jonah (Kwanten), Stevie (Snook) and Gus (Corr), three friends who all live in Jonah’s house and earn their living by throwing super popular weekend parties. After a particularly busy night of entertainment Jonah goes to his room with a girl he has politely dubbed “Stalker Becky.” While taking [...]
Somehow, David O. Russell made a movie about a man suffering a mental breakdown following his wife’s infidelity who starts a relationship with a woman that sleeps around after her husband dies and that same man has to deal with a father that suffers from a serious gambling addiction. But he didn’t make a serious [...]
Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta) runs high-stakes card games for the mob. Way back when, he stole from one of the pots and lived to gloat about it. Knowing that if it’s taken again Markie will be suspected, a man known as Squirrel (Vincent Curatola, who played Johnny Sack on HBO’s THE SOPRANOS) enlists a pair [...]
