Genre: Drama

Year: 2010

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood

Director: Robert Redford

My Review: Robert Redford directs a historical drama about Mary Surratt (played by Robin Wright Penn), one of the people accused and executed for assassinating President Abraham Lincoln. Mary Surratt ran the boarding house where this plot was concocted, conceived and cast into history. Was she a co-conspirator? That's the question asked in this movie. James McAvoy plays her reluctant attorney in this gripping court room drama. I loved the historical aspects of the film and the acting was quite good. The film brings up some interesting questions regarding justice, politics and the role of our judicial system in the wake of 9-11. I wish the film had focused a bit more on the details of the conspiratorial plot and the waning days of the Confederacy. Instead it focused on the trial of Mary Surratt and the judicial system. An excellent film by a new production company (American Film Co.). I give it a 4 of 5.

Summary: In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt, 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken, a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. As the trial unfolds, Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son.

Genre: Drama

Year: 1960

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Eddie Fisher, Dina Merrill, Mildred Dunnock

Director: Daniel Mann

My Review: Elizabeth Taylor (playing Gloria Wandrous) and Laurence Harvey (playing Weston Liggett) star as mismatched lovers in this steamy drama. Elizabeth Taylor plays a New York city fashion model. Carefree, enjoying life as if it were a one-night stand, but secretly wishing she could settle down. Laurence Harvey plays a high society socialite with too much time on his hands and a vacant marriage. Together they heat up the screen in this romantic drama. The casting was obviously designed to draw the crowds, but the chemistry between Taylor and Harvey wasn't there. She had way more chemistry with Eddie Fisher (playing Steve Carpenter the longtime guy pal). Taylor won an oscar for her performance in this movie, and her's was the best acting in the movie. Loosely based on a best seller (1935 novel by John O'Hara), the characters were excellent, and the acting was fair. The movie was stylish, filled with good looking actors and fantastic fantastic 60s locations. Unfortunately, the production, editing and camera work was pretty bad. A complex relationship romance with fully formed characters. Excellent writing, good acting, poor production. I give it a 3 out of 5. FYI: The title 'BUtterfield 8' (with capitalized 'BU') is derived from outdated telephone exchange names in the US and Canada. Used until the mid 60s, telephone exchanges were often referred to by name instead of number. 'BUtterfield 8' was an exchange that provided service to ritzy precincts of Manhattan's upper east side. Dialing 'BU' is the equivalent (on a telephone) of dialing 28; 28 + 8 = 288, the first three digits of a seven digit telephone number. Of course back then, people might actually call the exchange and speak to a 'telephone operator' in order to connect/place calls. In some cases, as noted in this movie, an operator might let you know that someone had called or was trying to get ahold of you. Elizabeth Taylor (playing Gloria Wandrous) and Laurence Harvey (playing Weston Liggett) star as mismatched lovers in this steamy drama. Elizabeth Taylor plays a New York city fashion model. Carefree, enjoying life as if it were a one-night stand, but secretly wishing she could settle down. Laurence Harvey plays a high society socialite with too much time on his hands and a vacant marriage. Together they heat up the screen in this romantic drama. The casting was obviously designed to draw the crowds, but the chemistry between Taylor and Harvey wasn't there. She had way more chemistry with Eddie Fisher (playing Steve Carpenter the longtime guy pal). Taylor won an oscar for her performance in this movie, and her's was the best acting in the movie. Loosely based on a best seller (1935 novel by John O'Hara), the characters were excellent, and the acting was fair. The movie was stylish, filled with good looking actors and fantastic fantastic 60s locations. Unfortunately, the production, editing and camera work was pretty bad. A complex relationship romance with fully formed characters. Excellent writing, good acting, poor production. I give it a 3 out of 5. FYI: The title 'BUtterfield 8' (with capitalized 'BU') is derived from outdated telephone exchange names in the US and Canada. Used until the mid 60s, telephone exchanges were often referred to by name instead of number. 'BUtterfield 8' was an exchange that provided service to ritzy precincts of Manhattan's upper east side. Dialing 'BU' is the equivalent (on a telephone) of dialing 28; 28 + 8 = 288, the first three digits of a seven digit telephone number. Of course back then, people might actually call the exchange and speak to a 'telephone operator' in order to connect/place calls. In some cases, as noted in this movie, an operator might let you know that someone had called or was trying to get ahold of you.

Summary: Beautiful Gloria Wandrous, a New York fashion model engages in an illicit affair with married socialite Weston Liggett. However, Gloria's desire for respectability causes her to reconsider her lifestyle.

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Year: 1987

Country: USA, Canada, UK

Rating:

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Stocker Fontelieu

Director: Alan Parker

My Review: A superb supernatural thriller starring Mickey Rourke (as Harry Angel) and Robert De Niro (as Louis Cyphre). Harry Angel is a private dick, trying to get by in Brooklyn (set in the mid 50s). Working the odd, cheating wife, insurance scam, missing persons job; Harry has lined up a wealthy foreign client. Louis Cyphre wants Harry to find a missing soldier. The man owes mr. Cyphre on a debt. All he wants Harry to do is determine whether the soldier is dead of alive. Harry diligently goes about his job, but things quickly become complicated when he pursues the missing person down to Louisiana. Filled with atmosphere, great characters and some subtly complex story lines. The camera work is outstanding, the atmosphere sublime. Mickey Rourke was outstanding. Casting was excellent and direction was terrific. I own it, for good reason. Worth watching, again and again. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Harry Angel has a new case, to find a man called Johnny Favourite. Except things aren't quite that simple, and Johnny doesn't want to be found. Let's just say that, amongst the period detail and beautiful scenery, it all gets really, really nasty.

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Year: 1986

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, Vanity, John Glover, Robert Trebor

Director: John Frankenheimer

My Review: An excellent action-thriller starring Roy Scheider (as Harry Mitchell), John Glover (as Alan Raimy) and Ann-Margret (as Barbara Mitchell). Directed by John Frankenheimer, this movie is filled with great acting, excellent plot structure and great editing. This movie has a dense, slow burning plot, with excellent twists. Harry Mitchell is a morally ambiguous businessman with a small business, a faithful wife, and a girlfriend on the side. No one would suspect his resolve when a group of conniving crooks smell blood in the water and decide to turn Harry's philandering into their paycheck. What starts out as your typical kidnap and extortion scenario, quickly devolves into a chaotic game of high stakes chicken.The casting and acting are outstanding and the pacing perfect. The deviation from standard plot lines and rich characters make this movie a hidden gem. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Harry Mitchell, an L.A. manufacturer with a fancy car, a nice house, and a wife running for city council, has his life overturned when three hooded blackmailers appear with a video tape of Harry and his young mistress. He's been set up, and they want $100,000. To protect his wife's political ambitions, Harry won't go to the police; instead, he shines them on and then doesn't pay. They up their demands, so he goes on the offensive, tracking them down and trying to turn one against the other. Their sociopathic leader, Alan, responds with violence toward the mistress and menace toward Harry's wife. Will Harry let up and pay off Alan or can he find some other solution?

Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Year: 1984

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson

Director: Alex Cox

My Review: A Punk Rock cult classic with an excellent cast. Starring Emilio Estevez (as Otto), Harry Dean Stanton (as Bud), and others, this movie makes the most of it's 'Punk Rock' roots. The music, the characters, the editing, and the ethic of the movie all leverage the independent thinking attitude of Punk Rock. Otto - Recently fired, fed up with his listless family and fickle friends, decides to join a group of Repo Men in their quest to recover a $20,000 Chevy Malibu. The Repo Men turn out to be modern-day crusaders with a credo and morals. The sci-fi twist is terrific and the story extremely entertaining. If you can figure out this movie, you deserve an oscar. Cosmically good. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Frustrated punk rocker Otto quits his supermarket job after slugging a co-worker, and is later dumped by his girlfriend at a party. Wandering the streets in frustration, he is recruited in the repossession of a car by a repo agent. After discovering his parents have donated his college fund to a televangelist, he joins the repossession agency (Helping Hand Acceptance Corporation) as an apprentice "repo man". During his training, he is introduced into the mercenary and paranoid world of the drivers, befriended by a UFO conspiracy theorist, confronted by rival repo agents, discovers some of his one-time friends have turned to a life of crime, is lectured to near cosmic unconsciousness by the repo agency grounds worker, and finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue concerning a huge repossession bounty on a 1964 Chevy Malibu driven by a lunatic government scientist, with Top Secret cargo in the trunk.

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year: 1982

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Chuck Norris, Ron Silver, Steven Keats, Toni Kalem, William Finley

Director: Michael Miller

My Review: Cheesy sci-fi action starring Chuck Norris (as Dan Stevens) and Brian Libby (as the psycho killer). The story - Chuck Norris is a small-town sheriff minding his business in a boring Texas town. Until, some mad scientists decide to resurrect the corpse of a mass-murderer. From that point on, it's non-stop martial arts mayhem and murder. The action is well paced, but the plot is very limited. The bumbling side-kick provides some entertainment, and the action keeps you watching. Chuck Norris couldn't act his way out of a plastic bag, and the bad guy has no lines at all. Turn off your brain and enjoy this 100 minute martial arts mayhem. This movie has it all - Action, sci-fi, romance, horror, comedy. I give it a 3 out of 5 for trying.

Summary: Dan Stevens is the sheriff of a small Texas town who checks out a disturbance which turns to murder. The killer is still in the house and he tries to kill Dan, but Dan stops him and arrests him. The killer attempts to flee, but is shot and killed and is taken to a medical institute. Three doctors, led by Dr. Philip Spires, operates on the killer and brings him back to life using a formula that the three doctors made and the killer is made indestructable. Dr. Tom Halman tries to terminate the killer, but he and his wife are killed. After the two remaining doctors are killed, the killer goes after Dr. Halman's sister Alison, and it's up to Sheriff Dan Stevens to stop him.