Genre: Crime

Year: 1997

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie, Michael Massee, Peter Stormare

Director: Andy Wilson

My Review: A mid 'X-Files' movie for David Duchovny. Unfortunately, as much as you want Duchovny (playing Eugene Sands) to be a great actor - He isn't… and Timothy Hutton is stuck in another role where he's cast (playing Raymond Blossom) to overact. Another heavy role where he's found ranting and raving. He plays an excellent psychopath. Angelina Jolie (as Claire) plays the eye candy mobster's gal/undercover FBI agent. The story: Eugene Sands is a drug addicted former surgeon trying to slip between the cracks in LA. As his money slowly runs out he's crashing on a big long pity trip. That's when he makes the mistake of helping save someone's life. From that point on, he become's Eugene's 'Combat Medic'. Patching up the casualties in Eugene's drug war. A Dr. who can't make it without the thrill - no matter where it comes from; saving lives or living high. The script is full of twists and turns. An excellent thriller with plenty of character involvement with emotions close to the surface. The movie includes some voice over narrative (Duchovny's flat monologue as the Dr's inner thoughts), but it only severs to distract from the action and suspense unravelling on screen. While Angelina Jolie looks good in red, she's cast without any personality and we feel very little for her character. The direction and editing missed the mark, with some performances (notably Duchovny's) feeling a little off queue. I liked it. 3 out of 5.

Summary: Stripped of his medical license after performing an operation while high on amphetamines, famed LA surgeon Dr Eugene Sands abandons his former life only to find himself crossing paths with Raymond Blossom, an infamous counterfeiter. Employed as a "gun-shot doctor" when Raymond's associates cannot risk visiting a hospital, Eugene is lured deep into the criminal world and becomes entangled with his boss's girlfriend.

Genre: Drama

Year: 2011

Country: USA, India, United Arab Emirates

Rating:

Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain

Director: Tate Taylor

My Review: Set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 60s. Here's a marvelous movie. Unlike 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover', this movie makes you feel good. A positive, uplifting tale of perseverance, love, family, justice and the tribulations of racial (and sexual) equality and integration in America's racially segregated south. The cast was outstanding. The writing, direction and editing were perfect. The story was a heartfelt (if a little sappy and sugarcoated) tale from two sides of the bus back in the 50s-60s. Eugenia Phelan is a young aspiring writer just returned home from college. She loves her job and really wants to break into the field of journalism. She gets a job with the local newspaper, but they put this woman in her place by assigning her to the 'Miss Myrna' column - a 'Domestic' advice column. Her Southern Belle friends turn their nose up at Eugenia when she returns to their circle - She's college educated and has no desire to find a husband and settle down. Personal matters push Eugenia to cross a line when she proceeds to interview several black women about their lives, feelings and thoughts as domestic 'servants' in a racially segregated community. All the characters are complex, rich and diverse. This less violent look at segregation gives us a more balanced perspective on the day to day reality of life in a segregated community. An honest and endearing movie, filled with outstanding performances. You can tell that the actors in this movie gave their all. I am sure that this movie will stir feelings, start conversations, recall memories, and remain a favorite for many years. 5 out of 5.

Summary: Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter (Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives -- and a Mississippi town -- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen (Davis), Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up -- to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories -- and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly -- and unwillingly -- caught up in the changing times.

Genre: Comedy

Year: 1998

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Henry Winkler, Jerry Reed

Director: Frank Coraci

My Review: Adam Sandler plays Bobby Boucher - a 31 year old Waterboy. He's ridiculed, scorned and ultimately fired by Coach Red Beulieu (played by Jerry Reed). When Bobby tries to find a new employer, he ends up working for the worst team in the state; 'The Louisiana Mud Dogs'. Coach Klein (played by Henry Winkler) welcomes Bobby to the team when he discover's Bobby's pent up rage can be harnessed as 'Tacklin' fuel. Bobby Boucher becomes an overnight sensation, an unstoppable force of nature that will catapult him, the mud-dogs, and coach Klein out of the 'loser' category. This highly stereotyped comedy is very funny. The dialog is preposterously funny, the characters unwittingly charming, and this simple plot becomes a winning combination when sandler and crew move this heartwarming comedy into the end zone - "You can do it!" I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: A football team water boy discovers he has a unique tackling ability and becomes a member of the team.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Year: 2011

Country: USA, Sweden, UK, Germany

Rating:

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff

Director: David Fincher

My Review: The American remake/English language version of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson. Screenplay by Steven Zaillian, Direction by David Fincher (Alien 3, Seven, The Game, Fight Club). Starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff, and many others. The casting and acting was excellent. Rooney Mara did an exceptional job in the lead role. The story - The same as the novel/original movie: It's a crime thriller, a mystery of dramatic proportions and family secrets. After Mikael Blomkvist is publicly disgraced, he takes a leave of absence from his company. The leave of absence makes him available to a new opportunity. A wealthy industrialist hires the journalist to uncover the facts behind the disappearance of his niece nearly 40 years ago. The girl disappeared without a trace 40 years ago, and most suspect a murderous secret covered up by the wealthy family. Only a dying man has the strength to delve into this deep dark secret. Under cover of biographical research, Mikael immediately starts cataloging the intricate relationships and unexplained connections of this aristocratic, enigmatic, family. Eventually events conspire to accelerate his agenda and he hires an assistant. Lisbeth Salander is damaged goods with a highly analytical mind and a social disorder. She's ruthless, sexy, forthright and uncompromising. This young hacker helps Blomkvist unravel all the mysteries, but the price he pays is quite high. A dark and intense drama, heavy on the dialog and drama. There are a few differences between this film and the original. The direction is outstanding, detail oriented and tightly controlled. The slight deviations from the original film make for an excellent movie. I was a bit disappointed by the fact that I couldn't get any subtitles on my Apple TV rental, but that was entirely my fault as I didn't enable the subtitles before I rented the movie. The production was very slick and cinematically perfect. The soundtrack was perfectly matched to the movie and overall the cinematic experience was expertly handled in all regards. I give this movie a 5 out of 5.

Summary: This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

Genre: Horror

Year: 1958

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: John Baer, Angela Greene, Ed Nelson, Georgianna Carter, Michael Emmet

Director: Bernard L. Kowalski

My Review: An early (1958) space travel movie. Story by Gene Corman, co-produced by Roger Corman. Here's a B sci-fi story with incredibly poor production. Starring a cast of relative unknowns, the story is fairly interesting. A solo astronaut returns to earth, crash lands and supposedly dies. When his lifeless body is returned to the lab for some examination, the scientists find a corpse with normal blood pressure. That's weird, but it isn't the weirdest part of this movie. Later we find that some birdlike beast has hitched a ride along with the astronaut, but that's not all. The astronaut is pregnant - Huh? Yes, thanks to the technology of the fluoroscope, we can see several seamonkey type creatures swimming about his insides. Then come the attacks. The bird beaked ape creature attacks, but only to get our attention! It's definitely a bizarre, mixed-up, sci-fi, monster mash. Despite the poor production value, I found the story intriguing, and I couldn't help but laugh at some of the preposterous situations. 3 out of 5.

Summary: The first man in space returns to Earth, appearing to be dead. While on his mission, he encountered a mysterious alien, which impregnated him with its young. Now on Earth, the alien finally emerges and the entire human race is in danger! This rare, low-

Genre: War Documentaries

Year: 1991

Country: United States

Rating:

Starring: Narration: Charles M. Duke Jr., Narration: Chris Raven

Director: James F. Robinson

My Review: A documentary made just after Gulf War I. This movie highlighted U.S. Naval aviation. The planes that led the U.S. Navy and U.S.M.C. as they assaulted Iraq with coalition forces during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. Narrated by a former U.S. Astronaut (Naval Aviator) and a top Air National Guard commander. The movie had a horrible repetitive soundtrack, but the overview of U.S. Naval assets was well documented. The production value was o.k. but the narration was the real reason to watch this documentary. The two naval aviators regale the viewer with their personal insights, observations and exploits during this 45 minute movie. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: Get to know the secrets of fighting jets in breathtaking detail thru the eyes of Naval Academy graduate and former astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr and a top Air National Guard commander. Feel the thrill of supersonic fighters like the F-18 Hornet. F-14 "Top Gun" Tomcat and the AV-8B Harrier vertical take off and landing "Jumpjet" as well as the deadly thrill of attack aircraft like the A6 Intruder and A7 Corsair II. This exciting video puts you in the middle of the roar of the takeoff, multi-G acceleration, spectacular dogfights and surgically accurate bombing raids. 47 minutes.

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Year: 2012

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce

Director: Ridley Scott

My Review: Another masterpiece by director Ridley Scott (The Duelists, Alien, Blade Runner, Black Rain, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster). Ridley Scott returns to his roots with this sci-fi epic. An origins movie for the Alien mythos. It's hard to characterize/categorize this movie. It's sci-fi, drama, horror, action, adventure. The atmosphere, pacing and tone of this movie are perfect. The landscapes and cinematography breathtaking. I originally thought it was filmed in Antarctica, then Greenland, then Alaska, The New Zealand? Nah - can't be… Much of the movie was filmed in Iceland and the landscapes are raw, primordial and full of energy. Not strictly a prequel to the movie Alien, the story is a prequel to the entire Alien series. I've seen all the Alien films, and consider the original to be one of my favorite all time movies. The story in this prequel is an adventure to discover the origins of life on Earth. Scientist discover a clue that points to a star system far from our system. A hyper-sleep ship is staffed with scientists, technicians and a group of no-nonsense space truckers sent on their way to discover the source of this mysterious clue. When they arrive, they discover the remains of a civilization from a distant past. I won't say much more than that, for fear of spoiling the movie. Of course there's an alien/aliens - It's an Alien origins movie. The technology in this movie pays homage to the spartan late 70s, early 80s look as well as the crowded, cluttered look of the movie Alien. The movie is filled with technology, alien landscapes, pseudo-religious imagery and terrifying creatures. I love that the movie isn't overburdened with unnecessary exposition, and there are more than enough opportunities for a sequel to fill the gap between this movie and the first 'Alien'. The performances were excellent. Michael Fassbender was outstanding in both his roles. As an android discovering his individuality and an android who bases his persona on the mythic ideals of a romantic past in the Lawrence of Arabia character. Many actors in the cast provided interesting characters to drive the dramatic aspects of the movie. Noomi Rapace did a good job in her role, but she has much more to learn about subtlety in performance, and there wasn't really enough time in the movie to properly develop all the characters. The movie is intense, grisly, dark and dramatic. The film contains more than enough cringe worthy and jump out of your seat moments, and fans of action will find more than enough to pump up the adrenalin. The cgi was nearly perfect, with very natural movement, surfaces and movement. The editing was well done, blending cgi and real action in a expert manner. The movie works on it's own, but it's primarily fashioned as a prequel to the entire Alien series. There are a few homage moments in the set production and dialog, and those few gems made me smile upon recognition. I will buy a copy of this movie on Blu-Ray when it becomes available. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: A team of scientists journey through the universe on the spaceship "Prometheus" on a voyage to investigate Alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind.

Genre: Sci-Fi

Year: 1979

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt

Director: Ridley Scott

My Review: The second movie by Ridley Scott (a favorite director). This movie features Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto as the crew of the deep space mining freighter 'Nostromo'. The crew is awakened early, in order to investigate a distress signal. The crew follows the distress signal, descends through a thick and turbulent atmosphere in order to investigate a derelict space ship. What they find in the ships hold is something deadly, something dangerous, something alien. My all time favorite horror movie. This movie created a dark mood, a claustrophobic horror flick that chilled me to the bone. This is one of those movies where I just couldn't get to sleep afterwards. I must have jumped out of my seat a hundred times. The music, the lighting, the sounds, the story, the Monster! This movie scared me more than the exorcist. The work of H.R. Giger, the colors, costumes, textures, sweat, and violence created a world of fear that the crew couldn't escape from. This is the kind of movie that makes your heart quiver in your chest, you're breath comes in shallow spurts, and the adrenalin runs rampant through your bloodstream. I felt like a train wreak after watching this horror masterpiece!

Summary: A mining ship, investigating an SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates.

Genre: Drama

Year:

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Michael Gambon, Donald Sutherland, Alec Baldwin, Bruce McGill, James Frain

Director: John Frankenheimer

My Review: A made for TV movie, starring Michael Gambon (as Lyndon Johnson), Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland and others. Directed by John Frankenheimer, this movie was long and slow, but not without its moments. Illustrating the conflicted man and his troubled presidency; this dock-drama details the Johnson administration, focusing on the Vietnam war. Our nations escalating involvement and the birth of our 'Too big to fail' mentality. Unable to correct mistakes, this presidency set the course for our nations inability to admit when we've made a mistake. Dooming us to repeat the mistakes of our past over and over again. Pride is a terrible thing, capable of destroying otherwise intelligent and proud Americans. The movie stretches on for nearly three hours (165 minutes), and it covers most of the Vietnam war through Lyndon Johnson's time as President. The movie focused firmly on the Vietnam war, avoiding Johnson's other achievements entirely. Very little time is spent on his "Great Society" legislation; efforts to uphold civil rights, public broadcasting, medicare, medicaid, environmental protection and other endeavors to remake America as a nation that respects rights, cares for its citizens, and protects the well being of our nation and our citizens. As modern day political pressure threatens to roll-back all social advances of the last century, this movie is focussed on a failed war that labelled a great man with an indelible stigma. The tension of competing points of view was blunted by poor casting and the movie lacked the impact I was expecting. The title 'Path to War' really tells you that this movie is all about the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, the only point of view we get is from inside the White House. Never do we see the impact on the ground, in country, around the nation or behind the lines in Vietnam. The costs of war are never illustrated, and the movie treats all decisions as a bureaucratic exercise in political maneuvers. While President Johnson seems to suffer greatly under the burden of this war, we're completely disconnected from his feelings by the thick insulation of an administrative fortress inside the White House. There's much focus on the ghost of John F. Kennedy, and that aspect was well done. In the end, this movie focused too narrowly on Johnson the Man and Vietnam the war. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: A portrayal of the Johnson presidency and its spiraling descent into the Vietnam War. Acting on often conflicting advice from his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara and other advisers, President Johnson finds his domestic policy agenda for the Great Society overtaken by an ever demanding commitment to ending the war. It also depicts his political skills as he crosses swords with political foes such as Bobby Kennedy and Governor George Wallace. Despite support and encouragement from stalwart friends such as Clark Clifford, Johnson realizes his management of the war no longer has the confidence of the American people and announces that he will not seek the nomination of the Democratic party for the the 1968 election.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Year: 2011

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris

Director: Guy Ritchie

My Review: Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return to the screen as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in this second movie of the revived cinematic series. Director Guy Ritchie has changed the pacing and focus in this movie. The things I liked in his first Sherlock Holmes movie are gone. Replaced by a very fast paced action flick. Gone is the mystery, the investigating, the sleuthing, the deduction and logical unravelling of a criminal endeavor. Here we have a movie that is so fast paced as to make one dizzy. I completely gave up on my own investigation after approximately 20 minutes. The Holmes in this movie isn't a Scotland Yard investigator. He's an idiot savant who intuits clues by miraculous insight bordering on the mystical. The movie's dialog and exposition are paced to match the action - Breakneck fast. If anyone can keep up with the movie they must be infused with Aderal or 'Spice' (from the Dune series (books/movies)). The evil Professor Moriarity (plaed by Jared Harris) is a non-villain. So mild as to be easily mistaken for a College Professor; more intent on scholarly pursuits than world domination. His nefarious plans seem to be second rate compared to the machinations of actual political intrigue. The chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude law is one of the small bright spots in this action flick. Too many explosions, too much exposition, too quickly paced, too much time spent on 'bullet time' fight scenes. Too much style, not enough substance. The nude scene with Stephen Fry (as Holmes brother, Mycroft Holmes) made absolutely no sense what-so-ever, and it's inclusion greatly detracted from the character of the setting (Victorian England). I give this movie a 2 out of 5.

Summary: Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, Doctor Watson (Jude Law), take on their arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes's older brother Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy named Sim (Noomi Rapace).