Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Year: 2012

Country: USA, Hungary, Spain

Rating:

Starring: John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McNally

Director: James McTeigue

My Review: Directed by James McTeigue (V For Vendetta). Starring John Cusack (as Edgar Allen Poe), Luke Evans (as Detective Fields), Alice Eve (as Emily Hamilton), and many others. The casting - other than John Cusack - was quite good. I really didn't care for his performance in this movie. He seems unable to play any character other than the morose, disinterested, aloof jerk. Somehow above it all, always right and never needing anyones help. Luke Evans on the other hand - His performance as Detective Fields was outstanding. Alice Eve as Emily Hamilton seemed to a clone of Cusack. The way she portrayed her character made me root for the bad guy. The story: Someone is committing murders based on the fictional victims in stories by Edgar Allen Poe. Poe and the police do their best to catch the killer. The outcome of this murder mystery is so predictable that it was painful to watch. The production was excellent. Perfect lighting, camera work, editing, costumes, sets and music. Unfortunately the pacing was far to fast, the outcome far to predictable, and the plot far to derivative. Unoriginal, uninspiring, unappreciated. As a period piece it was horrible. The characters spoke and acted as we do today. Despite the costumes, sets and props, I was never under the impression that this story was taking place in 19th century Baltimore. I give this a 2 out of 5.

Summary: In the 19th century, a serial killer begins murdering victims using methods from Edgar Allan Poe's stories. Poe himself teams up with a young Baltimore detective to get inside the murder's mind and try and stop more of his fictional works becoming grizzly fact. As the hunt intensifies, Poe's own love, Emily Hamilton, becomes a target for the killer.

Genre: Crime

Year: 1987

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Cher, Dennis Quaid, Liam Neeson, John Mahoney, Joe Mantegna

Director: Peter Yates

My Review: Cher is a talented artist (with one name). Not only does she have a great voice and talent at writing songs, she can also act (Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, Moonstruck, Faithful, Burlesque and more), and here's one more example. This movie starred Cher, Dennis Quaid, Liam Neeson, John Mahoney, Joe Mantegna and others. The casting wasn't the best, but good direction helped make up for the weaker performances. The story: After a supreme court judge commits suicide, his secretary is murdered, and a homeless man is accused of the crime. This reluctant witness (Liam Neeson) is assigned a court appointed lawyer (Cher). She does her best to help this deaf and mute client, but the case becomes more complicated when she discovers a conspiracy of corruption and murder that leads to a very unexpected place. I remember when I first saw this movie. I really was taken by surprise when I found out who actually 'did it'. The juror who assists in the investigation was another welcome change of pace. A courtroom drama and thriller with some interesting twists. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: A judge commits suicide, and his secretary is found murdered. A homeless deaf-mute man, Carl Anderson is arrested for her murder. Public defender Kathleen is assigned by the court as his lawyer. She sets to find the real killer, and gets help from the congressional advisor, Eddie Sanger who is called to be on the jury panel. Together they discover a dangerous circle of corruption in high places.

Genre: Thriller

Year: 1969

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, Claude Jade, Michel Subor, Karin Dor

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

My Review: Not the best Hitchcock film, but the historical context certainly makes for an interesting movie. Based on a best selling novel (Topaz) by Leon Uris, this spy thriller is set during the Cold War, focused on the Cuban Missile Crisis of the late 50's and early 60s. Loosely based on a real-world French espionage case (The Saphire Affair). Politics and intrigue drive this international spy thriller. Russians, American's, French and Cuban agents all maneuver to pry loose the secrets of the other. Sabotage, subterfuge, murder and intrigue follow. The movie moves around the globe; from Copenhagen to New York to Paris and eventual Havana. The complex plot gets a bit tough to follow at times, and the actors are all unknowns, but the intrigue keeps the viewer engaged and the climax in Cuba is quite thrilling. The ending seemed abrupt and poorly handled. Spy vs Spy during the Cold War - Where nuclear powers maneuver for world domination. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: A French Man and his family involved in the cold war between Russians and Americans.

Genre: Comedy

Year: 1998

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, Matthew Glave

Director: Frank Coraci

My Review: Definitely a Chick Flick - This romantic comedy stars Adam Sandler as Robbie Hart 'the Wedding Singer' and Drew Barrymore as the snow white waitress. The casting was outstanding. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore were excellent together and the supporting cast was just 'B' enough to work well with Sandler's odd style of acting and comedy (tastefully subdued in this movie). It's an 80s flashback (released in 1998) with excellent music, crazy hairdos and ridiculous period homages that keep the mood light. Adam Sandler plays the lead singer in a wedding band. His vocals are classic Sandler, but his stage personality makes up for the shortcomings in that department. Drew Barrymore plays a naive young waitress with dreams of a big wedding and a happy marriage. Unfortunately, both of them are engaged to incompatible mates. As they get to know each other better, they realize that they were made for each other. A happy ending follows. This sappy romantic comedy is a great date movie. Kim loves it, and I must admit, so do I. It brings back fond memories of the 80's, and I can't say no when she says "Let's watch 'The Wedding Singer'". Great music, throwback props and costumes, and a fantastic love story. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Robbie, the singer and Julia, the waitress are both engaged to be married but to the wrong people. Fortune intervenes to help them discover each other.

Genre: Comedy

Year: 1986

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Keith Gordon, Robert Downey Jr.

Director: Alan Metter

My Review: Rodney Dangerfield plays Thornton Melon; an obnoxious, fun-loving, self-made millionaire. Keith Gordon plays Jason Melon. Thornton surprises his son with a dormitory visit and discovers that his son is planning to drop out of school. In a show of solidarity, Thornton decides to enroll to encourage his son to stay the course. This 50 something frat boy signs up for social studies and mid-terms. If it hadn't been for Rodney Dangerfield, this movie would have been a total disaster. With two mediocre antagonists, and two love interests, there's really no other reason to watch. Dangerfield's delivery and one-liners make the movie. Don't bother trying to follow the plot, just be glad that Dangerfield took the time to make this movie something worth watching. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: To help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.

Genre: Horror

Year: 1983

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Dee Wallace-Stone, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter

Director: Lewis Teague

My Review: Based on a Stephen King best seller (of same name). Dee Wallace stars opposite Cujo - A friendly, slobbering St. Bernard turned killing machine by the bite of a rabid bat (once again bats get a bad rep.). After being bitten by the rabid bat, Cujo does his best to suppress the deadly madness spreading through his canine brain. Unfortunately, Cujo's infection takes time to spread, and the tension builds slowly. Eventually the bat bite turns him into an unstopable 200lb canine killer. Most of the action takes place in and around an isolated farm house where Dee and Tad (played by Danny Pintauro) are stranded in a broken down car. Mix in a marital dispute and everyone thinks Donna took Tad and split from a jilted husband. This movie is frightening. How they managed to get Cujo growl and snarl with malice in his eyes is beyond me. The camera work and editing were excellent. Dee Wallace and Danny Pintaruo (at 6 years old) did a fantastic job in this movie. Add some very tense music by Charles Bernstein and you've got one very scary movie. Whatever you do, don't let small children watch this movie - They'll scream bloody murder, be afraid of dogs for years, and likely wet their beds for the next week or so. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: A friendly St. Bernard named "Cujo" contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.

Genre: Action, Thriller

Year: 2011

Country: USA, Ireland

Rating:

Starring: Gina Carano, Michael Angarano, Channing Tatum, Debby Lynn Ross, Michael Douglas

Director: Steven Soderbergh

My Review: Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Strarring Gina Carano (as the kick ass agent Mallory Kane), Ewan McGregor (as the bastard boss Kenneth), Michael Fassbender (as another cut-out agent), and many others. The casting was great. While Gina Carano's acting wasn't the best, it was more than adequate for an action star role. She's beautiful, tough, has great presence and looked great kicking ass on the bad guys. In this spy thriller, Gina Carano plays a tough as nails private security contractor. Hired to carry out risky missions (by the U.S. government), she slips behind enemy lines and uses her 'unique' skills to extract a high value target. After the extraction she's immediately 'by-name' requested for another mission. She senses something is wrong, and it is… It's a set-up, and she's the target. From this point on, the plot follows your typical secret agent revenge track. Despite the rather predictable plot, the action was excellent. I liked the minimalist approach. No need for explosions, endless streams of bullets, poorly integrated cgi and totally unbelievable wire work. No unnecessarily gory or intensely violent imagery. Raw physical power and actual skill come through in the fight scenes and car chases. The pacing felt slightly off, and the exposition with a random character was a bit strange. Why did she tell this stranger the entire story? All in all I liked the movie. In many ways it was better than your typical big-budget, explosions and crazy stunts action flick. I loved the shooting locations, the costumes and the sets. With better writing, Gina Carano can be an awesome action star. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: Beautiful freelance covert operative Mallory Kane is hired out by her handler to various global entities to perform jobs which governments can't authorize and heads of state would rather not know about. After a mission to rescue a hostage in Barcelona, Mallory is quickly dispatched on another mission to Dublin. When the operation goes awry and Mallory finds she has been double crossed, she needs to use all of her skills, tricks and abilities to escape an international manhunt, make it back to the United States, protect her family, and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her.

Genre: Comedy

Year: 1984

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tawny Kitaen, Adrian Zmed, George Grizzard, Barbara Stuart

Director: Neal Israel

My Review: A party movie before party movies were politically correct. In this movie, Tom Hanks plays school bus driver Rick Gasko and Tawny Kitaen plays Debbie Thompson his rich but rebellious fiancé. This raunchy comedy revels in it's ridiculous lack of plot and campy, college-prank bravado, as Rick takes it over the top in this Bachelor Party to end all bachelor parties. Untrusting of her funny man fiancé, Debbie and her friends pose as hookers in order to crash his party. Raunchy 80s humor done right. The extraneous character development and plot involvement (i.e. Will Rick cheat on Debbie?, Will Debbie's parents always hate Rick?, Will The Cops shut down this mega awesome party?) are simple distractions to a raucous good time. A party movie with plenty of sight gags, a little nudity, some excellent laughs, and an 80s attitude where anything goes. Great movie. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: A soon-to-be-married man's friends throw him the ultimate bachelor party.

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Horror

Year: 1998

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Dorff, N'Bushe Wright, Donal Logue

Director: Stephen Norrington

My Review: Blade was a fantastic fantasy, horror, action, comic book movie. Adapted from a comic (of the same name). Here's an early success in the adaptation of graphic novels. Blade (played by Wesley Snipes) is a bad ass half-human half-vampire hybrid, able to walk the streets during daylight hours, Blade seeks to destroy all vampires as they were responsible for the death of his mother. He's a dark anti-hero who slays the undead and pities the Humans who serve as chattel for the vampires. The movie takes place in a dark, dystopic alternate future where vampires party in nightclubs, feed on hapless Humans and bide their time by staying out of the direct line of view. Blade teams up with Whistler (played by Kris Kristopherson) and Dr. Karen Jenson (played by N'Bushe Wright) in an effort to kill or cure these bloodsucking mutants. Unfortunately for Blade his allies and the entire Human race, one of the vampires has more ambitious plans. Deacon Frost is a brash new breed of vampire, the kind that isn't content to remain in the shadows and quietly suck the blood of hookers, hobos and orphans. He wants vampires to rule over men, and he's decipherd some ancient texts to make that happen. His attempts to raise La Magra (the blood god) threaten the existence of man and vampire alike. Only Blade can stop this rebels reckless attempt to seize power in a reckless bid for domination. The visuals are slick and well polished. Excellent costumes, sets, music and post effects editing. Well choreographed fight scenes, sexy supermodel vampires, bulging muscle bad guys and an excellent good vs evil story that'll make you thirst for more. Spawned a series of sequels that don't quite live up to the original. I give blade a 5 out of 5.

Summary: In a world where vampires walk the earth, Blade has a goal. His goal is to rid the world of all vampire evil. When Blade witnesses a vampire bite Dr. Karen Jenson, he fights away the beast and takes Jenson back to his hideout. Here, alongside Abraham Whistler, Blade attempts to help heal Jenson. The vampire Quinn who was attacked by Blade, reports back to his master Deacon Frost, who is planning a huge surprise for the human population.

Genre: Sci-Fi

Year: 1987

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith

Director: Paul Verhoeven

My Review: Directed by one of my favorite directors (Paul Verhoeven: Soldier of Orange, the Fourth Man, Total Recall, Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Black Book); RoboCop is a sci-fi thriller set in a bleak, dystopic, detroit. Ruled by a powerful, corrupt corporation, the city's police force is the last line of defense between the law abiding citizens and an ever growing criminal element tearing the city apart. When the corporation attempts to introduce a new 'Robotic' enforcement model, things go wrong and they have to scrap those plans. Instead they use the body of a recently deceased law officer to create a cybernetic crime fighter. RoboCop is activated to serve and protect, but the corporation soon becomes the target of this human powered law enforcement machine. When RoboCop's submerged memories start making their way to the surface, his sense of duty and humanity return, putting criminals and corrupt officials on notice. The script was excellent. An interesting mix of satire and drama kept the plot lively and interesting. The cast featured some less than top-notch talent (Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer, and others), but the talent level was even and performances were pretty good. Despite some production problems and some misplaced humor, the movie shines as one of the 80s better movies (two Oscar nominations). I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: In a dystopic & crime ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg with submerged memories haunting him.