Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Year: 2013

Country: UK, Romania, France, USA

Rating:

Starring: Christoph Waltz, Gwendoline Christie, Rupert Friend, Ray Cooper, Lily Cole

Director: Terry Gilliam

My Review: Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Time Bandits, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, wrote some of the dialogue and directed this movie. Starring Christoph Waltz, Lucas Hedges, Melanie Thierry and others. I like and own many Terry Gilliam movies (love the Monty Python movies), so I thought this one would be a sure win. Unfortunately, I found this movie to be self-infatuated with all sorts of stuff, but it lacked viewer motivation. The acting of Christoph Waltz was excellent. The sets, costumes and visual effects were great. The story was lacking. I couldn't figure out what the point was… In this movie Christoph Waltz plays Qohen Leth, an operator/programmer hired to tweak the Zero Theorem. A mathematical proof that will answer the question: Is there a reason or point to it all? He's a social retard, his world is noisy, colorful and busy. He's looking for isolation, solitude, quiet and stability. He certainly won't get that in this movie. While the movie contained many of Terry Gilliam's signature elements, the plot left me scratching my head… What was the point of this movie? It was flashy and somewhat entertaining, but overall it didn't satisfy. I give it a 2 out of 5.

Summary: A hugely talented but socially isolated computer operator is tasked by Management to prove the Zero Theorem: that the universe ends as nothing, rendering life meaningless. But meaning is what he already craves.

Genre: Crime

Year: 2000

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Miranda Richardson, Rachael Leigh Cook, Rhona Mitra, Johnny Strong

Director: Stephen T. Kay

My Review: Screenplay by David McKenna (based on a novel by Ted Lewis). Directed by Stephen Kay (mostly directed TV shows/movies). Starring Sylvester Stallone, Rachel Leigh Cook, Miranda Richardson and others. In this movie, Sylvester Stallone plays Jack Carter. Jack is a mob enforcer. He collects debts for the criminals who run the casinos in Las Vegas. The movie is a remake. Originally filmed in 1971, starring Michael Caine in the lead role. This remake stars Sylvester Stallone. I have seen the original (a long time ago), so I won't make any comparisons at this time. Jack has returned home (to Seattle) to console his brother's widow and attend the funeral of his brother Richard. Richie died in a car crash during a storm. For some reason, Jack doesn't think it was just an accident. Being the suspicious type, Jack does a little digging. Richie was clean, but the people who own his place of work are involved in some shaddy shit, and that spells trouble. Jack ain't anybody's fool! I thought this movie was pretty good. I like Sly, so I guess that makes me a bit prejudiced. I thought he did a splendid job playing a thug thinking about his family, his life, and the things he's done. I liked the direction, music, costumes, dialogue and cinematography. I thought it was a fine movie - Even if the plot was quite predictable. 3 out of 5.

Summary: Years ago, Jack Carter left his Seattle home to become a Las Vegas mob casino financial enforcer. He returns for the funeral of his brother Richard 'Richie' after a car crash during a storm, atypical of the careful house-father. Talking to the widow, daughter Doreen and enigmatic Geraldine, Jack suspects it was murder. Cliff Brumby, whose club Richie ran, is financially linked to porn and prostitution baron Cyrus Paice, who claims to be just a front-man for ITC tycoon Jeremy Kinnear. Someone hired goon Thorpey to make Jack return to Las Vegas. Jack's partner Con McCarty is restless, apparently about their boss Les Fletcher whose wife had an affair with Jack. Someone breaks into Richie's home, looking for a crucial CD.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Year: 1935

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

My Review: Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), The Lady Vanishes (1938)) in 1935. Screenplay by Charles Bennet (Screenplays: Foreign Correspondent, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) and Ian Hay. This movie is loosely based on the novel (same name) of 1915 by John Buchan. It's the first screen adaptation of the novel. There are others; four listed in IMDB (one in development). This is one of my all time favorite movies. I have multiple copies (different cuts/reproductions) of the movie and I hope the movie in development turns out well. The movie is an Alfred Hitchcock espionage thriller. Produced in 1935, this black and white movie is a great spy thriller. If only the sound production was better (I should get a Criterion copy - They've produced at least two different restored versions of this movie - Sounds like a great Christmas gift for someone I know…). The acting was pretty good (for the time). With Robert Donat and Madelline Carroll playing in the lead roles. Robert Donat actually played four different characters in this movie. The story begins in a somewhat contrived manner, but it gets better in a hurry. Foreign agents are planning to smuggle vital secrets out of the country, and someone's got to stop them. A thrilling (pre WWII) mystery, and a grand adventure across the length and breadth of Great Britain. The secret reveal makes for a fantastic twist at the end. I give this movie a 4 out of 5 (I need a better copy).

Summary: This tremendously entertaining spy film from director Alfred Hitchcock's British period set the standard for all man-on-the-run films. Based on John Buchan's novel of an innocent Canadian tourist in Britain thrust unexpectedly into the world of spies, it's hard to find a better one than this.

Robert Donat is the Canadian, Richard Hanney, who gets more than he's bargained for when a woman named Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) in fear for her life is killed in his flat after revealing to Hanney that she is a Secret Agent protecting the secrets of her country from a dangerous network of spies known only as the 39 Steps.

With a murder charge hanging over his head he must heed her words and make his way to Scotland and get to the bottom of the 39 Steps in order to clear his name. But when a misguided guess leads him right into the hands of the dangerous head of the network, Professor Gordon (Godfrey Tearle), the hunter now becomes the hunted.

He is helped along the way by a few kind souls who believe in his innocence. Peggy Ashcroft is memorable as a lonely farmer's wife who risks everything to help him escape. A kiss given by Hanney for her kindness is a poignant moment in a film both enjoyable and exciting. When he and a much more reluctant young woman named Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) are hancuffed together there is a shift in the film's tone as romance enters into the story.

The classy Carroll was a perfect match for Donat and the back and forth between the two is still enjoyable today. Sneaking off into the night while he is sleeping she overhears the men after him and comes back to help him, finally believing his colorful story of murder and spies. A tune stuck in Hanney's head will finally lead him to the "Memory Man" and a grand finale.

This is most definitely a film classic. Another good screenplay from Charles Bennet and good work from photographer Bernard Knowles, who always made the most of the sometimes meager budgets given he and Hitchcock in Britain, enhance a story with both tension and a dash of romance. A must see film.

Genre: Comedy, Adventure

Year: 2014

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle, Laurie Holden, Rachel Melvin

Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

My Review: Written (in part) and directed by the Farrelly brothers (Peter and Bobby). Starring Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle, and others. Carrey and Daniels reprise their roles as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunn in a Farrelly Brothers sequel. Twenty years later (actually and in the story), Lloyd and Harry are off on another adventure. After Lloyd & Harry leave the mental ward where Harry's been faking it for 20 years, the pair discover that Lloyd has a daughter! What! She's hot! Harry instantly develops a crush and decides to help Lloyd find his daughter. What follows is a shallow, exploitative and crude journey of laughs. The continued popularity of the Farrelly brothers movies only proves that the future foretold in the movie 'Idiocracy' are coming true. Why do I keep watching their movies? The Farrelly Brothers direct 'Click Bait' movies. Often exploitative, always shallow (have you seen Shallow Hall?), their movie appeal to the lowest of our emotions. Many of the jokes are actually recycled from the original movie (back in 1994). There were even recreated scenes from the original movie (like the two of them on a bike (a bicycle this time, instead of a moped/motor-bike)). I think they ever reused some of the same soundtrack. This movie gets a 2 out of 5. Maybe I've learned my lesson?

Summary: It's been 20 years and Harry Dunn has found something out - he has a daughter! Lloyd Christmas, his equally dim-witted friend, takes one look at a picture of her, develops a crush, and insists the two track her down. What ensues when Harry finally agrees is a bizarre encounter with an old lady and more hilarity because of their sheer stupidity.

Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

Year: 2012

Country: UK, South Africa, USA, India

Rating:

Starring: Karl Urban, Rachel Wood, Andile Mngadi, Porteus Xandau, Jason Cope

Director: Pete Travis

My Review: Screenplay by Alex Garland (based on characters by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra (writer and artist of the Judge Dredd comics)). Directed by Pete Travis. Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey and others. The opening lines of the movie (spoken by Judge Dredd (played by Karl Urban)): "America is an irradiated wasteland. Within it lies a city. Outside the boundary walls, a desert. A cursed earth. Inside the walls, a cursed city, stretching from Boston to Washington D.C. An unbroken concrete landscape. 800 million people living in the ruin of the old world and the mega structures of the new one. Mega blocks. Mega highways. Mega City One. Convulsing. Choking. Breaking under its own weight. Citizens in fear of the street. The Gun. The Gang. Only one thing fighting for order in the chaos: the men and women of the Hall of Justice. Juries. Executioners. Judges." This quote sets the stage for an excellent sci-fi, action movie. I first read the Judge Dredd comics back in the late 70s. I remember reading the debut 2000AD Comic featuring Judge Dredd. I read the comic throgh the late 70s into the early 80s. It's a character and story I'm familiar with. I own a copy of Judge Dredd (with Sylvester Stalone) and now Dredd (with Karl Urban). In this movie, Judge Dredd and his trainee partner Anderson (played by Olivia Thirlby). Together they are tasked with taking down Ma-Ma (Played by Lena Headey) and her cronies. Ma-Ma is the leader of the gang responsible for the reality-altering drug, Slo-Mo. The dystopian future setting is one of my favorites. The visual effects were excellent. I was also quite pleased with the casting. Karl Urban made an excellent Judge Dredd. Lena Hedey played a really good villain. The Anderson character was well portrayed by Thirlby, acting as a counter or foil to Dredd's overbearing fatalism. Although the flavor of this Judge Dredd is different than the movie starring Sylvester Stalone, I like both. I give this movie a 5 out of 5.

Summary: The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One - a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson, a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture - a 200 storey vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan's inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound's ...

Genre: TV Movie, Drama, Mystery, Sci Fi

Year: 2012

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Diedrich Bader, Jason Beghe, Jordana Capra, Jennifer Cortese, Rebecca Dunn

Director: John Putch

My Review: Not the first Atlas Shrugged movie I've watched, but was forced to watch out of sequence this time around. Apparently the first movie is in high demand at the moment, so I'll need to suffice with the second of this series. Screenplay by three different people, based on the novel (Atlas Shrugged) by Ayn Rand. Directed by John Putch (mostly known for TV shows and his acting). Starring Samantha Mathis, Jason Beghe, Esai Morales and others. One of the most confusing parts about this series of films (all based on Ayn Rand's novel) is the changing cast of characters. A different set of actors and directors were used on each of the films, which made it really hard to watch the series as a whole. The story - In a dystopian future (specific date not set), an increasingly Authoritarian U.S. has moved towards a socialist society which controls the economy and industry at the behest of the American public. Not the good of the nation. The world economy is on the brink of collapse. Unemployment is skyrocketting (up to 25%), and gasoline costs $42.00 per gallon. The government uses fear to control the population, and then controls the corporations to force them into concessions at the behest of the people. While the leaders of industry are slowly disappearing through accidents, suicides, kidnappings, and unexplained disappearances - Actually they're on strike and the government knows it, but the controlled press is covering up the facts on behalf of the increasingly desperate and corrupt government. In the meantime, the remaining leaders of industry are struggling to produce energy, transportation and products in an increasingly hostile marketplace. Dagny Taggart (played by Samantha Mathis) the COO of Taggert Transcontinental is one of those leaders, while she strives to keep her trains running, she has recently discovered a way to solve the nations energy problems. Unfortunately, she can't do anything with the discovery until she finds its inventor. It's part two of a grand conspiracy, a political statement and a philosophical treatise on the possibilities we might face when socialist ideals meet an authoritarian government controlled by a populist legislature. Watching this film (the three films of the series), one wonders and draws comparisons to our current political situation. Are we headed towards the dark future depicted in Ayn Rand's novel (and these films)? As noted earlier, the films suffers from poor production value. Changing casts, writers and directors are one of the big problems, but the visual effects are also sub-par. This movie gets a 3 out of 5.

Summary: The global economy is on the brink of collapse. Unemployment tops 24%. Gas is $42 per gallon. Railroads are the main transportation. Brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, are mysteriously disappearing. Dagny Taggart, COO of Taggart Transcontinental, has discovered an answer to the mounting energy crisis - a prototype of a motor that draws energy from static electricity. But, until she finds its creator, it's useless. It's a race against time. And someone is watching.

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Family

Year: 2014

Country: UK, USA

Rating:

Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais

Director: Shawn Levy

My Review: Far too many people worked on this movie's story and screenplay, based on the children's book 'The Night at the Museum' by Milan Trenc. Directed by Shawn Levy (The Pink Panther (2006 remake w/Steve Martin), Real Steel, also known for many TV shows/movies). Starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams (died four months before film's release), Own Wilson, Dan Stevens, Ben Kingsley and others. A great cast and a fun, adventurous story. Ben Stiller continues in the role of Larry Daley, night watchman for the Museum of Natural History (in NYC). This is the third movie in a trilogy (Night at the Museum (2006), Night at the Museum (Battle at the Smithsonian) and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb). In this story he has to travel the world (Egypt, London, Pompei), pulling together a team of historic figures in order to embark on a quest to preserve the magical tablet of Ahkmenrah, and assure the continued life of these historic figures. In watching this movie, I already knew that Robin Williams had died before the movie was released, and I definitely saw much of the movie in terms of a good-bye, but only in so much as good friends are only gone so long as we don't revisit them in our minds. Or, in this case, at the museum. History is always there, all we have to do is supply our imagination to make it come alive, and that's what this movie does. A great family film, even if the plot is a bit limited for the immense cast. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: At the Museum of Natural History, there's a new exhibit being unveiled. Larry Daley, who manages the night exhibit where the exhibits come to life because of the Tablet of Ahkmenrah, is in charge of the presentation. But when the exhibits go awry, Larry finds himself in trouble. He learns the Tablet is corroding so he does some research and learns that Cecil, the former museum guard, was at the site when the Tablet was discovered. He tells Larry they were warned if they remove it could mean the end. Larry realizes it means the end of the magic. He talks to Ahkmenrah who says that he doesn't know anything. Only his father the Pharaoh knows the Tablet's secrets. He learns that the Pharaoh was sent to the London museum. So he convinces Dr. McPhee, the museum curator, to help send him to London. He takes Ahkmenrah with him but some of the others tag along, like Teddy Roosevelt, Attila, Octavius, and Jedediah.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Year: 1934

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Frank Vosper, Hugh Wakefield

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

My Review: Screenplay by Charles Bennet (Screenplays: Foreign Correspondent, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) and D.B. Wyndham Lewis. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), The Lady Vanishes (1938)). Starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Nova Pilbeam, and others. This film is the 1934 original version of the movie. A remake with James Stewart and Doris Day was produced/directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1956 (after he had moved to the US). The remake has an entirely different plot. In this movie, Leslie Banks and Edna Best play Bob and Jill Lawrence, on vacation in Switzerland with their daughter Betty (played by Nova Pilbeam), the couple are asked by their dying friend, to retrieve some secrets information hidden in his room, and take it to the British Consulate. They get the information, but then their daughter is kidnapped in an effort to prevent the couple from revealing the information to authorities. What follows is an tense and thrilling mystery, involving international intrigue and political conspiracy. This film was quite entertaining, an excellent Alfred Hitchcock film, marred only by the poor quality of the transfer. Peter Lorre (A Hungarian of Jewish descent) was quite good in his first English speaking role (he had just fled Nazi Germany when he landed this role), as Abbott the leader of the villainous leader of the assassins. I give this film a 3 out of 5. I wish I had a better copy.

Summary: While holidaying in Switzerland, Lawrence and his wife Jill are asked by a dying friend, Louis Bernard, to get information hidden in his room to the British Consulate. They get the information, but when they deny having it, their daughter Betty is kidnapped. It turns out that Louis was a Foreign Office spy and the information has to do with the assassination of a foreign dignitary. Having managed to trace his daughter's kidnappers back to London, Lawrence learns that the assassination will take place during a concert at the Albert Hall. It is left to Jill, however, to stop the assassination.

Genre: Mystery

Year: 1938

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, Dame May Whitty, Cecil Parker

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

My Review: It's a thrilling train travel mystery by the master of suspense. Screenplay by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder (based upon the story 'The Wheel Spins' by Ethel Lina White). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock ((Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), The man who knew too much (1934)). Starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, Naunton Wayne (playing Caldecott), Basil Radford (playing Charters) and others. This film is the 1938 original version of the movie (by Alfred Hitchcock). A remake, directed by Anthony Page was released in 1979, and another (BBC made for TV Movie) released in 2013 was directed by Diarmuid Lawrence. A very popular film indeed. Also one of my favorites. This mystery combines a bit of romance and comedy into the train based thriller. I like trains, I like mysteries, I like Alfred Hitchcock films. So far this film is hitting a lot of spots for a top rating. Here is a train full of passengers traversing the mountains of Mandrika (somewhere in Europe). On board is Iris Henderson (played by the gorgeous Margaret Lockwood) a woman traveling on her own, on her way back to England for her upcoming wedding. She encounters and befriends an middle aged English governess named Miss Froy. Their encounter is brief and memorable, but it soon becomes something of a mystery after Ms. Froy goes missing, or so Iris claims. No one seems to believe her or willing to corroborate her stories of the mysterious Ms. Froy. When ah English musicologist named Gilbert (played by Michael Redgrave) offers to help find the missing Ms. Froy things get a bit more thrilling. Did she actually disappear? What happened to her? What danger does Iris face if she's the lone witness to some criminal conspiracy? It's a simple story that needs no special effects, explosions or CGI to keep the audience engaged and intrigue running high. Note: The Comedy duo of 'Caldecott and Charters' were created specifically for this film (they're not in the book), but they were so well received that they made many film, television and radio appearances afterwards (Eventually the characters became so popular that they weren't able to appear with the same names, the actors had to portray 'similar' characters with different names (for contractual reasons)). Another great movie by Alfred Hitchcock. I give this movie a 4 out of 5. It might rate higher if I could find a better quality transfer.

Summary: While traveling in continental Europe, a young British couple realize that a passenger seems to have been kidnapped from their train.

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Year: 2011

Country: UK, USA, United Arab Emirates

Rating:

Starring: Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Patrick Pearson, Hugh Dickson, James Rawlings

Director: John Madden

My Review: Screenplay by Ol Paker, based on a novel (same name) by Deborah Moggach. Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Debt). Starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel and others. The Marigold Hotel (under new management) manages to entice a clientele of elderly and beautiful guests to book stays in Jaipur, India. "Come and spend your Autumn years in an Indian palace". These unwitting retirees make a perilous journey to the far east, and check in at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, only to learn that they've been hood-winked. The hotel is not the plush, luxury destination that the brochures promised. It's a run-down dump on its last legs. Fortunately, India and the Marigold prove more than charming in other ways. The run-down hotel is run by an enthusiastic new manager. Sonny Kapoor (played by Dev Patel) does his absolute best to please his very discerning guests, and they do their best to persevere. The cast and acting is great, but the movie left me (now in my 50s) thinking about the reality of living in India and whether this movie really depicts the day-to-day life such a change might mean. A clearly romanticized vision of a rose colored retirement in exotic India. I give this movie a 3 out of 5.

Summary: Seven elderly Britons, for a variety of reasons, respond to an online ad and travel to Jaipur, India, where they find run-down hotel with a young, exuberant, and optimistic host. Evelyn, newly widowed, wants low-cost experience, Graham seeks a long-ago love, Douglas and Jean have lost their pension in a family investment, Muriel needs cheap hip surgery, Madge seeks a rich husband, and Norman is chasing women. India affects each in different ways, enchanting Douglas and Evelyn while driving Jean deeper into bitterness. Their host, young Sonny, has dreams but little cash or skill; he also has a girlfriend whom his mother dismisses. Stories cross and discoveries await each one.