State of Grace - 3 stars out of 5 stars

Sometimes we forget the Irish mob is in NYC as well as Boston and this 1990 film running long at 134 minutes reminds us of the fact there is a "Hell's Kitchen"in the city that the westees irish mob ran back in the day.I had to take 2 stars off because of the length and mixed up undercover cop vs roots theme.However the acting is as good as it gets in these crime films.Start with the maddening crazy Gary Oldman as Jackie Flannery and cool bad Ed Harris     as Frankie Flannery ,his brother and crime boss and Sean Penn as Terry Noonan a boyhood friend of Jackie who went to Boston to become a cop and returns to infiltrate his youth gang,a very young John C. Reilly as Stevie McGuire a poor dumb chump and so many more.Truly the acting and cast rises the film more than the script.Worth your time if you like the current crop of irish mob movies like "the town."
Trailer URL follow the pix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrIEKS1PdfI

Zorro: The Gay Blade - 4 stars out of 5 stars

There is no shame in being poor,only in dressing poorly,so say the gay blade.If you liked Airplane and or Blazzing saddles,than this lesser known film will amuse you.As a BIG Zorro fan I had to see this dispite the fact I am NOT a George Hamilton fan who does a great over acting job as Don Diego Vega / Zorro / Bunny Wigglesworth / The Gay Blade / Ramon Vega,two brothers who are the new Zero.It's 50 years after Zorro and he's died and his two sons will carry on against a new evil in the form of another actor I never liked Ron Leibman  who also over acts as Captain Esteban.That said over acting is a BIG + in this humorous sendup of the classic western spanish version of robin hood.Lauren Hutton as Charlotte Taylor Wilson   tries to be more than eye candy as the love interest and Brenda Vaccaro as Esteban's wife Florinda,brings the jewish wife to the story.It may not be PC but hey its a comedy already !!!Released in 1981 and running 93 minutes,the only reason I took 1 star off was the gay theme that is less PC today than it was at the time the film was made.Still I thought Hamilton nailed it.Trailer follows the pix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Ecj81s1_4

Crooklyn - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 1994 and running a little long at 115 minutes,I took 1 and 1/2 stars off for length and wishful thinking on Spikes part.My favorite hard ass director goes soft trying to be edgy in this whimsical story of growing up in Brooklyn back in the day.I loved it but not as a Spike picture,rather as remembering what a neighborhood was all about and family and kids and just because they are all black there is a lot I remember like it.About as edgy as it gets is Spike in a small role as Snuffy,gets hit in the head by Zelda Harris asTroy,the real star of this film and gezz I wonder where she went?? Alfre Woodard as Carolyn Carmichael and Delroy Lindo as Woody Carmichael are great as the parents who are trying to raise their 5 kids in Crooklyn but it's hard and there are tragic things that happen and at the end young Troy is now the anchor of the family and it's future is not certain.The soundtrack is wonderful representing music from the 70's,the acting is first rate as Spike always finds talent and the story, while soft by Spike standards ,is still very strong by white standards and sad in many ways besides being hopeful.I'm white and was raised in Brooklyn and I thought I had it easy after seeing this film.Trailer follows the pix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ujdSgxMWpg

Julie& Julia - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Surprisingly better film than I expected.Julie has too much time on her hands,but whatever!!.Thats the only reason I took 1 star off.Released in 2009 its also a little long at 123 minutes.Nora Ephron's humor comes through in her writing and direction and we all know about Meryl Streep who plays Julia Child but Amy Adams is also stellar Julie Powell and the rest of the cast anchored by Stanley Tucci as Paul Child excel.It's a very different kind of"today"film idea,but I bought it.Trailer follows the pix and a IMDB summary is  below.

Julia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjvJHsJD8ic

Pure Country - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 1992 and running a little long at 112 minutes I really wanted to like this movie much more than did.As it is however it's only 50-50 and really for die hard George Strait and country fans only.I'm sorry but he is a far better singer than actor and the story is corny as Kansas corn.Also they wast Lesley Ann Warren as Lula Rogers and over use Isabel Glasser as Harley Tucker .But thats just me,you can do FAR worse.Check it out.Trailer follows the pix and a IMDB summary is below.

Dusty Chandler (Strait) is a super star in the country music world, but his shows have the style of a '70s rock concert. One day he takes a walk - out of his overdone concerts to find his real country roots. He's helped and hindered by friends and staff, but pushes on in his search for a real music style as well as a real romance. Written by Don Femia <donfemia@csn.net>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImbNqSoqGqA

Fail-Safe ( 1964) - 3 stars out of 5 stars

Yesterday while reviewing Dr Stranglelove I said I would thus review this 1964 release as well,as they are tied at the hip so to speak.Running 112 minutes and also shot in b&w I had to take 2 stars off because of length and b&w and the story has a fatal flaw IMHO.
That said,it is a very serious no nonsense film starring Henry Fonda as The President but really having Larry Hagman shine as "Buck " a translator with whom the president speaks to the russian premium .The rest of the cast is "A"list as well.Here's the flaw.As fascinating as the story is about a US bomber accidentally nuking Moscow,the final resolution would have you accept the president nuking NYC to avoid all out war.
I'm sorry but history is full of wars of accident and a US president  nuking NYC for peace,REALLY?? Anyway,perhaps you might buy in to that,many did and that's why the film is a mini classic.For that reason it's worth your  viewing once.However,I prefer Dr.Strangelove.The acting is equally good in both films.Trailer follows the pix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oicYUhgff7Q

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 1964 and running only 95 minutes,the film is shot in b&w and is dated as the cold war is over and we won and didn't all die,thats why I took 1 star off,that said,a great film for it's day. Another classic by writer/director Stanley Kubrick and more great acting by George C. Scott as Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson long before his classic role of "Patton".
But the film is really all about Peter Sellers in a tour de force playing three roles,Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove .
Full of line like "we can't afford a mineshaft gap"I can't begin to explain the fabulous sarcastic "black"humor of the absurdity of the times and the cold war that turned hot.It came out around the time of "Fail safe"which I'll review tomorrow and many say it was sarcastic version of that very serious film.I can't say,but it is thoughtfully funny.
Trailer follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.Grade "A+"cast as well as a very young James Earl Jones.


An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gXY3kuDvSU

Deep Impact - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Standard apocalypse film and that's not my favorite genre but that said,this film is better than most.Released in 1998  and running a little long,I took 1 and 1/2 stars  off because it's like a few other films BUT still watchable.The FX is better than most,even though thats not high on my list of why to watch a film,but the acting is far better than most.Start with Morgan Freeman as President Beck ( 10 years before Obama) continue with a fine turn by Téa Leoni as Jenny Lerner and my old favorite Maximilian Schell as Jason Lerner
her father and the list goes on,"A" or at the least "B+"list of actors as these films demand so you care who lives and dies.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.

Unless a comet can be destroyed before colliding with Earth, only those allowed into shelters will survive. Which people will survive?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTkfk4dCnu8

Dear John - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

I am NOT a Channing Tatum fan and his portrayal of John Tyree a soldier,may be his best work.This is a confusing movie that was released in 2010 and runs 108 minutes and I give it my lowest YET ok to see rating of 50-50  or 2 1/2 stars for that reason.Yes it's a "Dear John"letter in the traditional sense but there's a father son issue,and woman with 2 loves issue,a soldiers story and more.Too ambitious for one movie.The trailer follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.By the way,Amanda Seyfried not only did a fine job of playing Savannah Curtis in the film but also sang "little house"on the movies soundtrack.I'm a fan of her's now.

While John is on leave in his hometown, he finds Savannah, a college student visiting the town. Although love was unexpected, it doesn't mean they didn't find it. With the knowledge of John having to leave for the army, their love still lives, until his re-signs on due to the 9/11 attack. Troubles invade and their love put on hold. One cannot bear it anymore; can the other? Written by Fiona Anderson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0fq5dd0C60

The Commitments - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 1991 and running a little long at 118 minutes a took 1 and 1/2 stars off for the length and a mostly unknown cast over here as it's a UK picture and the accents can also be annoying.That said,its a good,funny irrevrant comedy. White trash Irish meet low down black soul in Dublin and we're off on a fun ride with Star Treks Colm Meaney as the dad who LOVES Elvis as his son is forming this"Black Irish"band.Must see if you want to see something completely different.Trailer URL follows the pix  and a IMDB summary below.

The travails of Jimmy Rabbitte to form the "World's Hardest Working Band," The Commitments, and bring soul music to the people of Dublin, Ireland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3paf2TLrgsg

The Breakfast Club - 4 stars out of 5 stars

My HS days were not like this film in that I was a urban center kid not a suburban,that aside the stereotypes are familiar and thus a worthwhile film to watch if you get nostalgic from time to time.Great acting and the emergence of "The Brat" pack,a follow up to Sinatra's "Rat Pack"of friends in the entertainment biz. Released in 1985 it runs a just right 97 minutes and the only reason to take 1 star off is that it's slightly dated.The brat pack stars are Emilio Estevez and Anthony Michael Hall,Judd Nelson,Molly Ringwald and  Ally Sheedy.Good job by Paul Gleason the guy running detention.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.Enjoy it least once.

Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkX8J-FKndE

Blazing Saddles - 4 stars out of 5 stars

As funny as "the producers".Mel released this film 1974 and it runs 93 minutes and only the fact its a spoof about a now forgotten genre,the western,cause me to take a star off.Also I wasn't that happy with Cleavon Little as Bart .It would have excelled with Richard Pryor instead.Small complaint. Gene Wilder ,who was in the producers now plays Jim ,a gunfighter.Cleavon Little as Bart ,the black sheriff,Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr and
    Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp are the main characters but football player Alex Karras plays Mongo in a minor role but he's so bad he knocks out a HORSE !! And the singing around the campfire while eating beans will make EVERYONE watching this laugh.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.Do yourself a favor and see it.

The Ultimate Western Spoof. A town where everyone seems to be named Johnson is in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, Hedley Lemar, a politically connected nasty person, sends in his henchmen to make the town unlivable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor. Hedley convinces him to send the town the first Black sheriff in the west. Bart is a sophisticated urbanite who will have some difficulty winning over the townspeople. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLNQv19YpG4

The Producers ( 1968 ) - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Classic Mel Brooks comedy that inspired a smash broadway play and re-make movie and could NOT be made today as new material because of the politically correct world we now live in where its all funny till its about YOU.Released way back in 1968 and running a short 88 minutes,it still stands up well which is why I only took 1 star off.It's a grade "A"cast that include 4 standout performances by Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock and Gene Wilder     as Leo Bloom,Dick Shawn 'L.S.D.' - Lorenzo St. DuBois  ( who plays Hitler)and finally Kenneth Mars as Franz Liebkind (the playwright)also some old-time Vaudeville stage humor is provided by Lee Meredith as Ulla (a pretty girl and nothing else).
If your a prude and politically correct PASS it by,otherwise sit and enjoy one of the funniest movies ever made.The trailer I used is the broadway play scene first part of the production number of "Springtime for Hitler in Germany"and follows the pix as usual.
See the whole plot of the movie is Max is a bad producer who gets a idea from talking to his accountant leo that to end his money problems just produce a BIG flop that closes on opening night !!! All the investors lose their money to HIM that way since he hasn't spent it all yet.How the movie shows this is one funny scene after another as Max must charm old ladies out of their money to invest in his new play and offer the large %'s of future profits like 50% or such !! As long as its a flop so what?So they find this crazy old WW11 german vet who wrote a love story to Hitler and well,I think you can guess the rest.No flop big problems!!! LOVED IT !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYnz5LpLFn0

Road House - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Only took one star off because we have seen this story 100 times and the women in it have 80's big hair making it slightly dated.released in 1989 and running 114 minutes the story is the old one ,man fights the good fight alone and with honor and FINALLY has the showdown with the bad guy after his only friend in the world is killed.Sounds like
"Shane "and many more movies before and since.But wait !! Our good guy is Patrick Swayze and the bad guy is Ben Gazzara and instead of the old west its modern day "road houses"places were people gather to have a "good time"The "cooler"is the lone wolf like sheriff and his "deputies"are the bouncers and the owner is mayor like.The townsfolk are the patrons and business area owners and the "bad"is a rich man who"runs"the towm through violence and bribes and a bad"posse"Silly but this film pulls it off and I LIKE it.A dirty pleasure and my personnel Swayze favorite movie plus the music is good as well.A little nudity but still bad ass fighting, right vs wrong,old style "western" movie.Trailer follows the pix.By the way as folks who have heard of Swayze's character meat him they always say,thought you'd be taller.Like in "Escape from NY,when meeting Snake they would say,heard you were dead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ikfz-S6Tjo

Vera Cruz - 4 stars out of 5 stars

One of the finest old school westerns made back in 1954 and running but 94 minutes.The only issue is the story is out there and thus 1 star off,but the acting !!! Burt Lancaster as Joe Erin and Gary Cooper as Benjamin Trane head a "A" list cast is a sprawling story of drifting americans who go to make some money south of the boarder in Mexico or as IMDB puts it,

During the Mexican Rebellion of 1866, an unsavory group of American adventurers are hired by the forces of Emperor Maximilian to escort a countess to Vera Cruz.

Double cross and revolution and honor reign in a story like they don't make anymore. It is said that the opening scenes have inspired "spaghetti westerns"be that as it may be,I like the interaction between bad guy Joe with his twisted code of honor and good guy Ben with his just defeated southern manners and the bi play between them that you know will come to show down sooner or later.MUST see for western fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5nMP4wTIwQ

Gloria ( 1980 ) - 4 stars out of 5 stars

The late great John Cassavetes wrote and directed and cast his wife Gena Rowlands in the title role of this 1980 thriller thats a little long at 123 minutes and a little dated,thus one star off.FAR better film than the later remake.Look for SNL writer and sometime performer Buck Henry in a early but short role as well.Very different rough and gritty film like very few others.A little gem I recommend highly. Trailer URL follows pix and a IMDB summary below.


Mild mannered Jack Dawn has been secretly working as an accountant for the mob. He, his Puerto Rican wife Jeri, his teen-aged daughter Joan and his mother-in-law, all who were planning on going on the run, are murdered by the mob because Jack was going to inform on them to the FBI. Before they're killed, Jack and Jeri are able to send their six-year old son Phil to Jeri's friend and their neighbor, Gloria Swenson, for safe keeping. Also with Phil is the book which contains all the information Jack was going to turn over. Gloria and Phil have an antagonistic relationship, not so much for who they are but what they are, Phil a kid, and Gloria a strange white woman who hates kids. As an ex-mistress of a mobster, Gloria learns that the people that killed the Dawns are old friends of hers. As Gloria and Phil go on the run both from the mob and from the authorities (who believe she kidnapped Phil) throughout New York City, Gloria has to come up with a plan on how best to save themselves, which is not easy because of their love/hate relationship and the fact that precocious Phil has a mind of his own. That plan includes what to do with the book, but more importantly how to save Phil as the mob would still be after him regardless of the book just in case he knows something about his father's dealings. All through their ordeal, Gloria is not averse to shooting to kill, especially if those who she is trying to kill are trying to kill her and Phil first. Written by Huggo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaRSpR-NUgc

The Bodyguard - 3 stars out of 5 stars

A mediocre movie at best.The story is familiar but still a watchable movie for two reasons.Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston.Released back in 1992 and running a long 129 minutes,I took 2 stars off for seen it all before and length.Still Whitney was ok as a diva who needed a bodyguard and Costner as the guard.Whitney doesn't sing her fabulous version of Dolly Partons,"I will always love you"till the end but it's a tear bringer as the two part ways.For that reason alone,see the film.
Trailer URL follows the pix and a brief IMDB summary is below.

A former Secret Service agent takes on the job of bodyguard to a pop singer, whose lifestyle is most unlike a President's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00Kvyw7AEKU

Annie Hall - 5 stars out of 5 stars

Never been a real big fan of Woody Allen because he keeps making the same film over and over,ah,but that first film !!!! Released in 1977 and only running a too short 93 minutes the film covers one side of growing up in NY and the lingering affects it can have on you for years to come.Now thats Woody s take as a Brooklyn born poor Jew but neurosis can be funny and it does start somewhere.God knows NYC is home to pop phycology.
His tagline ,he credits Groucho Marks with,I wouldn't want to join any club that would have me as a member,sums it all up.
As funny as he is and how he plays his failures with women,Diane Keaton is a natural for him.Her character is from the mid west but is as screwed up as he is.Like two ships that pass in the night,they hook up and have a few years till their own individual neurosis forces them apart.It's a darker "When Harry met Sally"but tastes better as the years go by.
Some top notch talent appear in little more than cameo roles, for its Woody's and Diane's film,but,I have to mention a short but scary part by crazy man Christopher Walken. Don't get in a car with him driving !!!
I guess as time goes by I see some of Woody in me so I recommend the film over a Dr's appointment anytime.Trailer URL follows the pix.I think I now enjoy it more than "Forget Paris"and will adjust me favorite comedy pick as a result.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBzHphcc2Jw

Farewell to the King - 5 stars out of 5 stars

One fabulous movie !!! OK it's not Lawrence of Arabia but its a movie based on a novel by Pierre Schoendoerffer so we know it's fiction and nothing more.Ah but what fiction !!
Director:John Milius crafts a fine tale that makes you think as I once heard somewhere else,IF that story isn't true it should have been (film - the cowboys)There was a time Nick Nolte could really act and this film released in 1989 proves it.At  115 minutes I wanted MORE.There is NOTHING not to like about this film.The story of a third party being caught up in the dispute of others is timeless and when that dispute is war and the third party are savages or really just not civilized in the western sense,they only collect heads and live in the jungle,rather than live in comfort based on the exploitation of others,like colonial powers involved in such war,that you have a set up for a Don Quixote as played by Nolte. So don't look for Lawrence but rather a violent but principled Sancho Panza and you will enjoy the film.British,Japanese and Borneo as a battleground works as well as any other setting from WW11 and less done to boot.Fine acting by Nigel Havers  as a Lawrence type,Capt. Fairbourne really complements Nolte as this american deserter from Corregidor survivors after being beached on Borneo and seeing the soldiers he escaped with die.He then survives in the jungle only to be captured by headhunters,and here's the romance.is loved by a native and he thus learns there way and becomes "free"to lead his "comanches"as KING !!!Great stuff if not for that damned old war !!!
The darker issue of re-colonizing after the war is also delved into although not as much as one might wish.Do yourself a favor and see it,for they really don't make um like this anymore. Favorite line after Fairbourne and a "black" african sergeant major are captured by the headhunters and brought before Nolte,Fairbourne blurts,thank GOD he's as white as us. Trailer URL follows the pix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXwdnHQ86qk

Windtalkers - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

After seeing "Red Tails"it was time to revisit this release from 2002 running a little long at 134 minutes.Took 1 and 1/2 stars off for that and cop-ing out to mix in a story for Nick Cage that takes over the film at times and lessens the impact of what it should have been, telling the story of Navajo Marines who use their native language as an unbreakable radio cypher. The true story of the heroics of native Americans is as little known as the Black American in that distant war and as the survivors are dying of old age,its a tale that should be documented before its lost forever.This film is a WEAK  first attempt and one can only hope someone like Spielberg or Lucas will honor their memory before its lost forever.
On the surface the film has enough rousing action to entertain and does attempt to tell the story of the code the Japs couldn't break thanks to the Navajo.Still there is only the tease at the racism of the day as Cage is ordered to protect the code even it that means killing his Navajo windtalker rather than let the Japs take him prisoner. Imagine giving a marine such a order today !!! Ever hear of "Fragging"?  Still you should see it if only to known there was more to native americans involvement than the tragic story of "Drunken Ira Hayes "that I trust you already know.Trailer URL follows the pix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOmH0_F8_XI