The Cowboys - 5 stars out of 5 stars

John Wayne did die in a non war movie.THIS ONE and a finer more noble and "teachable moment"has ever been scene in a movie.For years the actor who killed him was booed in restaurants and even feared bodily harm because he "shot John in the back".Well if thats not a reason to see this film than what is?
The story is simple but powerful for its time and for now.John plays a rancher who needs to run his herd of cows in but his cowboys all left for a gold strike region and now he has nobody to drive the herd.John has always played men who are very simple to understand but stedfast in a personnel morality of right and wrong and will not waver from that even it means death.Thats why many don't like him,but I do.
In this movie all thats left are boys from the local town one room school house and John must hire them.John sees the rough edges buy the boys want to be men and try hard so remembering how he was and how he failed his own boys he goes ahead with these real cowBOYS.The villains are  a group of ex cons that lied to John when looking for work with his drive.Add a ex slave cook to the mix and this drive is a wild fun ride.I won't tell you all the details of Johns death but lets just say this morality play ends with the boys passage into manhood by blood and righteous vengeance YAH !!!
Too many fine actors to list all the boys but Bruce Dern in a real badass killer role and Roscoe Lee Browne as the trail drive cook.Look for a really cute cameo by Colleen Dewhurst as a madam leading a traveling bordello.Released in 1972 it ran a SHORT 131 minutes.Trailer URL follows the pix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqmy20jx5MQ

North To Alaska - 4 stars out of 5 stars

People have very strong feelings about John Wayne and many are negative because of his politics and thats sad because he made far more really good pixs than bad,but I agree he made a few stinkers but this is definitely not one of them.The only reason I take 1 star off is because the story is so over the top that only a actor of Wayne's presence could pull it off.The story is of the Alaska gold rush back in the late 1800's when 2 men stake a claim and one is carrying on a letter romance with a woman in San Francisco. They strike gold and John Wayne as Sam McCord goes to Frisco for his partner Stewart Granger as George Pratt to get his sweetheart and bring her back to Alaska.When Sam gets there the woman had married and at a bordello getting drunk he meets Capucine as Michelle Bonet aka Angel and thinks she would do nicely as a replacement.I told you its UNBELIEVABLE.Also center to the film is one of the rare movies that the wonderful way ahead of his time comic Ernie Kovacs as Frankie Canon,made. He's a con man who knows who Angel really is and has worked scams with her in the past and thinks why not again.
Fabian as Billy Pratt ,Georges kid brother is funny as his hormones race around the sexy yet classic beauty that is Angel.All in all is a real funny film if you just want a good laugh.
Released in 1960 in runs a just right 122 minutes.Trailer follows pix and a great song by Johnny Horton is also in the film. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZeTaaus2Y

Forget Paris - 5 stars out of 5 stars

Perhaps my favorite comedy of all time.Picture Billy Crystal as NBA referee Mickey Gordon and Debra Winger as a airline official ,Ellen Andrews Gordon who he falls in love with.Can't?Well add just about every NBA superstar from the 90's in on court cameos around Crystals character and you see the possibility.My favorite NBA cameo was Spud Webb.He's standing next to Crystal who remarks your the only player I can relate to.For you non NBA fans just remember everyone is over 6 ft 6 in and Crystal is under 5 1/2 ft and so is Spud.Debra shows remarkable comic timing and you gotta see the scene she has a pigeon stuck on mouse trap paper STUCK to the side of her face.
Basically Crystal's father has died and wished to be buried in France where many of the guys he fought with in WW11 were buried.Once in France the airline lost the casket and thats how he meets Debra.The story is told thru flashbacks at a restaurant by Joe Mantegna  as Andy to Cynthia Stevenson as Liz his fiance.The rest of the cast is outstanding and a  memorable small but scene stealing  Robert Costanzo as the Waiter.
I can find no fault at all,even if you care nothing about the NBA,the short on court cameos are funnier than any I've ever seen a pro athletic do before.Released in 1995 in runs 101 minutes.Trailer URL follows pix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ZHyJoKYnM

Red Sun - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 1971 and running 112 minutes this is a odd spaghetti western from back in those wacky western days.This may be my favorite of them all manly because of Charles Bronson as Link Stuart and also a off the wall but highly effective casting of Alain Delon Gauche, a.k.a. Gotch Kink and sexy Ursula undress,er Andress as Cristina .But the genius casting of Toshirô Mifune  as Kuroda Jubie makes it a different sort of western.The story has been told before but without the samurai warrior aspect.I love the battle in over 6 feet high burning weeds with comanches near the end.I only took 1/2 star off because its after all a spaghetti western.A summary from IMDB is below as well as trailer URL below pix.

The story takes place in Arizona, around 1870. Link and Gotch are two ruthless robbers that attack along with their men at the train which carries the ambassador of Japan over to Washington. During the robbery, Gotch takes a very valuable gold sword, which is a gift from the emperor to the president of the U.S. and tries to kill Link, so that he can take all the money for himself. Now Kuroda (the only survivor of the samurais that escorted the ambassador) and Link must leave their differences aside and work together. They both want to find Gotch, but for different reasons: Kuroda wants to take back the sword, and Link wants the stolen money. All this must be done in seven days, or the samurai will kill Link and himself. Written by Chris Makrozahopoulos <makzax@hotmail.com>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRwQWf_h8Pk

The Safety of Objects -2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 2001 and running 121 minutes this is NOT my kinda film.Yes living in suburbia has the ability to lend itself to the strangest sorts of"complicated lives"one can imagine but I guess I don't want to finish a movie thinking boy were that screwed up so I guess I'm not.What I want to feel is joy or happiness or even forfilment but happy because someone else is not?So I will just say the regular themes are her,teenage angst,career disappointment,divorce,family tragedies ect.What drew me to the film was a OUTSTANDING cast.This is almost a "breakfast club"(I'll review in the future)in the sense of being early works of Joshua Jackson,Kristen Stewart,Timothy Olyphant,Aaron Ashmore  amongst others as well as veterans such as Mary Kay Place,Robert Klein,Dermot Mulroney,Glenn Close and many others BUT the one I really wanted to see and was NOT disappointed was Patricia Clarkson in a role FAR different from "Cairo Time"which I loved and reviewed earlier.So if like great acting but a very depressing script than this is your flick.Sadly I can only give it 2 1/2 stars because its not my kinda movie and has been done many times before.I did like the song at the end "Paul's song"Trailer URL follows pix

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3153658137/

If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

On the eve of what might be a devastating Hurricane,"Irene"heading for the Carolinas and parts north,it seemed fitting to review this documentary by Spike Lee.Now Spike has a habit of getting under folks skin with his no holds bared filming and this film is no exception,in fact I was squirming and had to go back and forth on it on my DVR.Released in 2010 and a little long at 4 hours but it was made to run in two parts for HBO so I only take 1/2 star off for meeting the demands for the job so to speak.
Now a documentary by definition is below

adjective /ˌdäkyəˈmentərē/ 
    Consisting of official pieces of written, printed, or other matter
        - his book is based on documentary sources
    (of a movie, a television or radio program, or photography) Using pictures or interviews with people involved in real events to provide a factual record or report
        - he has directed documentary shorts and feature films
noun /ˌdäkyəˈmentərē/ 
documentaries, plural
    A movie or a television or radio program that provides a factual record or report

This film is overkill on the facts.It's hard to watch this without feeling the poorer people and in most but not all cases, black folks were screwed for a few reasons including profit,expedience,and plain old incompetence.However I also come away with the fear that as in the case of the 9/11 responders,the true depth of pain and suffering is still ongoing.
Perhaps Spike,who lives in NYC, wants to get this across as well.Let's not forget he made a film in 2006 called"When the Levees Broke"and now 5 years later things are still bad for many regardless of the Superbowl as one person is on camera,and I paraphrase,"Heck I still have to worry about food tomorrow"  This is a very hard film to watch especially with its opening rant BUT for a so called christian country its hard to believe we allow things like this to continue.Trailer URL follows pix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o4tcxT-S1E

Once upon a time in Mexico - 5 stars out of 5 stars

Robert Rodriguez really became BIG time after he directed Johnny Depp as Sands in this final part of a trilogy about hit man as Mariachi.The first film was a low budget film with unknown actors but the second cast Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi who returns to finish the trilogy.The story is kinda goofy but the acting is well over the top and gives the film a crazy comic book like appeal.My two favorite parts of the film are,
1) Johnny Depp stating to another"Are you a Mexican or a Mexicant?"
2) There are 3 "Mexican's"saving the presidents life and he asks"Who are you guys?"
Now the "in" joke is NONE of those 3 are REALLY  Mexicans but Banderas,who is from Spain,answers as he wraps himself in a Mexican flag"Sons of Mexico, sir. "the other two actors were born in Spain and Italy.
So if you like over the top action flicks this is for you.Released in 2003 it runs 102 minutes.Trailer URL follows the pix and below is a summary from IMDB but thats not important :)

In this sequel to 'Desperado', a Mexican drug lord pretends to overthrow the Mexican government, and is connected to a corrupt CIA agent who at that time, demands retribution from his worst enemy to carry out the drug lord's uprising against the government. Written by Anonymous

 http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3180986649/

An Officer and a Gentleman - 5 stars out of 5 stars

Ah to be a Naval Aviator,May -o -nese !!!!Thats what I think off when I hear"Up where we belong"No popular song ever fit a movie much better.One of the best "3 tool" movies ever made.
1) Military movie covering the training of what is still the premier glamour job in the service,a naval pilot.
2)Coming of age for a young person whose fighting a past full of grief and disappointment.
3)Romance against all odds.
Released in 1982 it ran 124 minutes and I gave it a full rating,the cast fits like a GLOVE,Velvet and Mace.Trailer URL below pix and a IMDB summary below.MUST SEE.

Zack Mayo is a young man who has signed up for Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School. He is a Navy brat who has a bad attitude problem. GySgt Foley is there to train and evaluate him and will clearly find Zack wanting. Zack meets Paula, a girl who has little beyond family and must decide what it is he wants to do with his life. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3847618585/

The Lovely Bones - 4 stars out of 5 stars

A offbeat different type of fantasy/horror film that I was drawn to by the cast and stayed for the story.It's not your typical lurid bloody horror film,rather its a examination of the aftermath of a horrific act on the survivors.First off Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon,the victim of a serial pedophile killer (Stanley Tucci as George Harvey) is a star in the making and Stanley plays the killer like you would not believe, considering the type cast roles we are used to seeing him in.  Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon are fine as the family of murdered Susie and Michael Imperioli as Len Fenerman ,a more subdued cop than we are used to seeing him play,round out the cast.But the fantasy aspect of the victim watching out for her family and trying to find a way to bring justice to her killer is the real twist here.Well done and really a "chick flick"rather than a horror film. Highly recommended.Released in 2009 its a little long at 135 minutes and its theme is still adult and is not suited for all viewers so I take 1 star off for that but I thank God I never had to live through or know anyone who has,such a retching ordeal.Trailer URL follows pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2521171225/

The Trotsky - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Jay Baruchel     as Leon Bronstein is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky,or so he really believes and well,at the end I'm not so sure  but he just might be.That is the reason to watch the film.Jay Baruchel is a very good young actor and we'll be reviewing at least two more of his films in a few weeks,but for now we focus on this one. The plot is typical teenage farce but for the Trotsky angle to focus the min character.He can truly relate to his surroundings and reason to protest as to him,history is repeating itself.For a minute the movie got scary when they took over the high school.Visions of a old 60's flick"IF"flashed thru my mind,but only for a moment as it really is a comedy,but for thinking teens,not just hormone driven.Trailer URL follows pix and a IMDB summery is below.I took 1 star off because it is really aimed at teens.Released in 2009 it runs 120 minutes and all returning high school kids should see it,and maybe a few parents as well.

Leon Bronstein is not your average Montreal West high school student. For one thing, none of his peers can claim to be the reincarnation of early 20th century Soviet iconoclast and Red Army hero, Leon Trotsky. When his father sends Leon to public school as punishment for starting a hunger strike at Papa's clothing factory, Leon quickly lends new meaning to the term 'student union', determined as he is to live out his pre-ordained destiny to the fullest and change the world. Written by Alliance Films

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi947128089/

From Here to Eternity - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

One of the classic war interrupts life films of all time.The cast is "A"list and only B&W and slightly dated feel holds it back from perfect.The love scene on the beach still works today as does the brutal fight scenes and if you want to see the film that made Sinatra a real dramatic star and is hinted at in"Godfather"than this is a MUST.The film was released in 1953 and runs 118 minutes.The trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB storyline is below.

It's 1941. Robert E. Lee Prewitt has requested Army transfer and has ended up at Schofield in Hawaii. His new captain, Dana Holmes, has heard of his boxing prowess and is keen to get him to represent the company. However, 'Prew' is adamant that he doesn't box anymore, so Captain Holmes gets his subordinates to make his life a living hell. Meanwhile Sergeant Warden starts seeing the captain's wife, who has a history of seeking external relief from a troubled marriage. Prew's friend Maggio has a few altercations with the sadistic stockade Sergeant 'Fatso' Judson, and Prew begins falling in love with social club employee Lorene. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor looms in the distance. Written by Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTje59-yhk

How Do You Know - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

The problem I have with romantic comedies is the stories are usually so far out you can't relate at all,other than being a human.So I ask you,are you a Eskimo or Bedouin?See my point?Being human is NOT enough.In those cases only the sheer force of a outstanding actor who somehow makes the absurd  storyline believable ,by making the character they portray seem real ,makes it watchable,and then only once. In this movie such is the case.It starts with a very cute opening scene of a little boy trying to hit a baseball off a tee and failing miserably and then a little girl hits the ball off the tee with power and smiles but the boy pushes her to the ground out of jealously.Sadly that is the only original and funny scene in the movie.Its downhill from there except for the wonderful Reese Witherspoon as Lisa,that little girl who grew up to be a world class softball player but now at 31 years old finds herself cut and having to go on with her life and THAT is whats silly.She's involved with a baseball player, Owen Wilson as Matty  ,a real silly self  absorbed character and also  Paul Rudd as George,the overly sensitive son of Jack Nicholson as Charles ,a totally uninspired performance,as they say"for the paycheck"From there the story just is totally unbelievable but you watch it because you almost believe Reese,almost.Thats why I only gave it 2 1/2 stars.Released in 2010 its also a little long at 121 minutes.Trailer URL follows pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3436250649/

To Sir, with Love - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

A scant 10 years after his role as a student in "Blackboard Jungle"which I've reviewed earlier,Sidney Poitier     as Mark Thackeray ,now finds himself on the other side as a teacher and star in this film.While not as powerful as Blackboard,this film shows a different side of the teenage angst from a lower class UK point of view which may be MORE relevant today than blackboards is though poverty is still with us.Add more of a sexual awaking to this mix and thats the main attraction of this flick.Lulu as Barbara 'Babs' Pegg is really a minor character but her song "To Sir, with Love"defined the movie and transcended it as a major pop hit. Brief description from IMDB below as well as a trailer URL after the pix.I took 1 and 1/2 stars off because its British not american spoken here and not really a new idea after 'Blackboard Jungle" Released in 1967 it runs 105 minutes.

Engineer Mark Thackeray arrives to teach a totally undisciplined class at an East End school. Still hoping for a good engineering job, he's hopeful that he won't be there long. He starts implementing his own brand of classroom discipline: forcing the pupils to treat each other with respect. Inevitably he begins getting involved in the students' personal lives, and must avoid the advances of an amorous student while winning over the class tough. What will he decide when the engineering job comes through? Written by Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSo95YU9XZk

Inglourious Basterds - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

A very strange film indeed.Quentin Tarantino makes another film that seems like bloody good fun.Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine has a group of crazy killers behind enemy lines in WW11 to kill"Natc's"and thus strike terror into the German war machine.Without giving to much away I enjoyed it to the ending.That killed it for me.Also its a little long at 153 minutes.Thats why I took 1 and 1/2 stars off.Still its worth a view for Pitts acting which is as over the top as anything he ever did before.Released in 2009 its Tarantino at his best till he had to end it.Hint,think "alternate universe"Trailer follows pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3738173977/

Back to School - 4 stars out of 5 stars

A classic should see at least once comedy film.For me its the late great Rodney Dangerfield's, asThornton Melon,best film.Strangely Keith Gordon as Jason Melon,his son,didn't work for me and that's why I took 1 star off.Some inspired casting round out the film with Sally Kellerman,Burt Young,Robert Downey Jr.,and many others.Released in 1986 and only running 96 short minutes,its storyline is comic and only a master comic like Dangerfield could pull it off.It's the comic story of a rich guy who goes back to college as a new student to help his son get through and finish what he had started years before,the EASY way.Just the idea of a fat middle aged man trying to mix in with young 20 somethings is funny enough but when he bring a construction company in to re do the dorm room,well…………
This is not animal house or a knock off thereof.What it is,is a from the bootstrap to the corporate tower rise of a common man who runs business with that same common man attitude who is now mixing with the college scene as a kid but a kid with the success the REAL kids are going there to learn to be.The discussion he has in  class about building a factory is hilarious as the professor is "corrected"by Rodney as he explains how palms have to be greased for building permits and "the teamsters have to get their cut before any cement is poured"Rodney also was a high diver ??? Steals a female (Kellerman)professor from a stuffy male one,ect.My favorite is Rodney dancing to the beetles version of twist and shout.  Trailer URL follows pix

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

Our Family Wedding - 3 stars out of 5 stars

Wedding movies are a dime a dozen with every mix and match having been done before,then why watch this one?Well for me the cast caught my eye.Ugly Betty TV series star America Ferrera plays a pretty enough Lucia Ramirez and Carlos Mencia as Miguel Ramirez is her father.The groom is a ok Lance Gross as Marcus Boyd and Forest Whitaker as Brad Boyd his father.The rest of the cast is fine but how can Warren Sapp in a bit part as Wendell Boyd be almost invisible ??Remember the mantra,"Your marriage,THEIR wedding"?Well the fathers are the story here not the couple.Mexican vs black is the conflict and its funny enough and not mean although in a out door cafe scene when one member of the grooms family is walking away after biting comments about his hen pecked marriage,one member tells the other to calm down"Your scaring the white folks"It's a decent gag movie and you could see far worse.Oh did I mention the goat on Viagra??Two stars off for we've been there,saw that.Released in 2010 it runs a just right 103 minutes.Trailer URL follows pix and for a wedding flick I didn't like anything enough on the soundtrack to post.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2196112409/

The A Team - 4 stars out of 5 stars

I only have 2 issues with this movie.I haven't really watched the old TV series and second,it seems to take itself too serious for such a unbelievable storyline,thus 1 star off.
The cast is ok and the action is the real star.Hellocopters dogfighting,a flying tank ( by its cannon recoil) shooting down a drone?If you think THAT'S outrageous,and it is,wait till you get to the story.The US was minting money IN Iran and the plates were  stolen from a Iraq convoy and ,thats not relevant anymore.Just the action. Army rangers are framed for the hist and the CIA helped set them.Thats about the whole story with a few double crosses and twists.Worth a view but I prefer REALLY over the top flicks like Robert Rodriguez makes but this film is worth a view.Cast includes Liam Neeson,Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel amongst others.Released in 2010 and runs 117 minutes.Trailer follows URL.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1330381849/

Machete - 5 stars out of 5 stars

Robert Rodriguez first burst on the scene with a GREAT trilogy of films about a hit man masquerading as a guitar playing Mariachi.I'll review them at a later date.In this film he tackles the illegal alien issue,drugs and all things Mexico,Texas,good and bad.Rodriguez uses stars,action,and comic book violence so over the top you have to laugh,but he has messages as well as funny dialogue.Example,Cheech Marin as Padre Cortez offers Danny Trejo as Machete Cortez  a cuban cigar and Machete declines saying Mexican, so The Padre says "I've got them too"and opens a cigar box filled with joints.But Rodriquez is a serious film maker who uses humor and over the top violence to make his points.Tom Savini     as Osiris Amanpour is also the inventor of some of the bloody special effects used in this film developed 20+years ago but is not credited as such in this film.Must be his"students"doing the effects and he's along for the ride just as a actor.Robert De Niro,Jessica Alba,Steven Seagal,Michelle Rodriguez,Don Johnson,Lindsay Lohan,help round out a good cast.This film is NOT for everyone,but if you like"comic book"movies with more depth, than Rodriquez is your film maker and this latest film is a  MUST be seen naughty pleasure.
Trailer URL follows pix.I've added the song "El Rey"to the music playlist from the movie but a version by Vicente fernandez rather than by Alan Martínez and the Mariachi Juvenil Tecalitlán in the film.I think the more classic version is better.Sue me !!!Released in 2010 it runs 105 minutes.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2646935065/

The American - 1/2 star out of 5 stars

This might be the worse movie I've seen in 20+ years !!!!!The only reason it gets 1/2 star is George Clooney.Released in 2010 and running 107 minutes,the film makes "O" sense.
It opens with Clooney in a mountain lodge with a woman presumably after sex.Then as they walk outside someone is shooting at them,Clooney warns her to go back to the cabin and call the police after he shoots the shooter.As she leaves he shoots HER in the back and then get's a second shooter.Next he's calling someone on the phone and hiding out in a mountain village in Italy.Why?Who is he?Who was she??Why did the 2 guys go after him?Whose the guy he talked to and seemed to work for??Get the picture?You won't get any answers and Clooney going to a whore house?PLEASE !!Again,lost 1 and 1/2 hours of my life I'll never get back.Trailer URL after pix,but DON"T waste your time.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi447940121/

Sink the Bismarck - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

I posted the great song "sink the bismarck"on my player in honor of this movie while it NEVER is played on the movies soundtrack.I just like he song and movie so get over it.
Most WW11 war movies about sea battles are carrier themed and rightly so.The Battlewagon days were ended in this war.Even the mightily Bismarck was damaged by planes from a carrier strike that led to its inevitable distraction by surface ships.
Still the movie is well done and shot in black and white,thats why 1/2 star off,but it adds a 1940 feel to it even as it was released in 1960 and runs a tight 97 minutes.Any movie based on a factual happening will take liberties with the event and war movies more so because of "the fog of war"reality.That said this movie still is gripping and show the power these big ships once had.The story is short and to the point.The Germans have a ship that sink a convoy from 20 miles away and have already sunk the best warship the british had.If its not sunk,the war may be lost.Add to it a personnel story of the command naval group at home and you have classic war story interest.It's in my top 5 war movies of all time.Great acting by Kenneth More as Captain Jonathan Shepard and Dana Wynter as Anne Davis head a able cast.Trailer URL follows pix and also has the song even tho its not in the movie !!!!

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1067255321/

The Tourist - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Angelina Jolie as Elise Clifton-Ward and Johnny Depp as Frank Tupelo plus a twist ending are the reasons to watch this movie once only.Slow moving and many elements we've seen before are the reasons I took 2 and 1/2 stars off.Released in 2010 and running 103 minutes its a story of a Bernard Madoff inspired rip off only on a slightly smaller scale and all bad guys.Elise is the love interest who must help the Madoff type and Frank is a unlucky mark picked to help her.From there its slow moving and rather boring to a feel good happy if scandalous ending.Recommended for one viewing when you have nothing better to watch.Good Italy scenes also help.Message also sent is that the UK government and by extension ours,only cares about revenue and not crimes per say, IF criminals pays taxes.Trailer URL  follows the pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi304847129/

Halloween - 5 stars out of 5 stars

Simply put,my favorite horror film of all time.A young boys stabs his sister to death on halloween and spends his life in a mental institution till he becomes a man,then he escapes to return to his hometown to wreak havoc on halloween.We never see the face of the adult but that pasty white mask he wears is scary as hell.By the way,its said that the mask is a plaster cast of Bill Shatner taken in the old star trek series and borrowed from the props department for the movie.Thats not important,a whole series of sequels and a updated version have been spawned but none stands as well as the original.The acting in exceptional and the music works TOO well.But Michael Myers,not the comic from saturday night fame,IS the boogie man.He can't be killed and he keeps coming back,like a Terminator for the holiday.Released in 1978 and runs a short 91 minutes.Trailer URL is below the pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi330039577/

This Is Spinal Tap - 3 stars out of 5 stars

The reason I'm adding this is because I had to pick a "Mocumentary"so this is it although I'm not madly in love with it,worthy of a view however.IMDB fan review below and trailer follows pix.Film was released in 1984 and runs a short 82 minutes.Took 2 stars off because its dated and not really my kind of humor,but the music rocks……….

Rockumentary is a mockumentary
28 May 1999 | by Hermit C-2 (Marietta, GA, USA)
This is FANTASTIC! Writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer in collaboration with director Rob Reiner have created a satire so dead-on its target that it might be scary if it wasn't so hilarious.
Filmmaker Marty DiBergi, taking a break from dog food commercials, is determined to capture the sights, sounds and smells of his favorite rock group, the legendary Spinal Tap, on their latest U.S. tour. They're a 20-year old heavy metal outfit from England centering around lead singer David St. Hubbins (McKean), lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Guest) and bass guitarist Derek Smalls (Shearer). The rest of the band is a revolving door of personnel including a series of unlucky drummers who have met with bizarre demises. The new tour is the first the band has made of America in years, and unfortunately the they seem to have lost about as many fans as they've lost brain cells. When asked if the smaller venues that the band is playing on this tour means they are losing popularity, manager Ian Faith (Tony Hendra) quickly dismisses the idea. The band's fans are just becoming more "selective," he says.
Still, the group is received well at their initial shows--that is if the gig hasn't been canceled, if their balky stage props don't malfunction, and if the band can find its way to the stage from their dressing rooms. But the tour is one disaster following another. Fans don't show up for autograph sessions at record stores. Radio stations play their oldies and ask, "where are they now?" To top things off, David's girlfriend Jeanine (June Chadwick), the band's Yoko Ono, arrives. She soon starts contributing her ideas, such as having the band dress in fantasy creature costumes and recording their music "in Dubly."
Even with all this trouble, the band feels things will pick up if they can just get their new album released. But Polymer Records refuses to distribute "Smell the Glove" with its lurid cover art. Eventually it's released with a solid black record sleeve, with nary a word or picture on it. This turns out to be a reverse image of the Beatles' white album in appearance, artistic success and sales. The band sinks so low as to be billed second to a puppet show at a theme park. The pressures are just too much and as the tour limps to a close the long life of Spinal Tap seems at an end. But rock & roll is a funny business...
Throughout we're treated to the band's rock & roll wisdom and philosophy. For instance, Nigel lets Marty in on one of the reasons for their success--loud amplifiers. While the volume settings on other bands' equipment might just go to 10, theirs goes to 11! Asked if there's really a difference, Nigel replies, "Yeah, well it's like... one louder, innit?"
There are tons of cameos by all sorts of people, including some funny portrayals of PR flacks by Fran Drescher and Paul Shaffer. This is a brilliant comedy that, despite all the parody, loves its subject. Treat yourself to it.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2231173401/

The Devils Own - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

I'm a proud Brad Pitt ( Rory Devaney / Francis Austin McGuire )butt boy and I like Harrison Ford (Tom O'Meara )but sadly their the only things beside gritty NYC sets that recommend this movie,thus 1 1/2 stars off.Released in 1997 and running 107 minutes its a story of a IRA lad who comes to NY to buy weapons or the cause and is staying with a Irish family under the false impression they are sponsoring him as a young worker.Thats about it besides the usual IRA good,England bad,US Irish cop do the right thing regardless,and young bad guy not so bad but has to pay the price for the bad stuff he's done, formula stick.Still Pitt is good,Harrison as well and its a well crafted picture even if we've seen the story over and over.See it ONE more time.Trailer URL follows pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4236968217/

The Joneses - 4 stars out of 5 stars

A good"black comedy "is hard to find.The last real good one I saw was"heathers"which I'll review at a later date.The only issue with this one is timing.Released in 2009 and running 96 minutes, the script obviously was conceived right before the economic bubble burst and the "blackness"is thus replaced sadly,as nostalgia.Thats why I took 1 star off.
Picture the perfect family.Husband and wife and teen daughter and son.Pretty,smart ,charismatic  and most off all,they HAVE the best of everything.Home furnishings,clothes,gadgets ,the works.Only its not what it seems.Rather than "keeping up with  the jones"the"JONES"are not a real family.They are the new sales force of the future.They live amongst us in secret making us like them and thus wanna be like them.Buy what they have to keep up !!!!The family is not a family but 4 independent contractors who live off the sales coming from their area of the products they use.BUT into this sales family creeps issues that real families have.How??Well thats why you watch the movie as well as to study what length  companies will go to for sales.You doubt that??Softer ideas already here auto leasing and secret shoppers and beta testers.So next time you want to "keep up with the Joneses"make sure they own what they have so the field is level.The cast fits so i'm buying this little gem.The trailer URL follows the pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1198720025/

Secretariat - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Privilege leeds to power and position as well as distance from us the common people.So I viewed this picture afraid I couldn't relate to the issues facing the owners of this great horse.I was right,I couldn't and when they danced around the Vietnam war I almost turned it off. Fortunately they quickly focused on the horse.For this horse was special.I did see the great rout of Sham at the Belmont on TV and it remains as one of the greatest sporting events I have ever witnessed.The greatest horse race EVER,if you can call the utter destruction of the other 4 horse a race. This movie shows how Diane Lane as Penny Chenery ,the owner, won this great horse by LOSING a coin toss.You have to see the film to understand this ,and then syndicated the breeding rights for 6 million before he even won the triple crown starting with investor James Cromwell as Ogden Phipps,the richest man in the country at that time,who had won the coin toss and chose another horse .Released in 2010 and running a long 123 minutes,it's worth a view only to let younger viewers know of this great horse and remember what may have been the apex of horse racing before the plunge into the abyss it occupies today.The story of the humans involved is secondary and like "the social network"who really cares.Thus I took 1 and 1/2 stars off for that part of the movie even tho the actors were all good and tried hard to bring interest to a story where for me,there is none.The trailer URL follows the pix.Should be watched ONCE.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2618427161/

Blackboard Jungle - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 1955 and running 101 minutes this film is a classic but flawed film.I took 1 star off for B&W and the flaws and being a little dated.The flaws are NO teacher I ever knew would go through the things that Glenn Ford as Richard Dadier went though in fact there is a scene where he hs the opportunity to go to a better school but turns it down.REALLY ????That leap of faith aside,it is quite compelling.I went to a school like that although not so violent.Aside from the true 50's feel as true as "On the waterfront"what was really interesting was introducing Sidney Poitier as not really bad,Gregory W. Miller,years later he would be on the other side of the desk in a similar school flick from the UK called"To Sir with love"which I'll review at a later date.Below is the storyline from IMDB.Trailer follows the pix.

War veteran Rick Dadier is one of three new teachers hired at North Manual High School, an inner city boys school. This is his first teaching assignment, which he needs to support himself and his insecure pregnant wife, Anne. Despite Principle Warnecke's assertions to the contrary, Dadier quickly learns that the rumors of student discipline problems at the school are indeed true. The established teachers at the school try to counsel the newcomers, all inexperienced in such situations, as how best to handle the rowdy students. Regardless, Dadier tries to exert discipline in his class, which provokes a violent response. Dadier believes the student leaders against him are Artie West, but more specifically Gregory Miller, who he thinks uses the fact of being black as a means of racial provocation. Dadier has to decide either to leave and teach at a "real" school, or stay and figure out how to get through to his students... Written by Huggo

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2958819865/

The Social Network - 2 stars out of 5 stars

Pet rocks,Hula hoops,TV,Polio vaccine,commercial air flight,Interstate highways,pro sports,social media.See a pattern??It's all subjective and as such,your valuation of social media would determine your value of Facebook.That is what this movie is about or to be more precise two lawsuits over the formulation of the company.I only rated this film 2 1/2 stars because I rate the importance of Facebook somewhere between the pet rock and TV.
It's fun but at the end of the day your social skills have regressed as you have no real personnel interaction face to face.Playing games and "friending"is like catching your brains as they melt from watching the boob tube.Kids ore on the PC today like we were on the TV.That said the movie had to be boring and it was.Who really cares and what does it matter if Harvard wanna bee's developed  Facebook to get laid and overcome insecurities ?
Still a great cast made it watchable if you forced yourself to get past the first few minutes.
Truth is that the movie is based on a book based on the two lawsuits which were settled with confidential clauses.You really don't even know if the story you watched is anymore true than referencing something with"I read in on the internet".The only thing I took from the movie was a quote attributed to then president of Harvard and former Treasury secretary,Larry Summers,and I'm really paraphrasing,"Harvard students attend school to create a job for themselves rather than learn a job."At the end of the movie I cared less about Zuckerman and his "crew"(rowing reference not gang)than I did when it began.I guess if you NEED to know about this subject its worth a view.Me?Thats two hours of MY life I'll never get back.Released in 2010 it runs 120 minutes.Trailer follows the pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4152690201/

Dinner for Schmucks - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

The French have a much different sense of humor then we do or perhaps when we cast a copy of their films we use the wrong comics.growing up I saw "Trois hommes et un coffin" (Three Men and a Cradle)or the english remake"3 men and a baby"Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire,(The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe)or the english remake"The Man with One Red Shoe."Now comes the  remake(?)or American adaptation of the French film Le Dîner de Cons ("Dinner for Cretins").
Now I haven't seen many French films since my youth because I hate reading subtitles but comedies do sometimes translate depending on the KIND of humor.Of these 3 French comedies I only saw  "Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire,(The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe)and it was dubbed,however I've now seen all 3 remakes,It was FAR better than the english remake.So I haven't seen the French version of this film but I fear it also was better.However lets not forget the French TEACH Jerry Lewis techniques in their film school. This film is rather interesting but I don't think Steve Carell was right for this part.Anyway his character is odd in that he makes little stages of famous historical scenes using embalmed mice.YES !!!Paul Rudd who I also thought was not right for the part,plays a upwardly mobil wall street type who is in love with wonderful French born actress,THE BEST PART OF THE FILM,Stephanie Szostak .Now Rudd's company hosts a dinner for idiots that the executives invite,and the best idiot gets a trophy and the executive gets browny points.Of course Rudd thinks of Carell.Now if you want inspired casting try Larry the Cable guy and Giovanni Ribisi.I took  1 and 1/2 stars off because of the casting but I liked the films inspired idea.Recommend only 1 viewing however.Trailer follows pix.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3797747481/

Dark Storm - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

OK this is a old story.Mad scientist and Military project and infected good guy.Thats why iI took off 2 1/2 stars.Why watch it JUST once?Because it tries to include"dark matter"into the equation.The first such movie I've seen to try that.Baldwin is fair as he was in "Xchange"a slightly better film.Released in 2006 and runs 89 minutes.You won't learn anything really about dark matter other than it exists and thats all we really know anyway.Thus it could be fodder for better sci-fi films down the road.We can only hope.Anyway,thanks Canada for at least taking a first shot even if it misfired.IMDB storyline such as it is below and trailer follows the pix.



On a secret military base a group of scientists have made a discovery unequaled since the invention of the A-bomb; code-named Eruptor, it's a device that supercharges Dark Matter and uses it to change the molecular structure of its target, thereby eradicating it. But when the Eruptor malfunctions and a leading scientist on the project is blasted with Dark Matter, he receives incredible abilities that allow him to control the weather, as the same device now threatens the world! Written by Cinetel Films 

 http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3231711513/

Going the Distance - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

OK,I might be a little old for this kind of comedy but it made me laugh.Although I can't identify with anything in this movie,it still made me think maybe…….Took the 1 and 1/2 stars off because its not really a new idea and it was a little juvenile at times,but for a laugh and a cheep rental you can do far worse.Drew is beginning to show her age and might do better in more mature roles down the road.Storying from IMDB below as well as Trailer URL following pix.Released in 2010 it runs 102 minutes.

A romantic comedy centered on a guy and a gal who try to keep their love alive as they shuttle back and forth between New York and San Francisco to see one another.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi247793177/