In The Mix - 2 and 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

After awhile I forgave Usher for helping spring Justin Bieber on the world and so when I saw he made this film with a personnel fav of mine,Chazz Palminteri,I had to check it out.
I could only give it a so/so 2 and 1/2 stars because its full of cliches and rude stereotypes.Plus it so under utilized two GREAT co-stars,Robert Davi  and Kevin Hart that one is tempted to dismiss the film completely.However,Chazz IS Chazz and there is a chemistry between Usher and his female lead,Emmanuelle Chriqui,that keep you interested and wondering why Usher doesn't make more films?? Note here,I reviewed "Texas Rangers"earlier and he did have a role in that film as well.Maybe he just needs that "film"to break out,like Will Smith??
Anyway,as  I stated, the storyline is a notch below wishful fantasy and it only works because of the acting and thats why I also blame the poor use of Davi and Hart for missing the boat and not making better use of their talents to make something more then a what should have been type of film.Released in 2005 and running 95 minutes,a trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary is below.


A successful DJ manages to rescue a powerful mobster one night. In order to repay him, the mobster gives him the task of protecting his daughter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrAJ4s8Uqzw

Jesus Christ Superstar ( 1973 ) - 3 stars out of 5 stars

A movie from a different time for sure.Doubtful it would be made today as it screams 60's.
There are a few versions of this out,but this is the one based on the hit broadway play.True enough to the bible this film should not offend true christians other than the fact a actor does portray Christ.My issue with the film is a unevenness I couldn't get by.While I understand the idea of young people getting off a bus in the desert and then re-creating the last few days of Christ's life only to get back on the bus later without him,I couldn't get that most of the film is that stark re creation out of really nothing,YET real military tanks do appear at one point in the film.Also there are 2 standard song numbers that are classics to this day,Jesus Christ Superstar,and I Don't Know How to Love Him,are outstanding yet the rest of the song numbers are average at best.I guess putting song to scripture can be daunting.Thats why I can only give 3 stars to the film.I would recommend you see the play and the film only if you can't.Released in 1973 the film runs 108 minutes and the dancing and acting is fine.My only issue was the aforementioned unevenness and songs.
Side note.Yvonne Elliman plays Mary Magdalene and sings that great version of "I don't know how to love him",and a few years later her disco sexy version of"if I can't have you"to a stripper scene in Saturday Night fever shows a hellava contrast. Trailer URL follows the pix.Thats real talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTqTsKz5RA

Marked for Death - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Maybe the strangest of all of Steven Seagals films.Politically incorrect but street true about a time when the drug trade in this country was going through a new ethnic groups joining in the action.Except for how law enforcement seems to melt away and let Seagal and friends do their thing,there's little not to like in this action thriller.The cast is high "b " level and you'll recognize a few actors who went on to fine carriers later.For me,Basil Wallace who portrays Screwface,the"bad guy"created a very strong screen presence and made you root for Seagal,a must if you want to enjoy these sorts of film.There were 2 other "small"roles of note by now famed  "bad guy"Danny Trejo and also Bill Clinton par amore,Elizabeth Gracen.Cast aside,its your typical god guy has to get away from it all after partner is killed,but,"it keeps pulling him back",thanks to Godfather 3 for that paraphrased quote.I take 1 and 1/2 stars off for the free ride they get without police involvement,in the plot and lamost comic breaking of bones in some fight scenes.Released in 1990 and running only 93 minutes,its a guilty pleasure film. Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.Must see for action film fans.

Chicago DEA agent John Hatcher has just returned from Colombia, where his partner was killed in the line of duty by a drug dealer who has since been taken down. As a result of his partner's death, John has decided to retire, but his retirement may not be permanent. On the next day, after reuniting with his sister Melissa and Melissa's daughter Tracy, John gets into a shootout against a Jamaican drug kingpin known as Screwface, taking down some of Screwface's men. John brings himself out of retirement when Screwface retaliates by attempting to kill Melissa and Tracy. After the shooting, John is reunited with two old friends - a local high school football coach named Max, and a Jamaican Chicago cop named Charles. John and Max set out to hunt Screwface down, only to discover that Screwface has gone back to Jamaica. John and Max take Charles with them to Jamaica for an all out war against Screwface and his drug empire. Written by Todd Baldridge <sandib@eastky.com>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es-_hdDxVSk

Dallas ( 1950 ) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Now that I live in Texas and grew up watching the old"Dallas"tv series and now that they are starting the series all over again,how could I resist this 1950 Gary Cooper film that runs only 94 minutes.One of the standard story lines in classic western lore is the tenderfoot who is saved by the bad guy who isn't really bad after all or now repaying his bad life with a final good deed to help that poor fool.
In this case,the Civil War is over and a roque Confederate colonel, is being hunted for crimes committed during that war. We have a love triangle develop and we learn the colonel is out to revenge  the murder of his family by roque union troops during that war.
Add to that mexican cattle owner and growing cow town Dallas and the hint of the oil and rail to come,we have all the "Texas" themes we need for a good time.Nothing new but mixed very well.Thats why I took 1 and 1/2 stars off.We've seen it before and since but it still better than most again evidenced by a trailer link available to view after the pix and a detailed IMDB summary below.A see for western and Cooper fans.

After Confederate officer Blayde Hollister's home and family are destroyed by the Marlowe brothers during the Civil War, he swears revenge, refusing to surrender and becoming a wanted man. In order to pursue the three brothers into Texas, Hollister fakes his own death in a staged gunfight with his friend Wild Bill Hickock. He then befriends Martin Weatherby, the newly appointed U.S. Marshal to Dallas, an affable, but not very experienced lawman, who agrees to let Hollister assume his identity. The eldest of the Marlow brothers, Will, masquerades as a law-abiding real estate dealer while feigning righteous indignation over the brutal acts of lawlessness and violence visited on the honest citizens of Dallas by his sociopathic brothers, Cullen and Bryant. (Their parents were evidently fond of the renowned poet William Cullen Bryant). When Hollister becomes a rival for the affections of Weatherby's aristocratic fiancee Tonia Robles... Written by Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/445425/Dallas-Original-Trailer-.html

They Came to Cordura - 4 stars out of 5 stars

When watching a Hollywood western we must always remember they are film stories based mostly on romanticized novels based on a historical occurrence.Or as we say today,docudrama.Mostly not true but should have been,ha,ha.In this case based on a novel by Glendon Swarthout and adapted for the screen  by  Robert Rossen and Ivan Moffat,directed also by Rossen,they use the famous chase of Pancho Villa in 1916 to investigate what is heroic and what is not.This is still as very relevant question today as it was in 1959 the year this film was released and running 123 minutes.A woman is worked into the storyline,for you had to to get movie tickets sold in 1959,and its not THAT bad a working,but ,thats why I took a full star off relating to a otherwise perfect idea.The setting is at the door to our entrance to WW1 and the west is shown changing in the fact of not only referring to that great war to come,but.showing the US Calvary in brown uniforms,NOT old west indian or civil war blue.The cast is good anchored by Gary Cooper,but in this case,its the examination of what being a hero is,why you should see this film.While some ideas might seem far fetched,what is war after all,if not far fetched?? Must see cinema.About the closest modern films and its still far from this,is"Hurt Locker"impregnates "Platoon"and thats a real reach to a bastard updated film.No they really don't make them like this anymore.Trailer URL follows the pix,yes a trailer from 1959 still available,that speaks volumes in itself,and a IMDB short summary below.

An army major, himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommended soldiers for the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Mexican Border Incursion of 1916.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGskUITA15o

Springfield Rifle - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Before Clint Eastwood there was Gary Cooper.I've already reviewed "Vera Cruz" and "Beau Geste " and now we add this lesser know and badly titled film.Badly titled because the film is really about the Civil War and the behind the lines espionage used to fight it,in this case,steal horses destined for the war effort. However I've learned through the years how films were titled in such a way as to not upset 1/2 the country as it was still less than 100 years after that war when these sort of films were made.Case in point,an earlier film I reviewed,"Santa Fe Trail"To get a idea of the raw feeling some films might have enticed if not titled in such ways.Just think, it is a longer time from WW1 to now,then the civil war to the 50's films made about it.Anyway,back to this film.Simply put,it rises on that strong silent character that Cooper was so good at creating as Eastwood later did.The story is simple enough and the action rings true enough.I only took 1 star off because it seems a little contrived that real espionage might have been better used on something more militarily decisive  LIKE Springfield Rifles rather than simple horse stealing.The rifles only play a small part in re capturing stolen horses and destroying the raiders at the end of the film.Still released in 1952 and running 93 minutes,its a western classic to be seen by all fans of the genre.There was no trailer I could find so a scene URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.

Major Lex Kearny becomes the North's first counterespionage agent as he tries to discover who's behind the theft of Union cavalry horses in Colorado during the Civil War.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf8xuPdvZG8

Easy Money ( 1983 ) - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

There seems to be a few movies with this title so make sure you look for 1983 release year and starring Rodney Dangerfield. Running only 95 minutes,I took off 1/2 star for ha ing a slightly 80's dated "feel and look" That said it is so PI,politically incorrect,check your values at the door.No seat belt wearing in cars,drinking beer behind the wheel,hiding "roaches"in roach motels in the bathroom,carting  a wedding cake in a van and wedging it against a toilet,I can go on and on.That is Dangerfield and some would say,way he can't get no respect.The final line in the film is"I wouldn't kiss my mother-in-laws face,now I kiss her ass"The plot is simple enough,think of another movie I reviewed called"Dim Sum Funeral"only substitute a family of 2 girls,one JUST married, and a wife and Rodney,instead of siblings and stir very irreverently and you got it somewhat,or should I say,Dim sum copied this film with those changes.Joe Pesci shows a little of the comic timing he would display later in another film I reviewed"My Cousin Vinny".Jennifer Jason Leigh is great as a nervous young bride who is REALLY a closet Rodney and Taylor Negron again makes you wonder why he is not a super star and finally Jeffrey Jones turns in another great performance as the guy you love to hate.Many other veteran actors fill out fine roles in my kinda of comedy.I loved this film.A must see comedy of NY irreverence. FORGETABOUTIT  !!! Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.Oh and Billy Joel wrote the theme song especially for this movie.

To inherit his mother-in-law's colossal fortune, a hard living, gambling addict must change his unhealthy ways before it gets the best of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKP7fYycx-g

Gladiator - 4 stars out of 5 stars

The movie that revived a genre and made Russell Crowe a star has only 2 flaws.Length and a very simple story that begs for a broader more detailed backstory.Still released in 2000 and running 155 minutes you could do FAR worse,thus only 1 star off.As good as Crowe is,there are other fine performances and I especially liked Joaquin Phoenix as a real Shakespearian villain and a sultry yet subdued Connie Nielsen as a forbidden love interest and perhaps the best role ever by Oliver Reed shortly before his death.All in all a fine kick start to a noble genre of storytelling,sort of "world westerns"these old gladiator stories. Must see movie.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.

Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge. Written by Chris "Morphy" Terry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - 4 stars out of 5 stars

When I first saw this film back in 2003 ,when it was released, I was fooled by the trailer into thinking it was more of a Hornblower epic was film and was therefore disappointed.Later I realized what a good old sea sailing film it truly was and changed my opinion  upwards.Yes its war and yes its violent but it more than that.Its young boys becoming men,Exploration mixing with the needs of war.Friendships adapting to both.It's a bit long at 138 minutes thus the one star off.However its well cast and weaves a engrossing tale.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.Highly recommend.

In April 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, the H.M.S. Surprise, a British frigate, is under the command of Captain Jack Aubrey. Aubrey and the Surprise's current orders are to track and capture or destroy a French privateer named Acheron. The Acheron is currently in the Atlantic off South America headed toward the Pacific in order to extend Napoleon's reach of the wars. This task will be a difficult one as Aubrey quickly learns in an initial battle with the Acheron that it is a bigger and faster ship than the Surprise, which puts the Surprise at a disadvantage. Aubrey's single-mindedness in this seemingly impossible pursuit puts him at odds with the Surprise's doctor and naturalist, Stephen Maturin, who is also Aubrey's most trusted advisor on board and closest friend. Facing other internal obstacles which have resulted in what they consider a string of bad luck,... Written by Huggo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzG4K2m_j5U

Death Becomes Her - 4 stars out of 5 stars

I do enjoy "black comedies"and this Robert Zemeckis film is the classic love triangle with the added twist of youth envy and a few zigs at LA's preoccupation with it.Meryl Streep,Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis play the classic triangle with Isabella Rossellini as the symbolic devil. My only issue is the lack of a truly good ending.Thus 1 star off.Still,released in 1992 and running 104 minutes,its got pretty good FX and Goldie looks freaky scary at times.If you like these dark comedies,this is your kinda film.Trailer follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.

Helen, a writer, and Madeline, an actress, have hated each other for years. Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once Helen's fiance. After she recovers from a mental breakdown, Helen vows revenge by stealing back Ernest and plotting to kill Madeline. Both rivals have secretly drunk a miracle cure for aging; they accidentally discover, when each tries to eliminate the other, that they have become immortal and that "life" will never be the same again. Written by froufrou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7sMilQeVHk

Memphis Belle - 3 stars out of 5 stars

A very uneven war film.The highest ratio of causality to service, for the US armed forces in WW11,was the Army Air Corp Bomber groups.If you could survive 25 missions you would be sent back home.That was the problem,survive thru 25 missions and the Memphis Belle bomber crew of the 8th army air group was the first to accomplish this in 1943.I had been to the Memphis Belle monument on Mud Island in Memphis and knew of her legend.However this 1990 film,which was inspired by a 1944 documentary about her,runs 107 minutes and takes quite awhile to get started.The cast is also uneven as to believability.Still midway through it does hit its stride and we are along for one hellava ride as this crew of nine tries to survive to finally go home.There are better overall war films but the reality of the truth behind this film is gripping when you go aloft where its -30 degrees and no where to go when your plane is hit.I recommend the film for serious students of the war,for the action is later in the film and with a far more more powerful story then the  adverage bang,bang film.2 stars off for so/so casting and taking far to long to hit its stride.Trailer URL follows the pix.Truly a story about the greatest generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKkBdvS5kso

My Cousin Vinny - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Being from Brooklyn I'm a little annoyed at local stereotypes  but thats a small issue for a very funny film,thus only 1/2 star off for a great comedy.Joe Pesci,only 2 years after "goodfellas"plays the same type of city Italian ,Vinny Gambini,only as a good guy this time and as a lawyer.This movie does for Marisa Tomei  who plays Mona Lisa Vito,Vinnies fiance,what goodfellas did for Pesci.Together they go to a small Alabama town when Vinnie's cousin played by Ralph Macchio and his friend played by Mitchell Whitfield  are arrested for murder and awaiting trial.Like most comedies the plot is exaggerated and a wonderful turn is put in by casting Fred Gwynne as Judge Chamberlain Haller.Basically the 2 boys are innocent and its culture shock as Brooklyn meets muddy Alabama to determine guilt or innocence in a courtroom like you can only imagine in film.
However the by play between Vinnie and Mona Lisa is what makes it all work so well.Released in 1992 and running 120 minutes,I find it still funny 20 years later and being on the "other"side of the fence so to speak,in Texas.Trailer URL follows the pix.Be warned,much cursing !!!   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL4HdaZXuOw

Goodfellas - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 1/2

Godfather it's not,but it's not meant to be.Henry Hill really lived and really died a few days ago of a heart attack.This film was based on his early life of crime and is considered by many to be Martin Scorsese's finest film.My only knock is grinding down to the end.A very small complaint.Released in 1990 and running a well paced 146 minutes,Ray Liotta became a star for his portrayal of Hill.Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito  has some of the more memorable screen scenes of all time.The great Robert De Niro as James Conway is the third member of this crew of wisely wannabes.Working for the most part under classic bad guy actor Paul Sorvino as Paul Cicero and a young and coming Lorraine Bracco as Karen Hill ,the film tells their story from low level punks,to the Hills marriage and the infamous Lufthansa airlines cargo heist at JFK cargo airport of over 6 million dollars which as not been recovered and the related deaths of a estimated 14 people and finally Hills capture on drug charges.It's low lifes living "the life"and is really gritty and heartless as coldblooded storytelling ,that can be hard to believe at times,but never hard to watch. The soundtrack is fixed well from the 50's to the 80's  and look out for early small roles by Michael Imperioli and Samuel L. Jackson as bullet fodder.Trailer URL follows the pix and this is required film viewing 101.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo5jJpHtI1Y

Things to do in Denver when you are dead - 3 stars out of 5 stars

If you liked"Fargo"you'll like this film.Released in 1995 and running 115 minutes it has one actor in common to both films Steve Buscemi who plays similar characters and meets a similar fate.However this film is more gritty and crazy in the sense that even the good guy is a killer,and not a cop as in Fargo,which I reviewed earlier.I tool 2 stars off for the extreme violence and highly questionable morals but it is a guilty pleasure sort of film.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary is below.

Jimmy the Saint's business is videotaping the terminally-ill, so that they will be around to give 'Afterlife Advice' to their survivors. He hasn't been doing too well lately and has had to turn to loan-sharks to accomodate his failing business, as well as his expensive personal tastes. When an evil gangster-overlord buys up his note and demands a favor of Jimmy, in exchange for the interest that he can't afford, Jimmy capitulates. Jimmy is to scare someone for the gangster-overlord--really rough them up. Without giving too much away (spoiler), the scene goes down badly and Jimmy and his crew all end up with contracts on their heads for their trouble. Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1o_PO3ridY

La Femme Nikita ( 1990 ) - 3 stars out of 5 stars

Usually I bypass films with subtitles but the French do make some good films and this is one.However it is extremely violent and subtitled and a real "anti establishment"film to me,which means the audience for it is small.Still,it spawned a US remake and a silly TV series so for historical reasons,it's worth a view.Anne Parillaud plays Nikita,a real low life punk who's caught with a bunch of other bums raising hell and killing cops.However at her trial for killing a cop, a member of the French CIA types sees her and gives her a choice.Plot 8 row 30,( meaning death)or work for us.She becomes a trained killer and in a way she and that recruiter Tchéky Karyo as Bob,sort of also have feelings for each other after a rocky start to their relationship.The film is many films.A doomed love story as she falls for a normal guy Jean-Hugues Anglade as Marco.A anti establishment film as to "does the end justify the means"?A thriller and a redemption film of sorts.Released in 1990 and running 118 minutes,its almost the female version of the Bourne sage,but even more unforgiving and unscrupulios.No other film quite as nasty and titillating all at once.
Leave it to those wacky french.Trailer URL follows the pix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=167URLa-On0

"41" - 4 stars out of 5 stars

Bush 41 is being looked on as the grand old statesman of this country these day so HBO together with Jerry Weintraub productions put together a new documentary about his life.
Incase your not sure,Bush 41 is Herbert Walker Bush,father of "W"Bush 43 who is George Walker Bush.
41 led a far more interesting life then most and for sure,since,presidents.Born a WASP,
( White Anglo Saxon Protestant ),he grew up in Kennebunkport, Maine and was a Naval pilot in WW11,shot down in combat over the pacific,and rescued at sea by a submarine.That is a story in itself.Educated at Yale after the war,he later moved to Texas and made a career in the oil business.Entering politics he did lose his first political contest,but continued eventually to later serve as US Ambassador to the UN,
Ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China,Head of the Republican Party,Director of the CIA,Vice President and finally the 41 President of these United States.
What ever your politics its clear that today,no one,comes to the politic arena with anywhere near those types of public service.This was a man who was born into privilege yet made his own way,went to WAR, built a  fortune and still found time to serve the public.
I enjoyed his explanation of why the oil firm he was just building took the name "Zapata Oil"? It was as simple as having seen the film"Viva Zapata"Really !!!
Since he sky dove at age 88,he's been MY hero,but naming his oil company back in the day after a movie??? VIVA BUSH !!!!!!
They often say the Kennedy's are America's first family.Over time perhaps it will be the Bush's.Or as 41 said,there was the Adams.
Released in 2012 it runs 100 minutes and my only issue is that there is no warts.Such as "voodoo economics"just for starters,disagreements with his son and Ross Perot .However warts aside,the man as Dylan would say,"You have to serve somebody"and Bush 41 did that without equal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bUM6jgRUUA

Water for Elephants - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Sorry,I loved the idea of this film but didn't like the casting and it moved so slowly.Still I recommend ONE viewing as a different sort of circus picture as well as a flashback,which is the reason I viewed it.Basically a old man is found in the lot of a circus as its getting ready to leave.As the manager is trying to find out where he came from and get someone to get him,the old man tells him a story set in 1931.Its of a young vet student who has a great life in front of him but a car crash kills his parents and leaves him out on the road,penniless and alone.He wanders into a circus and the story of what his life would become unfolds as he falls for that managers wife after caring for her horse and then a elephant she rides.
Its not a pretty story for this is the depression and the circus is no glamour job.Hard and money driven.Well the story ends with the old man now joining the circus he's telling the story to.Its a grand story but the actors were all wrong I felt and the story is depressing enough without the killing slow pace.Still,released in 2011 and a very LONG 120 minutes,its a 50/50 recommendation at best. Trailer URL follows the pix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuKY9kuLWvU

Run Silent Run Deep - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Classic submarine war film released in 1958 and running only 93 minutes,there is little not to like about this film.Like many WW11 films there is conflict within the troops.In this case it involves Clark Gable as Cmdr. 'Rich' Richardson, whose own sub was sunk and now takes command of the sub Burt Lancaster  as Lt. Jim Bledsoe,thought he would command as he was the ex-o and the captain had been wounded on a prior patrol.Nope,Rich wants a crack at the destroyer that sunk him first and then 3 more subs all in a area called "The Bungo Straits" Rich is not quite as bad as "Ahab"chasing his whale,but close.Jim tries to stay a good officer while the crew is on the verge of mutiny against Rich.All this on a tiny "pig boat".Will the Japs get them or will they get themselves??Don't worry,it was made in 1958 so the good guys win but not without a few twists along the way.Quite exciting for such a old film.My only issue is the b&w and some overlapping combat film shots.Still,one of only 3 or so sub combat films worth seeing.A must see for serious WW11 students,even if not factual,it feels good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNxw7wbER88

Sanctum - 3 stars out of 5 stars

I guess you could call this a disaster film or a survival film,whats the difference?
Released  in 2011 and running 108 minutes it takes while to get started and then its kinda of boring and the cast is mostly unknowns.Thats why I took 2 stars off.The main reason I recommend the film is because I had never heard of"cave diving"before and talk about your extreme sports !!!!! Anyway its about a group caught in a deep cave during a storm and have to find a way out.Then its,who lives,and who dies. The story really is no more than that.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary is below. Supposedly the film is based on real incidents.

The 3-D action-thriller Sanctum follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea. Master diver Frank McGuire has explored the South Pacific's Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank's team-including 17-year-old son Josh and financier Carl Hurley are forced to radically alter plans. With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever? Written by Universal Pictures

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaZHjv3ASfw

All Good Things - 3 stars out of 5 stars

Funny as a New Yorker you'd think I remembered the real storyline this film is based on.Sadly,I don't remember Robert Durst BUT I do remember a minor character in this film that was portrayed by Diane Venora as Janice Rizzono,in no uncertain terms as the real life former Westchester County DA for NYS,  Jeanine F. Pirro,now a Fox News babe.Flash a little leg,play to the camera,all like the real life Pirro who she does resemble.
Back to the film.It's the story of those damn fortunate rich folks who are never happy.Never liked those stories much,but in this case,throw in a innocent lower middle class girl who gets caught up in the drama including a abortion.Kirsten Dunst plays Katie Marks,that lovestruck but oh so wrong choice in men, young woman.From there we enter the problems of the rich who make their money off the seedy side of the old Times Square area on NYC.Ryan Gosling is fine as David Marks the man Katie falls for and the trouble focus of the film.From there it gets a little strange including a murder in LA and a "accidental death"trial in Galveston TX and Kates dissaperance.The story spans 30 years and gets boring in parts,thats why I only give it 3 stars.But as they say,truth is stranger then fiction and this is based on that real life character Durst ( David Marks) so they say,and I can't remember. Released in 2010 it runs 101 minutes,trailer URL follows the pix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7_VwoZKPRM

Howard the Duck - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

The only reason I even recommend this film a little is because it had so much potential yet reaches none of it sadly.A real Lucas bomb.Released in 1986 and running 110 minutes its also really dated.Looks like the 80's but that alone is not the real issue.That is that Lucas didn't know what kinda of film he wanted to make.Now I have never read the comic its based on,but from a sci-fi aspect,I like the idea of another world were ducks are us and still another with really bad things.Thats kinda cool but then to wink,wink,nod,nod,pass over the bestiality aspect of a duck and a HOT rock girls band lead singer MAYBE getting it on, is a cop out after so many hints in that direction.Plus it takes a while to get going as the first 1/2 hour is kinda silly.Then the duck has to stay here and make the best of it,really???Kirk never would have made the choice HE made !!!!
The actors are cute and try hard and Jeffrey Jones as Dr. Walter Jenning turns in another comic/villian masterpiece acting performance,far better than anyone else in the film.So if you want to see a film come up short by a master film maker and scratch your head wondering why,this is for you.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.

A scientific experiment unknowingly brings extraterrestrial life forms to the Earth through a laser beam. First is the cigar smoking drake Howard from the duck's planet. A few kids try to keep him from the greedy scientists and help him back to his planet. But then a much less friendly being arrives through the beam...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzI-ZbcK_sw

Gattaca - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Released in 1997 and running a short 106 minutes this film is extremely provoking in the way it approaches genetic engineering even if uneven and singleminded for the most part,thus I had to take 1 and 1/2 stars off.Still its a must see for many reasons.The acting and star power is good,the near future and genetic engineering is also good and its a love and triumph over class limitations good. I saw it for the sci-fi aspects and recommend it for the rising over obstacles aspects even more.Oh and I have never seen Ethan Hawke any better nor Uma Thurman  more enticing.Jude Law is fine as is a rare film apperence  by Gore Vidal and a few others.See it !!!Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.

In the not-too-distant future, a less-than-perfect man wants to travel to the stars. Society has categorized Vincent Freeman as less than suitable given his genetic make-up and he has become one of the underclass of humans that are only useful for menial jobs. To move ahead, he assumes the identity of Jerome Morrow, a perfect genetic specimen who is a paraplegic as a result of a car accident. With professional advice, Vincent learns to deceive DNA and urine sample testing. Just when he is finally scheduled for a space mission, his program director is killed and the police begin an investigation, jeopardizing his secret. Written by garykmcd 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZppWok6SX88

Se7en - 3 stars out of 5 stars

Seeing Brad Pitt as Detective David Mills and Morgan Freeman as Detective Lt. William Somerset was what drew me to this flick.And wonderful they were as a team just put together as a string of murders begin.However this is a very dark and nasty film.One I truly did not enjoy.It is well made and acted but it highlights what a dark and bad place this world has become.So i had to take 2 stars off for being so brutally nasty.Released in 1995 and running 127 minutes I wanted to go trough the screen to rip the heart out of Kevin Spacey    who plays John Doe,the killer  we don't see till very late in the movie.Mr Spacey again shows he is one of the great actors today.How he states his agenda is as if the devil himself is speaking.See this film once if you can stomach pure evil.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.Even as you stomach twists and turns you must see the ending for the truly evil full effect of this film.

A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while green Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer... Written by Mark Fleetwood <mfleetwo@mail.coin.missouri.edu>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4YV2_TcCoE

Major League - 4 stars out of 5 stars

OK,it's silly and a little dated but its still funny as hell.So many inside jokes and outside for that matter that it ranks up there with north dallas forty as a comedy about sports that you don't have to be a jock to understand.ND40 was much more serious however.In this film we have a rich showgirl who becomes owner of the Cleveland indians a terrible team,and wants them to be worse so she can break her stadium lease and move them to Miami Florida.Now a show girl did own the St Louis Rams in football and won a superbowl with them.There is a baseball team in Miami now and when this film was released in 1989 the Indians were on the rise.So much for reality.This team is made up of  has beens,never was's and misfits but they have some talent and finally they have to beat the NY Yanks to win the pennant in a single game playoff.The real ex major league baseball player Bob Uecker  plays Harry Doyle,a frustrated radio announcer for the team and became a house name after the films success because of the way he played his role.Much more famous for having been in this film than his own BB career. The film runs 107 minutes and I took only 1 star off because it can be very silly in spots and its a little dated,but all in all a really funny sports film.The cast is standout but I have to single out Wesley Snipes as Willie Mays Hayes.He'll leave you laughing.James Gammon as Lou Brown is the sort of manager you would imagine with such a team.Outstanding.Charlie Sheen,Tom Berenger,Corbin Bernsen,Chelcie Ross and Dennis Haysbert round out the team with Margaret Whitton as "bad girl" team owner and Rene Russo as a love interest round out the major roles in this film.
There are a few real BB players playing yanks,but none are real yanks or even recognizable to me,good luck if you can recognize them. Trailer follows the pix.SEE IT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_ILz9bC-VU

3000 Miles to Graceland - 3 1/2 stars out of stars

OK,this is a guilty pleasure film of mine.The story is silly and it has no morality but its a lot of fun to go along for the ride.The title of the film is also a joke as well.It's not Graceland,Elvis's home in Memphis,but Seattle Washington,home port of a boat named Graceland.
Now the film was released in 2001 and runs long at 125 minutes.I took off 1 and 1/2 stars for the films excessive length and the silliness of the plot.I loved Kurt Russell as Michael Zane,Kevin Costner as Murphy  and Courteney Cox as Cybil Waingrow  .Throw in a small early role by Paul Anka as Pit Boss #1,and we're off for a crazy crime film ride.There's a bunch of familiar other actors in smaller roles and everyone has a good time it seems.Why not?Elvis impersonators and casinos and Vegas.It's a  rush but very heavy on the violence.Comically so but not for kids at all !!! Kinda wink,wink,dirty sexy as well.
But hey,that was Elvis as well.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below.ENJOY.

t was an ingenious enough plan: rob the Riviera Casino's count room during an Elvis impersonator convention. But Thomas Murphy decided to keep all the money for himself and shot all his partners, including recently-freed ex-con Michael Zane. With $3.2 million at stake, the Marshals Service closing in, and single mom Cybil Waingrow and her son Jesse constantly confounding things, Michael must track down Murphy. Written by Jeff Cross <blackjac_1998@yahoo.com>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJPNc2NOKc8

2 Days in the Valley - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

The main reason to see this 1996 film that runs 104 minutes,is the cast.Charlize Theron as Helga Svelgen,steals EVERY scene she in because of her classic beauty.James Spader as Lee Woods ,is wonderfully psychotic,Danny Aiello as Dosmo Pizzo ,plays a great looser and it goes on and on.The story makes you wish Quentin Tarrantino made this film sadly.
It's not much of a film thus only a 50/50 2 1/2 stars but when there's nothing else to watch,check it out for the stars.Trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary below

John Herzfeld deftly welds together a multitude of subplots-- a loser hitman and a cool assassin involved in an insurance scam; a washed-up director, turned suicidal, if only he had someone to care for his beloved dog; a snooty art dealer, wracked by kidney stones, cared for by his devoted assistant; a grungy deranged vice cop, now partnered with a fresh-faced rookie; and two beautiful and jealous women entangled in their deadly scheme--into a spoof of the crime thriller genre. Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP-SG4Q038M

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - 3 stars out of 5 stars

I wasn't a big fan of the planet of the apes and its sequels,I just never bought the premise that apes would inherit OUR world IF we descended from them.However I must admit this prequel,made many years later in 2011 and running 105 minutes,paints a interesting premise,if not all that believable while leaving room for its own sequels,on just HOW that might happen.James Franco as Will Rodman gives a good performance as a man, who in the end,screws everything up trying to good a good thing.
Basically the stories centers around Will trying to develop a drug to cure Alzheimer disease to save his father played  by John Lithgow.problem is they experiment on apes and well one thing leads to another.You get the idea.In the end,a large group of apes escape to the redwood forest after winning a battle with San Fransisco police on the Golden gate bridge.Its worth seeing the film for that climax alone.How the human race is doomed is a harder to except.By a pandemic caused by the same virus meant to cure Alzheimer and gave rise to the apes intelligence.Kinda hard to swallow but the climax plus the apes themselves make it worth seeing and only taking 2 stars off.It does need a squeal to better explain that pandemic final of our race.Trailer URL follows pix and a IMDB summer below

Eight years of being raised by humans and now left behind in an abusive sanctuary, a hyper-intelligent chimpanzee will lead a revolution of apes towards freedom from man's torturous exploitation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCoDf44oCE

TV Series - Seven Days - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Only the third TV series I've reviewed.Before you read further be advised this show has not yet released on DVD or even VHS,however "geeks"have recorded off TV and if you look hard enough,you can find home made DVD's.I looked hard enough:)
The show ran on the old UPN network for 3 seasons and then later on Spike cable and also Sleuth cable.It was a sci-fi show before its time.Running from 1998 thru 2001 it tackled Roswell's area 51 and political issues that we still tackle today although the Russians are overplayed and the Arabs are underplayed.Still interesting to see North Korea and China and Serbia and even Chetznia get mentions, all in the first 8 episodes of season one.My only issue is the cast is not the best,however they work hard to sell the shows and succeed.
Now to the series,why bother looking for such a obscure series?? Because it task's me !!!!!
Imagine,YOU and only you can go back in time but only 7 days and try to change it.If you succeed,only YOU will know what would have been.No one else will ever know because their time lines never went that far,only yours did by virtue of going back and remembering what would have been if you hadn't.You can tell them,but how much can they really understand what they just missed???
Thats some heady stuff.The whole time travel idea is based on the alien technology that was used to bend space and time so those aliens were able to transverse the distances to get here. Thats not the main story however,as like Star Trek used to do,the science is blended in to make very humane stories.A extinction level viral pandemic,a military coup,a terror attack,even a spin on "3 days of the condor" with a "no way out "ending.
Saving lives is the prime mission but resources force the decision " to backjump" be based  on national security interests.Its the NSA that runs the program.
Basically the "team"is made up of a handicapped scientific brain,a old warrior NSA agent,a naval intel officer and a Pretty Russian immigrant scientist
( yes our guy has a big time crush on her),
and a few others but the man who makes it all run is the "chrononaut"In this case its U.S. Navy Captain Francis "Frank" Bartholomew Parker (Jonathan LaPaglia)whose had a hard time of things and he was in a mental hospital when the project choose him.You have to be fit and expendable to go back on these missions,and he is.
So far I've seen 8 of the 44 shows and all have been fun times and thought provoking.Some romance and family issues are also raised.I highly recommend you seek it out.One of the good shows gone to soon,a real shame.TV ad follows the pix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4oYs1aTD-4

The Change-Up - 3 stars out of 5 stars

Many films delve into life and body switches and this film really adds nothing and is one of the weaker as far as how the exchange happened and what caused it.So from a sci-fi aspect,pretty poor film.The straight here is the acting and thats why I only took 2 stars off and recommend the requisite one viewing.Released in 2011 its also a bit long at 112 minutes.Ryan Reynolds as Mitch Planko,Jason Bateman as Dave Lockwood are both great at creating the old opposite best buds theme. The other actors are fine as well,but films of this sort stand or fall on the "switchers"and these two pull it off.The rest of the film is the standard series of sight gags proving that the grass is NOT greener over the fence and you soon realize what you had when its gone.My favorite scene is the 2 twin babies taking on Dad in the kitchen during a late night feeding.So the trailer URL follows the pix and a IMDB summary is below.The sci-fi is crap,but the laughs are above adverse for the genre.

Dave is a married man with two kids and a loving wife , and Mitch is a single man who is at the prime of his sexual life. One fateful night while Mitch and Dave are peeing in a fountain when lightning strikes and they switch bodies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHnyW5Fvtvw