TV Series - Houdini 2014 ( miniseries)

A History channel TV miniseries.Based on the life of the great escape artist Harry Houdini,its a entertaining if a little out there, story based on his life,with the claim he was also a covert agent of the US Government prior to the start of WW1,Really??Anyhow,Adrien Brody was just snarky enough as Houdini with a fine support cast.I would have liked more on his sibling rivalry but otherwise,ok.Trailer URL follows the picture and a IMDB summary is below.

Follow the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era, from U.S. presidents to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Grigori Rasputin.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi872459289?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_7

Stalingrad 2013 - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

This Russian film is mis understood because of its grand title,its much more, though not in a violent sense.Yes, it has scenes of bloody action,what film about urban warfare wouldn’t ? However at its heart,its a film of rebirth in violent times,what could be more topical today?
     Beginning in the turmoil of the Fukushima disaster, a Russian rescue team is trying to save some trapped young German girls in whats left of a buildings rubble.Therein starts a flashback retelling of a band of Russian soldiers and a girl mixed in with a German officer and his forced young Russian girl lover,both squaring off over a building in rubble.Ah symmetry and could be corny right ? WRONG !!! Perhaps  its being forced to read those subtitles,it is in Russian spoken word,that invests you in the story.It brings to mind two other films,Enemy at the gates,and Miracle at St. Anna,however a far more intense experience for me.
Not wanting to tell much more,it is a rich emotional portrait of simple lives in the middle of all encompassing war.If you just want bang for your buck,you might be disappointed as there are films with more mindless violence BUT if you a story of hope in the middle of despair THEN enjoy.Released in 2013 it runs 131 minutes.Trailer URL follows the picture.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi216705817?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1

RED 2 (2013) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

After reviewing the first film in this series back in 2010 I was pleased to see this second installment didn’t suck.Bringing back a A cast for the most part and adding Anthony Hopkins as well as Byung-hun Lee.So for Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren fans and those who want silly blow up films that don’t get too serious ,check it out.Trailer URL follows the picture and a IMDB summary is below.

Retired CIA agent Frank Moses is in love with Sarah Ross and enjoying their normal life. Out of the blue, Marvin Boggs meets Frank in the supermarket and tells that Wikileaks has released the information that they had participated and know the whereabouts of the Nightshade, a portable nuclear weapon that was smuggled in pieces and hidden in Russia. Now the top agents in the world are under contract to seek them out to discover where Nightshade is. The trio travels to Paris and teams-up with the Russian Katja to track down the former Russian Agent 'The Frog' to get more information about the operation. They learn that the brilliant inventor Dr. Edward Bailey might know where the weapon is. They discover that Bailey has been interned in an asylum in London by the MI-16 for thirty-two years and the British Victoria joins the team. They rescue Bailey and find that the nuclear device is hidden in the Kremlin. Soon the dangerous South Korean Han joins the group expecting to retrieve the ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3200493849?ref_=ttvi_vi_1

Sharknado 2 The Second One (2014) - 1/2 star out of 5

After reviewing the first film in this series,I hoped the second would be decent.I was soooo wrong.Really bad from the acting to the story,even really snarkey bits from the “Today show”cast cameo’s by Matt Lower and Al Rocker and even the Mets City field. Just say no and stick with the first film.Trailer URL follows the picture and a IMDB summary is below.

A freak weather system turns its deadly fury on New York City, unleashing a Sharknado on the population and its most cherished, iconic sites - and only Fin and April can save the Big Apple.

http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi1295821849?ref_=ttvi_vi_3