Knight And Day (Movie Review)

KNIGHT AND DAY

201020th Century FoxDirected by James MangoldProduced by Kathy Conrad and Steve PinkWritten by Patrick O’NeillIs America’s great love affair with Tom Cruise over? If you look at the numbers then you might be inclined to say ‘yes’. KNIGHT AND DAY took in nowhere near as much as a Tom Cruise starring movie is supposed to make. And especially when he’s teamed with Cameron Diaz who has that wonderful grin that somehow manages to be both gorgeous and goofy at the same time. And both Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz know how to play comedy and action well so what happened... (more)

Tags: knight and day the movie, cameroon diaz

The Social Network

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Directed by David Fincher

Produced by Scott Rudin, Kevin Spacey and Michael DeLuca

Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich

There’s a very, very old saying that money changes you. I don’t agree with that. I think money just makes you more of whatever it is you already are. So if you’re a sweet, wonderful, generous, giving person before you fall into a haystack of money, after you do so you simply become sweeter, more wonderful, generous and giving. On the opposing appendage,... (more)

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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

20th Century Fox

2010

Directed by Oliver Stone

Produced by Edward R. Pressman and Eric Kopeloff

Screenplay by Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff

Curious thing about WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS. The whole movie is about money. People in this movie talk about it constantly, obsess over it, worship it, and revere it. But never once in the movie do we actually see anybody handling money or using it to purchase anything except for one important scene. And I’m inclined to think that Oliver Stone excluded the appearance... (more)

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The Rookie

THE ROOKIE

1990

Warner Bros.

Produced by Howard G. Kazanjian, Steven Siebert & David Valdes

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Written by Scott Spiegel and Boaz Yakin

Clint Eastwood has made film history in two genres: The Western and Police/Cop movies with him either starring or directing (or both) in some memorable roles. There’s Dirty Harry Callahan, of course. The Outlaw Josey Wales. The Man With No Name. Sheriff Walt Coogan from “Coogan’s Bluff” the movie that was the inspiration for TV’s “McCloud”

However, nobody remembers... (more)

Tags: movies, the rookie

The Expendables

THE EXPENDABLES

2010

Lionsgate

Directed by Sylvester Stallone

Produced by Avi Lerner

Written by Sylvester Stallone and David Callaham

There are those who said even before the movie came out, speaking just on having seen the trailers that THE EXPENDABLES looked to be nothing more than Sylvester Stallone attempting to relive his glory days when he was one of the major action stars back in the 80’s. These good folks, having regaled me with their smug wisdom sit back and ask me what I think of that.

My response is that he does... (more)

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Peepli [Live]

PEEPLI [LIVE]

2010

UTV Motion Pictures

Directed and Written by Anusha Rivzi

Produced by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao

With all the big, bright splashy blockbusters that have become the typical summer fare, it’s very easy to forget that there are other movies out there. Smaller movies with actors and directors you’ve never heard of. But in their own way just as entertaining as the mega-budget special effects laden extravaganzas we break our necks to be the first to see.

PEEPLI [LIVE] is exactly one of those smaller films. I would probably have... (more)

Tags: peeplie, movie reivews, offbeat movies

THROUGH THE GROANING EARTH Book Review

I suspect a lot of you reading this that were around in the 70’s got turned onto the sub genre of heroic fantasy called sword and sorcery the same way I did: The re-discovery of Robert E. Howard thanks to the Lancer Conan paperbacks with the exquisite Frank Frazetta covers. I devoured all the Howard I could get and once I was through gobbling all of his stories I quickly moved onto Charles R. Saunders, Fritz Leiber, John Jakes, Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance and Lin Carter. Carter was a little bit too slavish in his homage to Howard in his Thongor series, though. But still, at that... (more)

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THE A-TEAM Movie Review

THE A-TEAM201020th Century Fox Directed by Joe CarnahanProduced by Stephen J. Cannell, Tony Scott, Ridley Scott and Alex YoungWritten by Brian Bloom and Skip WoodsBased on the television series “The A-Team” created by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank LupoIn 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them,... (more)

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AVATAR

AVATAR

2009

20th Century Fox/Lightstorm Entertainment

Written and Directed by James Cameron

Produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau

I have to be honest and confess that I’m biased when it comes to James Cameron because he hasn’t yet made a movie I haven’t liked. Which compared to a lot of other filmmakers isn’t a lot. I mean, counting AVATAR he’s directed eight movies in thirty years. We’ve got directors who have made thirty movies in eight years. But James Cameron’s movies are all ‘event’ movies and he’s such a meticulous director/writer that... (more)

Tags: science fiction, james cameron

Review: Force 10 From Navarone

I just love satellite/cable stations like Turner Classic Movies, Fox Movie Channel and Independent Film Channel since they enable me to see movies that I saw years ago and haven’t seen since thereby helping me cut down on rental fees. Or I can watch movies that somehow slipped by me during their original run. For instance, I recently saw “F.I.S.T” on FMC, a movie starring Sylvester Stallone where he played the head of a truckers union (the movie’s based very loosely on Jimmy Hoffa’s life and for a better movie on the subject watch the Danny DeVito directed “Hoffa”) and it was a highly entertaining... (more)

Tags: Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Edward Fox, Barbara Bach, Richard Kiel, Guy Hamilton