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Monday, January 30, 2012

Top Ten Films of Edward Norton

1. Fight Club
2. American History X
3. 25th Hour
4. The Painted Veil
5. Leaves of Grass
6. Primal Fear
7. The Illusionist
8. Down in the Valley
9. Rounders
10. Keeping the Faith

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Crow (1994)

When rock guitarist Eric Draven and his bride-to-be Shelly Webster are brutally murdered by a gang of merciless thugs, Eric comes back to life under the watchful eyes of a black crow to avenge his and his fiancee's death. With the help of a police sergeant, Eric vows to take down one by one the goons responsible and their crime lord leader. Dark, moving and incredibly thrilling; Brandon Lee is so fascinating you can't take your eyes off him. Based on the comic book series by James O'Barr. Starring Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, David Patrick Kelly, Rochelle Davis 7/10 Rated R

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Top Ten Films of Gary Oldman

1. Bram Stoker's Dracula
2. Leon the Professional
3. Sid and Nancy
4. State of Grace
5. Immortal Beloved
6. Romeo is Bleeding
7. The Dark Knight
8. Batman Begins
9. True Romance
10. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Backwoods (2006)

In the summer of 1978 Londoners Norman, his wife Lucy, friend Paul and his wife Isabel take a holiday trip to Spain for the weekend in the quiet and remote woods, settling into the house that belonged to Paul's grandmother. Their vacation starts out fine, until while out hunting Paul and Norman see an abandoned cabin in the forest. In it they find a young girl, dirty and imprisoned with disfigured hands. So they take her back to the house to feed and clean her up, thinking they should tell the police, knowing that whoever left her there will sooner or later come looking for her. The local villagers come by and ask if they've seen the girl, to which Paul denies it. So he decides to help the villagers with their search so he knows for sure that they'll leave. The film is okay at first but it doesn't give you any explanation about the girl, why she is deformed or why she's locked up in the house; so basically no back story to The Backwoods. Only thing that is worth watching in this cliched and confusing mess is Gary Oldman. Starring Gary Oldman, Virginie Ledoyen, Paddy Considine, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón 6/10

Friday, January 20, 2012

Top Ten Films of Christian Bale

1. American Psycho
2. The Fighter
3. The Machinist
4. Rescue Dawn
5. Empire of the Sun
6. The Dark Knight
7. Batman Begins
8. 3:10 to Yuma
9. The Prestige
10. Harsh Times

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Burlesque (2010)

Ali is a small town girl from Iowa working as a waitress who daydreams of being a performer on stage. So she takes a trip to Los Angeles to pursue her dream but doesn't have much luck. Until she discovers and is enthralled by Burlesque, a fancy showgirls nightclub. Tess the owner of the club isn't interested in her at first, so Ali stays there instead waiting tables while longingly dreams of being on the stage. Until when one of the dancers can't perform, Ali begs Tess to let her audition to show her what she can do, and eventually she gives in, wowing not only Tess but the other dancers as well. The music numbers are somewhat entertaining enough to sit through, but the acting, especially by Aguilera is unimpressive in a story that's cliche and a rip-off of other films that've come before it (think Coyote Ugly and Showgirls). Starring Cher, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane, Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Kristen Bell 5/10

Monday, January 16, 2012

Character Spotlight: Dark Helmet

Lord Dark Helmet is the evil leader of the spaceship Spaceball One. Along with confidant Colonel Sandurz and President Skroob, the President of Planet Spaceball, Helmet has sinister plans in mind for the inhabitants of Planet Drudia. All three plan to kidnap the Princess of Drudia so they can make the King Roland give them the combination to the air shield so they can take all the air for their planet Spaceball. A caricature of Star Wars' Darth Vader, Helmet is played by Rick Moranis in the hilarious 1987 Mel Brooks Sci-Fi spoof Spaceballs.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Best Car Chases

Bullitt - 1968
The French Connection - 1971
The Blues Brothers - 1980
The Dark Knight - 2008
Gone in 60 Seconds - 1974
The Italian Job - 2003
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior - 1981
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 1991
The Fast and The Furious - 2001
Smokey and the Bandit - 1977

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Favorite Comeback Lines

"His name is Bug." "What's his last name? Spray?" - Uncle Buck
"Maybe he got a date with one of them "tuck jobs." "No, your mother said she couldn't make it." - The Machinist
"I thought only pansies wore neckties." "See that? I thought only assholes used the word pansy." - Footloose
"You think you can keep that straight Johnny? What you can and can't lay your hands on?" "You just put your pickle on everybody's plate college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me." - Dirty Dancing
"How does it feel to be an independent, Schoenstein?" "How does it feel to be an asshole, Neidermeyer?" - Animal House
"Homicide Ventura; now how you gonna solve that one?!" "Good question Aguado. First, I'd establish a motive. In this case the killer saw the size of the bug's DICK, and became insanely jealous." - Ace Ventura Pet Detective
"Edwards, if you were half the man that I am..." "Hey man, what are you talking about? I AM half the man that you are!" - Men in Black
"Charlotte I think you may be old enough for a boyfriend now." "If I'm old enough maybe you're too old!" - Mermaids

Got a favorite Comeback Line from a Favorite Movie? Don't be scared to share!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

The year is 1973, Control who is head of British Intelligence (aka The Circus) sends Jim Prideaux to Budapest to meet with the Hungarian general, because he has information that Control needs. Apparently the general has the name of the mole who is believed to be a Russian agent working inside The Circus. However when the operation is unsuccessful, George Smiley and Control are forced to retire. Since then Control ends up dying so it's up to George Smiley to investigate who the spy is. Incredibly complex thriller; despite having no big action scenes or explosions it is still a fascinating film with a stellar cast, most especially by Oldman, who gives such an brilliantly subtle and introverted performance. Starring Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds, Kathy Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, Svetlana Khodchenkova 9/10 Rated R

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Character Spotlight: Sid Vicious

Sid Vicious, born John Simon Ritchie, even as young as three years old did he have an interest in making music when he would bang pots and pans, pretending they were drums. When John grew up he became friends with John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), who at the time was the lead vocals of the popular punk rock band The Sex Pistols. John was given the nickname "Sid Vicious" after Lydon's pet hamster, Sid. Incidentally after the hamster had bitten Ritchie, he said "Sid is really vicious!", thus how he got his surname. He became the bass player of the band, and although not a very good one Sid had a lot energy and charisma on stage. However after Sid met American groupie Nancy Spungen is when things started to change; the band broke up, Sid went solo and Nancy became his manager. Sadly though, once Sid became addicted to heroin with his girlfriend/manager Nancy is when his career as a musician went downhill and he eventually died young after an overdose. Sid was marvelously played by Gary Oldman in the 1986 film Sid and Nancy.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Top Ten Films about the Holocaust

1. Schindler's List - 1993
2. The Diary of Anne Frank - 1959
3. The Pianist - 2002
4. Sophie's Choice - 1982
5. Holocaust - 1978
6. Life is Beautiful - 1997
7. Black Book - 2006
8. Defiance - 2008
9. The Reader - 2008
10. Judgment at Nuremberg - 1961

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Valmont (1989)

When the conniving Madame de Merteuil discovers that her young and naive cousin, Cecil is betrothed to marry her lover The Count Gercourt, a much older man she plans to spoil her cousin's life. So she tells her friend, the handsome playboy Valmont to seduce her and take her virginity. However Cecil confesses that she doesn't want to marry Gercourt, that she's secretly in love with Danceny, her music teacher who has been sending her love letters. Not only that, but Merteuil makes a wager with Valmont to sleep with the already married Madame de Tourvel and destroy her honor, whom he is in love with. And if he does then he gets to have de Merteuil as well. Set in 18th century France, Bening is wickedly evil, while Firth is charming and seductive in this lavish tale of love, deceit and scandal. Starring Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk, Sian Phillips, Jeffrey Jones, Henry Thomas, Vincent Schiavelli 8/10 Rated R

Monday, January 2, 2012

Character Spotlight: Tony Manero

Tony Manero is a Brooklyn Native from New York, who works at a paint store and lives with his family. On Saturday night, he and his buddies hang out at the local discotheque 2001 Odyssey, and there Tony is king of the dance floor, often getting praise for his incredible moves. However his life away from the nightclub is an unhappy one; working at a dead-end job and living at home with his eccentric parents. His older brother Frank Jr., who decides to quit after being a priest for the Catholic church tells him that his dancing is amazing and suggests that he should pursue it. Played by John Travolta in the hit 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, Tony Manero is a dreamer who wants to be something more than what he is.