IRON EAGLE

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TL4DjzcH5BI/AAAAAAAAA4g/cPDVw_uZMxA/s1600/iron-eagle.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529861306096018450" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TL4DjzcH5BI/AAAAAAAAA4g/cPDVw_uZMxA/s200/iron-eagle.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 177px" /></a><strong>title:</strong> IRON EAGLE<br /><div><div><strong>year:</strong> 1986</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Jason Gedrick, Louis Gossett Jr., Jerry Levine, Larry B. Scott, Robbie Rist, Tim Thomerson</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> *</div><br /><div>Begins as an enjoyably bad film, the likes you'll on cable on a weekend afternoon, centering on a teenager, Jason Gedrick, whose military dad is captured in a third world country. He and his misfit buddies aim to pull off what the military won't: a rescue. Unfortunately, Gedrick's friendship with maverick flyer Louis Gossett Jr. takes over, and the other kids, including Robbie Rist, Jerry Levine, and Larry B. Scott, are replaced by tedious bouts of Gossett's rambling dialog to his young protegee, thus leading to the mission/dog fight that never quite establishes who's being battled up there. </div></div>

action, eighties, larry b. scott, louis gossett jr., military, robbie rist, teen, tim thomerson

IRON EAGLE

title: IRON EAGLE year: 1986 cast: Jason Gedrick, Louis Gossett Jr., Jerry Levine, Larry B. Scott, Robbie Rist, Tim Thomerson rating: * ...

THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE BY JOHN CASSAVETES

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tytBOcsc3qs/WRrjWkXS6bI/AAAAAAAAxyU/yzAd0_-aFQIqoeDBPvrjh3HfRV4bisKjwCLcB/s1600/18489935_315820352180481_8374350590777312922_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tytBOcsc3qs/WRrjWkXS6bI/AAAAAAAAxyU/yzAd0_-aFQIqoeDBPvrjh3HfRV4bisKjwCLcB/s400/18489935_315820352180481_8374350590777312922_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>1978 Director's Cut by John Cassavetes</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> An important bridge in John Cassavete's directorial career, progressing from his usual improvisational character studies to a more structured film involving a strip club owner in debt to the mob given a seemingly impossible task as explained in the title. <br /> <br /> Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vitelli, the club owner who, like Cassevetes himself, takes pride in his own variation of "independent film": bizarre routines that are more than girls stripping.<br /> <br /> Gazarra plays Comso with a prideful charm mixed with a completely oblivious determination. The mobsters, portrayed by classic actors Timothy Carey, Morgan Woodward, and Seymour Cassel, are perfectly complimented by the real-life dancers Alice Friedland, Donna Gordon and model Azizi Johari, all enveloped by Gazzara's intensely natural performance and Cassavetes' signature extemporaneous style.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3vM6RT7jGY/UMZXtPKtOBI/AAAAAAAATw8/nIiibjm-hNM/s1600/Picture3_2-2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3vM6RT7jGY/UMZXtPKtOBI/AAAAAAAATw8/nIiibjm-hNM/s400/Picture3_2-2-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ben Gazzara and Timothy Carey</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Many consider this to be Cassavete's finest film. A romance between director and actor, the gliding camera seems part of Gazarra's character as he roams in and out of the city and, within the club, controls his <i>theater of the absurd</i> like a real artist: each act headlined by one of the most bizarre characters in cinematic history.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Meade Robert's Mr. Sophistication, an odd MC who stands out like a paper sack in a rose garden, is liken to Cassavetes writing/directing style: if you can survive this guy on stage inside the club full of ladies, you might understand the auteur's vision on the screen.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-51LR10zRyCE/WRrkzOozHwI/AAAAAAAAxyg/WrAyT0mj22k2VgBQGXuwXFcJdyksKj_7wCLcB/s1600/18518071_315824292180087_6254651416061834759_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-51LR10zRyCE/WRrkzOozHwI/AAAAAAAAxyg/WrAyT0mj22k2VgBQGXuwXFcJdyksKj_7wCLcB/s200/18518071_315824292180087_6254651416061834759_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>BookieScore: ****1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> But unlike many of Cassavete's prior films, this character study has a real destination, making THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE a unique and original Neo Noir created by a gutsy, groundbreaking filmmaker who never compromised. Although this particular review is for the 1978 director's cut, a shorter version than the rambling original (where side characters talked too much and important characters too little) that lasted eleven days in theaters.<br /> <br /> But make no mistake... having less screen time doesn't mean this version is an edited-down hatchet piece from the longer one. There are scenes not in the 1976 original, and most important, the plot line... of a man under the shadow of venomous mobsters... is sharper, clearer, and much more thrilling without the distractions.<br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

ben gazzara, donna gordon, drama, independent, john cassavetes, mob, neo noir, seventies, timothy carey

THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE BY JOHN CASSAVETES

1978 Director's Cut by John Cassavetes An important bridge in John Cassavete's directorial career, progressing from his usual i...

OPENING NIGHT

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLShc4cVfLI/AAAAAAAAA34/QBMr_uCduhA/s1600/openingnight.jpg"><b><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527220160250084530" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLShc4cVfLI/AAAAAAAAA34/QBMr_uCduhA/s200/openingnight.jpg" style="float: right; height: 186px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></b></a><b>title:</b> OPENING NIGHT <b><br /> year:</b> 1977<b><br /> cast:</b> Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell, John Cassavetes, Paul Stewart, Laura Johnson<b><br /> writer/director:</b> John Cassavetes<b><br /> rating:</b> *****<br /> <br /> A movie with everything. Not only centering on an actress portrayed by director John Cassevete's wife Gena Rowlands preparing for a Broadway play making initial rounds in New Haven and other small venues, but there's an intense "ghost story" involving a beautiful young girl (a frenzied fan) who's killed after a performance. Cassavetes takes us on a voyeuristic journey with many layers: backstage, on stage, and in various locations where other characters, including Ben Gazzara as the director, Joan Blondell as the writer, Paul Stewart as the producer, and Cassevetes himself as the co-star all try desperately to get Rowlands on track before opening night. But only she can discover this complicated character within herself, who, in her estimation, has no interesting qualities other than being in her mid-forties; making for something she cannot face: acting her age.

ben gazzara, drama, gena rowlands, independent, joan blondell, john cassavetes, paul stewart, seventies

OPENING NIGHT

title: OPENING NIGHT year: 1977 cast: Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell, John Cassavetes, Paul Stewart, Laura Johnson writer/d...

THE WAR LOVER

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLO-1gU_LfI/AAAAAAAAA3w/nhq_J03B39U/s1600/warloverBig.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526970994134035954" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLO-1gU_LfI/AAAAAAAAA3w/nhq_J03B39U/s200/warloverBig.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 169px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> THE WAR LOVER<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>1962<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Michael Crawford<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating: </span>***1/2<br /> <br /> Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner make a fine team, but are polar opposites. McQueen, the pilot of a B52 bomber, is tops at his gig: becoming one with the plane, and as you might have guessed, he loves war. Wagner, the passive co-pilot, is both impressed by, and wary of, his partner: especially after setting sites on Wagner's girl, a gorgeous <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pacifist</span> Londoner who wants life back to normal. But what makes this film stand out beyond the semi-intriguing melodrama are the bomber planes, not stock footage but the real thing. And the momentum during the war scenes are topnotch, leading to a predictable climax that's quite <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">suspenseful</span> anyway.

robert wagner, romance, sixties, steve mcqueen, war

THE WAR LOVER

title: THE WAR LOVER year: 1962 cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Michael Crawford rating: ***1/2 Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner m...

THE MONSTER SQUAD

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLO5Nsu0HgI/AAAAAAAAA3g/xICwZPXQiFE/s1600/monster_squadbmp.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526964812710682114" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLO5Nsu0HgI/AAAAAAAAA3g/xICwZPXQiFE/s200/monster_squadbmp.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 161px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">title: </span>THE MONSTER SQUAD<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year:</span> 1987<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">cast:</span> Jon Gries<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">rating: </span>***<br /><br />Sure it's a total rehash, if ripoff, of "The Goonies", but these kid's love for monsters is far more interesting than buried treasure. After all, they have only their passion: and no map. The premise in which Dracula, Frankenstein, the Creature, and the Wolfman cross paths with the suburban "gang" is simplistic and forced, but once together there's plenty of action and even some genuinely scary, and downright creepy, moments: geared more for young adults than children. But it's the love for those iconic Universal Monsters that drives this film, and although things get somewhat tiresome midway through, it's a worthwhile ride.

eighties, ensemble, monster

THE MONSTER SQUAD

title: THE MONSTER SQUAD year: 1987 cast: Jon Gries rating: *** Sure it's a total rehash, if ripoff, of "The Goonies", but ...

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (REMAKE)

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLO2TprkDbI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/9W-UW0H8wEA/s1600/movie_mighty_joe2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526961616436071858" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TLO2TprkDbI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/9W-UW0H8wEA/s200/movie_mighty_joe2.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 158px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>MIGHTY JOE YOUNG<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>1998<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Charlize Theron, Bill Paxton, Naveen Andrews, David Paymer<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating: </span>***<br /><br />The problem with humanizing the titular ape isn't that it makes the movie sappy. Well it does but that's not the problem. The same thing occurred in Peter Jackson's remake of KING KONG: that if you take a creature, and make him too realistic, you lose some of the dynamic. If Mighty Joe Young, or Kong for that matter, are really just gorillas who happen to be larger than normal, it takes away the monster-driven bedlam that made both original films, each produced, directed and written by the same folks, so classic. This, as a remake, isn't that bad, and the special effects are above average: it's difficult to tell what's CGI or otherwise. Bill Paxton makes for a decent accidental hero, and Charlize Theron fills Terry Moore's shoes decently enough. But there needed more old school mindless action and less weepy backstory.

bill paxton, charlize theron, creature, nineties, remake

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (REMAKE)

title: MIGHTY JOE YOUNG year: 1998 cast: Charlize Theron, Bill Paxton, Naveen Andrews, David Paymer rating: *** The problem with humanizin...

HELL IS FOR HEROES

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TK-vbGPECII/AAAAAAAAA3Q/LikXQW1Us70/s1600/hellisforheroes.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525828147872008322" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TK-vbGPECII/AAAAAAAAA3Q/LikXQW1Us70/s200/hellisforheroes.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 195px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" /></a><strong>title:</strong> HELL IS FOR HEROES<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1962</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Steve McQueen, Nick Adams, Harry Guardino, Bob Newhart, Mike Kellin, Fess Parker, James Coburn</div><div><strong>director:</strong> Don Siegel </div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ***1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>Ensemble war film plays like an episode of COMBAT as an outnumbered American troop, poised against a German battalion in a bevy of foxholes, fight the odds and each other. Steve McQueen is effective as an eerily subdued hellion whose only talent occurs in battle; he prefers killing to waiting around like the others including James Coburn as a witty mechanic, Nick Adams a young Russian, Harry Guardino a firm Sargent, and (of all people) Bob Newhart as a nerdy typist accidentally thrust into the dire situation, providing his famous phone bit to trick the Germans. Director Don Siegel moves things along at a nice pace and although the acting's a bit stagy, and stock footage takes away from some of the climactic battle, it all works as a kind of mellow War Noir. </div>

david warner, don siegel, harry guardino, james coburn, nick adams, sixties, steve mcqueen

HELL IS FOR HEROES

title: HELL IS FOR HEROES year: 1962 cast: Steve McQueen, Nick Adams, Harry Guardino, Bob Newhart, Mike Kellin, Fess Parker, James Coburn...

THE REIVERS

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TKi-UXFx5mI/AAAAAAAAA2w/CcYDtu30iTo/s1600/62442_142737062437249_106638979380391_227578_2398234_n.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523874199974831714" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TKi-UXFx5mI/AAAAAAAAA2w/CcYDtu30iTo/s200/62442_142737062437249_106638979380391_227578_2398234_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 161px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> THE REIVERS<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1969<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Steve McQueen, Sharon Farrell, Mitch Vogel, Rupert Grosse<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">director:</span> Mark Rydell<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> ****<br /> <br /> This entertaining little gem, based on a novel by William Faulker, featuring Steve McQueen as a young man's mentor during a road trip to a brothel, is quite racy, literally, the third act centering on a suspenseful horse race (two, actually) and much of the plot anticipating it. Set in the turn of the century, the odyssey consists of McQueen, his best friend, an eleven year old boy, and a "horseless carriage" i.e. automobile, a character in itself along with grownup narration by Burgess Meredith. Scenes in the brothel has the boy, played wonderfully by Tom Sayweresque redhead Mitch Vogel, learning from beautiful Sharron Farrell, as a kindhearted prostitute, that a woman's power is deeper than sexuality. McQueen does a decent job, breaking from his usual super-cool persona, but Rupert Grosse, a wonderful black actor who died a few years later, not only steals the show but keeps it rolling.

adventure, based on literature, burgess meredith, coming-of-age, mark rydell, mitch vogel, rupert grosse, sharon farrell, sixties, steve mcqueen, will geer, william faulkner

THE REIVERS

title: THE REIVERS year: 1969 cast: Steve McQueen, Sharon Farrell, Mitch Vogel, Rupert Grosse director: Mark Rydell rating: **** ...

GROSS ANATOMY

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TKYmqGtr6II/AAAAAAAAA2o/NwqRgDY_w2s/s1600/1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523144497815087234" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TKYmqGtr6II/AAAAAAAAA2o/NwqRgDY_w2s/s200/1.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 174px; cursor: pointer;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> GROSS ANATOMY<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1989<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Matthew Modine, Daphne Zuniga, Christine Lauti, Todd Field, John Scott Clough<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> ***1/2<br /><br />One of the best romantic comedies set in the world of gross anatomy. Okay there's not many others but that's what makes this stand out. Along with Matthew Modine, whose usual offbeat charm gels with Daphne Zuniga's conceited eventually-she'll-come-around primadonna, the other med students: including Todd Field as Modine's troubled roommate and Jim Carrey doppelganger John Scott Clough as the jerky but likable "Frank Burns" character, elevate this from other med school comedies. Christine Lauti, as the hardnosed professor, adds style and depth to the proceedings.

christine lauti, comedy, daphne zuniga, eighties, john scott clough, matthew modine, romantic comedy, todd field

GROSS ANATOMY

title: GROSS ANATOMY year: 1989 cast: Matthew Modine, Daphne Zuniga, Christine Lauti, Todd Field, John Scott Clough rating: ***1/2 One o...

FOR LOVE OR MONEY

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TKYkBSXDWDI/AAAAAAAAA2g/kHOzf0SPQ7k/s1600/For%2BLove%2Bor%2BMoney.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523141597543487538" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TKYkBSXDWDI/AAAAAAAAA2g/kHOzf0SPQ7k/s200/For%2BLove%2Bor%2BMoney.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 156px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> FOR LOVE OR MONEY<br /><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">year: 1</span>993<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Michael J. Fox, Gabrielle Anwar, Anthony Higgins<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">director: </span>Barry Sonnenfeld<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating: </span>***1/2<br /><br />Michael J. Fox revamps his "Secret of my Success" in a film that's even better. Seems like a goofball throwaway until Fox... as a hotel concierge whose job is to take care of the rich and powerful, in trying to seal a deal for his own dream hotel helps a millionaire keep his young lover in line... falls for the girl and has to choose between... well you already know the title. As Fox gets more inebriated with Gabrielle Anwar things get more complicated and entertaining. This is a romantic comedy with not only hijinx but interesting characters. Anthony Higgins (a British actor who played a Nazi in "Raiders of the Lost Ark") makes a perfect charming sleazeball ala Donald Trump.<br /></div>

anthony higgins, barry sonnenfield, bob balaban, gabrielle anwar, michael j. fox, nineties, richard b. schull, romantic comedy

FOR LOVE OR MONEY

title: FOR LOVE OR MONEY year: 1 993 cast: Michael J. Fox, Gabrielle Anwar, Anthony Higgins director: Barry Sonnenfeld rating: ***1/2 Mic...