THE BIG BOUNCE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TczWMH9oPc8/UTPPsF0UpOI/AAAAAAAAXSA/OBBa9hDUuHY/s1600/26563.1020.A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TczWMH9oPc8/UTPPsF0UpOI/AAAAAAAAXSA/OBBa9hDUuHY/s640/26563.1020.A.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 1969 <b>cast:</b> Ryan O'Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young, Van Heflin <b>rating:</b> ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Elmore Leonard said no film "got it right" until GET SHORTY and JACKIE BROWN, and that's after many of his books and stories were translated to the screen.<br /> <br /> There are good and bad during that time, and this lies somewhere in-between. Ryan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">O'Neal</span> is an unassuming drifter in a small Florida town. He's told to leave after bashing a local with a baseball bat, but stays for a job working a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">beach side</span> motel, where he "befriends" Lee Grant and gorgeous gold digger Leigh Taylor-Young: who's nothing but trouble in a Film <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Noir</span> kinda way.<br /> <br /> The acting and story are fine (especially Taylor-Young), but the music... sounding like a kid's TV show with lyrics narrating the film and characters... is the real problem, turning what could have been an intriguing melodrama into a bland, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">forgettable</span> one.

drifter, elmore leonard, leigh taylor-young, robert ryan, robert webber, sixties, van heflin

THE BIG BOUNCE

year: 1969 cast: Ryan O'Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young, Van Heflin rating: *** Elmore Leonard said no film "got it right" unt...

THE A-TEAM

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wOKi7f5LiK0/TWqtyGKG7cI/AAAAAAAABS8/SsQ3PeNOPx4/s1600/TheATeam2010%2Bfull.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578462164609854914" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wOKi7f5LiK0/TWqtyGKG7cI/AAAAAAAABS8/SsQ3PeNOPx4/s200/TheATeam2010%2Bfull.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 158px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>THE A-TEAM<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 2010<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Gerald McRraney<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /><br />The very end of this bombastic theatrical version of a 1980's TV show uses the original theme song and narration/storyline: four Vietnam vets accused of a crime they didn't commit, helping people who can't find it anywhere else... And if only the movie (replacing Nam with Iraq) followed that premise or started it halfway through: as opposed to setting the entire story on meeting up; being falsely accused; and clearing their name. The crime is as muddled as the overblown, unrealistic Wile E. Coyoteish action sequences: and it never feels they're on the run. What made the TV characters memorable was their specialties, all lacking here: Hannibal (Liam Neeson) excels in breaking outta prison, but the CIA does it for him; BA is the badass, but takes a vow of non-violence; Murdoch... well he wasn't funny on the show, but unlike the updated loony pilot, had real energy; and Bradley Cooper, as the handsome con-man Face, is but a popular movie star in this big budget "reboot" that feels like a Jerry Bruckheimer production playing A-Team for Halloween.

action, bradley cooper, liam neeson, remake, tens

THE A-TEAM

title: THE A-TEAM year: 2010 cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Gerald McRraney rating: ** The very end of this bombastic theatrical vers...

THE BEGUILED

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HG8buiV2N7w/TWsGWD8S5LI/AAAAAAAABTU/n4jSlXrLDoA/s1600/the%252Bbeguild.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578559539513582770" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HG8buiV2N7w/TWsGWD8S5LI/AAAAAAAABTU/n4jSlXrLDoA/s200/the%252Bbeguild.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 147px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> THE BEGUILED<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1971</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris, Pamelyn Ferdin</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ***1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>What begins as a bizarre male fantasy - involving injured (Civil War) Union solider winding up at a Southern all girls boarding school... Some of whom either fall in love, lust, or lunacy while nursing him to health - turns into a nightmare for Clint Eastwood, who dabbles with two beautiful teens: one a virginal good girl, another not so pure... And the head mistress, Geraldine Page, finds a way of keeping him around permanently. This is Don Siegel's art film, full of creative shots (although the psychedelic dream montages are dated) and well built suspense: there's always a possibility of Clint being discovered by the Confederates, sustaining a vibe that anything can happen: whether outside the school by the <em>known</em> enemy, or inside: where the true antagonists reside. </div>

civil war, clint eastwood, courtroom drama, don siegel, elizabeth hartman, geraldine page, jo ann harris, seventies

THE BEGUILED

title: THE BEGUILED year: 1971 cast: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris, Pamelyn Ferdin rating: ***1/2 Wh...

52 PICK-UP

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GC6c9-8fJFI/TVwgSL8_dPI/AAAAAAAABRk/VnEL9mQDaA8/s1600/52pickup.jpg"><b><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574365935596172530" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GC6c9-8fJFI/TVwgSL8_dPI/AAAAAAAABRk/VnEL9mQDaA8/s200/52pickup.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 126px;" /></b></a><b>title:</b> 52 PICK-UP<br /> <div><b>year:</b> 1986</div><div><b>cast:</b> Roy Scheider, John Glover, Ann-Margret</div><div><b>rating:</b> ***</div><br /> <div>What feels like pure torture during the first half, as a well-off businessman is blackmailed by three of the most annoying goons in film history... including over-the-top John Glover as a flamboyant bully and Clarence Williams III as a psychopathic hit man... becomes rather intriguing as Roy Scheider, lean and broodingly capable as the revenge-seeking protagonist, plays each baddie against each other. This, a gritty, violent Golan/Globas production... known for their 1980's Charles Bronson vehicles... gives a slick, modern Film Noir vibe to the Elmore Leonard story of a flawed man's battle against some seemingly impossible, and often preposterous, odds. It can be downright trying, but stick with it. </div>

ann-margret, eighties, elmore leonard, neo noir, roy scheider

52 PICK-UP

title: 52 PICK-UP year: 1986 cast: Roy Scheider, John Glover, Ann-Margret rating: *** What feels like pure torture during the first h...

URBAN COWBOY

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eYsC3afnCg0/TWV7_Bw9ZEI/AAAAAAAABSs/ZPtX9hzu9sY/s1600/urban%2Bcowboy.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577000036303987778" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eYsC3afnCg0/TWV7_Bw9ZEI/AAAAAAAABSs/ZPtX9hzu9sY/s200/urban%2Bcowboy.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 130px;" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> URBAN COWBOY<br /> <div> <strong>year: </strong>1980</div> <div> <strong>cast:</strong> John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn</div> <div> <strong>rating:</strong> **1/2</div> <br /> <div> What a miscast... instead of a Jan-Michael Vincent or Tom Berenger type, an ultra-skinny Italian (John Travolta) plays a country boy Texan who wants to be a real Cowboy and then, after getting a roughneck job and meeting a flirty barfly (Debra Winger), is introduced to a bar room mechanical bull: becoming the only thing resembling a plot in this overlong Country soundtrack disguised as a big budget film (or vice versa). John Travolta yearns to be the mechanical bull riding champ: all the while breaking up with his girlfriend turned wife, shacked with ripped badass Scott Glenn who gets beat up by twiggy Travolta in an inevitable, and completely unbelievable, climax. So-bad-it's-good at times, and downright boring at others, this silly yarn does have a heart... beating somewhere. But what really matters is the geography. Not of Texas, but the giant nightclub Gilleys, a sort of city, and character, within itself. </div>

cooper huckabee, country music, courtroom drama, debra winger, eighties, john travolta, scott glenn

URBAN COWBOY

title: URBAN COWBOY year: 1980 cast: John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn rating: **1/2 What a miscast... instead of a Jan-M...

A FEW GOOD MEN

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_DAKh87Hv8s/TWV2CU1tJfI/AAAAAAAABSk/PlzGcwY6CPA/s1600/a-few-good-men.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576993495894009330" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_DAKh87Hv8s/TWV2CU1tJfI/AAAAAAAABSk/PlzGcwY6CPA/s200/a-few-good-men.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 143px; float: right; height: 200px;" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> A FEW GOOD MEN<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1992</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollock, Kevin Bacon</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ***1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>The last good Rob Reiner film before he went <em>North</em>, never to return. Tom Cruise is both effective and annoying (one in the same with Tom) as a slacker military lawyer defending two Marines for the murder of a passive grunt in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which might be linked to the "God and Country" Lieutenant (played with over-amped gusto by Keifer Sutherland) or even the big bad wolf General: scene-stealer Jack Nicholson who, during his four scenes (especially one in which he belittles Cruise's partner-in-law Demi Moore) completely steals the show. Prepare to wince as Cruise sulks about living in his father's shadow; and sustain disbelief for a very implausible ending. But the direction flows and the cast, especially Kevin Pollack as Cruise's grounded sidekick/conscious, morphs the otherwise unbelievable (and often contrived) proceedings into a decent courtroom melodrama. </div>

christopher guest, courtroom drama, demi moore, jack nicholson, keifer sutherland, kevin bacon, military, nineties, rob reiner, tom cruise

A FEW GOOD MEN

title: A FEW GOOD MEN year: 1992 cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollock, Kevin Bacon rating: ***1/2 The last good ...

TIGHTROPE

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-85GgKoz1rpQ/TV1q4MW-8UI/AAAAAAAABSM/uopC232vT-A/s1600/tightripe.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574729427377385794" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-85GgKoz1rpQ/TV1q4MW-8UI/AAAAAAAABSM/uopC232vT-A/s200/tightripe.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 160px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 174px; CURSOR: hand" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> TIGHTROPE<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1984</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Clint Eastwood</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> *1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>Bland crime melodrama with ragged cop Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry without a pulse) investigating the deaths of random hookers by an unseen, unknown antagonist. There's very little action, and the suspense, teasing the possiblity of Clint being the killer (since he too has a penchant for prostitutes) is completely lackluster. But the main problem is the direction. Each shot, aggagerated for dramatic effect, seems like a student film... And the climactic fight on railroad tracks, involving a severed arm, might be the funniest unintentional moment in action film history. </div>

action, clint eastwood, cop, eighties

TIGHTROPE

title: TIGHTROPE year: 1984 cast: Clint Eastwood rating: *1/2 Bland crime melodrama with ragged cop Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry without...

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tn9kyWY64cU/TVyCGvz466I/AAAAAAAABR8/p1gA4DS0pj8/s1600/meet_a_tall_dark_stranger08.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574473491202763682" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tn9kyWY64cU/TVyCGvz466I/AAAAAAAABR8/p1gA4DS0pj8/s200/meet_a_tall_dark_stranger08.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 160px; float: right; height: 200px; cursor: pointer;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>2010<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Gemma Jones, Naomi Watts<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /><br />Anthony Hopkins, despite his unique and usually capable talent, seems awkward channeling the staple Woody Allen timid flake (much like Michael Caine from "Hannah and her Sisters") going through a belated mid-life crisis. Josh Brolin, as an existential writer with a dullard's charm, romances a gorgeous female guitarist while passion<span style="font-style: italic;"> almost</span> erupts between Antonio Bandares and Brolin's wife: all taking place in England where Woody's worked so much, the scenery's become commonplace. Gemma Jones, as Hopkin's ex, provides an essential base: making everyone else seem more than puppets in an all too familiar stage. But beware: just as the other character's stories get interesting... including a May/December relationship from hell and an original twist on plagiarism, the film ends suddenly, giving no closure, which is can be very

anthony hopkins, comedy, romantic comedy, tens, woody allen

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER

title: YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER year: 2010 cast: Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Gemma Jones, Naomi Watts rating: ** Anthony Hopki...

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N-ny34J6g80/TVxMsT9xVwI/AAAAAAAABR0/nj4KLXkf22M/s1600/SCOTT111.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574414762935146242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N-ny34J6g80/TVxMsT9xVwI/AAAAAAAABR0/nj4KLXkf22M/s200/SCOTT111.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 115px;" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Michael Cera, Ellen Wong, Mary Elizabeth Winstead</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ***1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>A cross between <em>Ferris Bueller's Day Off</em>, <em>Kill Bill</em> and <em>The Matrix</em> has a passive twenty-something slacker getting the chance of a lifetime: to date "Ramona," a beautiful vixen <em>way </em>out of his league... but it's not gonna be easy. He's gotta battle all her ex-boyfriends (and one girlfriend), who appear sporadically as video game villains. Some of the best moments are getting to know Scott Pilgrim (played with laidback frustration by Michael Cera) <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> he's given the ultimate task... hanging with bandmates, dating a seventeen year old high school girl, and striking out with other babes before finding Miss Right: thus leading to each battle that, since they're supposed to resemble high-octane video games, are never overboard or "unrealistic" i.e. <em>anything </em>goes. </div>

comic book, mary elizabeth winstead, michael cera, romantic comedy, science-fiction, slacker

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

title: SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD year: 2010 cast: Michael Cera, Ellen Wong, Mary Elizabeth Winstead rating: ***1/2 A cross between Fe...

THE ENFORCER

<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kh30vr7AuXs/TVxIF53WlbI/AAAAAAAABRs/MySpJINWlew/s1600/dirtyharry.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574409705047365042" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kh30vr7AuXs/TVxIF53WlbI/AAAAAAAABRs/MySpJINWlew/s200/dirtyharry.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 169px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> THE ENFORCER<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1978</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daley, Bradford Dillman, Pepe Serna</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ****</div><br /><div></div><div>Third entry in the Dirty Harry series pits iconic Clint Eastwood against a group of Vietnam Vet revolutionaries who... well, they like killing and blowing stuff up. Like other DH films, the main plot, teased in the intro, sustains in the second half: after Harry battles various petty hoods stupid enough to try. Tyne Daley is a nicely balanced non-pushy feminist sidekick, both assertive and vulnerable... the action is perfectly sporadic, the dialog is fun and pulpy, the soundtrack cool and funky, and Bradford Dillman makes for a great jerk cop-boss, more of a thorn in Harry's side than the main killers, all ending up in a nifty shootout on Alcatraz isle. </div>

action, bradford dillman, clint eastwood, cop, franchise, seventies

THE ENFORCER

title: THE ENFORCER year: 1978 cast: Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daley, Bradford Dillman, Pepe Serna rating: **** Third entry in the Dirty Har...

SYLVESTER STALLONE IN F.I.S.T.

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdME44-1YfQ/TVhhM7-5WmI/AAAAAAAABRc/NLM9vEQCzMg/s1600/Sly-Stallone-Fist_l.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573311413758810722" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdME44-1YfQ/TVhhM7-5WmI/AAAAAAAABRc/NLM9vEQCzMg/s200/Sly-Stallone-Fist_l.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 166px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>F.I.S.T.<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1978<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Sylvester Stallone, Richard Herd, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /> <br /> During the depression, unions were important, being that there weren't many and workers were exploited. And that's what this movie shows from the first minute to the last, all within a two-and-a-half hour epic that needed more humanity than plot: that is, the moments between the strikes and hardships were too few and far between, never really getting to know the characters as actual people. Sylvester Stallone, fresh from his breakthrough in ROCKY, is hit-or-miss. His sometimes mumbling, other times voracious character moves up the ladder, from put-upon factory worker to spokesman for a trucker's union, way too fast. And the side-characters, including Peter Boyle and Rod Steiger, serve only as fuel to entice or enrage Stallone: who's fighting for a<span style="font-style: italic;"> real </span>cause... but it's all too heavy, and goes on way too long, to be genuinely effective.

depression-era, peter boyle, rod steiger, seventies, sylvester stallone, union

SYLVESTER STALLONE IN F.I.S.T.

title: F.I.S.T. year: 1978 cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Herd, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle rating: ** During the depression, unions...

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OJZc3slBnwg/TVhVHZl0OQI/AAAAAAAABRU/crnOmvilSiY/s1600/socialnetwork.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573298124487932162" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OJZc3slBnwg/TVhVHZl0OQI/AAAAAAAABRU/crnOmvilSiY/s200/socialnetwork.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 162px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>THE SOCIAL NETWORK<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>2010<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> ***<br /><br />The head Nazi in "Schindler's List" was given more of a sympathetic role than that of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, whose cold-hearted, frustrated delivery channels a wired, nerdy terminator robot. The movie itself weaves in and out of flashbacks and round table deliberations between Zuckerberg and three people suing him: two Harvard rich kids claiming to have inspired the site, and partner Eduardo Saverin, who helped put FB on the map. Along comes Napster founder Sean Parker (a motormouth Justin Timberlake), pushing Saverin out of the way and becoming Zuckerberg's "rock star" mentor. And melodramatic havoc ensues, always returning to the present-time deliberations: encompassing a creatively flowing film with good performances and a hip techno score, but it's too against Zuckerberg, who isn't human enough to despise, and too in favor of Saverin: feeling more like his own propaganda than a legitimate biopic.

biopic, drama, john getz, tens

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

title: THE SOCIAL NETWORK year: 2010 cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake rating: *** The head Nazi in "Schindle...

THE TOWN

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TVQwz7-xkPI/AAAAAAAABQ8/GbvPclFAnMQ/s1600/thetown.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572132307796594930" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TVQwz7-xkPI/AAAAAAAABQ8/GbvPclFAnMQ/s200/thetown.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 175px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><strong>title:</strong> THE TOWN<br /><div><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> **1/2</div><br /><div>This is a decent movie with a flimsy premise. After a bank robbery involving revved up New Jersey thugs wearing <em>Skeletor</em> masks, the leader, played by director Ben Affleck, stalks (keeps an eye on)<em> </em>a pretty employee they'd kidnapped during the getaway... because she lives in the same town, or something. Predictably, a romance blossoms between Ben and girl-next-door Rebecca Hall, but the gang's lethal member, Jeremy Renner, doesn't like it. And FBI agent Jon Hamm wants to bring the boys down before striking again, which happens in two rushed scenes liken to Michael Mann's HEAT: lots of gun-fire between drawn-out dialog (the film's bulk), establishing characters more than driving them. </div></div>

action, ben affleck, caper, jeremy renner, tens

THE TOWN

title: THE TOWN year: 2010 cast: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall rating: **1/2 This is a decent movie with a flimsy ...

IRON MAN 2

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt6wv3Ui3EQ/TVQo_8Xt5TI/AAAAAAAABQs/EwmpArQPX5E/s1600/IRONMAN2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572123717966619954" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt6wv3Ui3EQ/TVQo_8Xt5TI/AAAAAAAABQs/EwmpArQPX5E/s200/IRONMAN2.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 132px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> IRON MAN 2<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> **1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>Although it's intriguing watching Robert Downey Jr. as millionaire Tony Stark who, with too much fame, money, booze and girls, behaves like Downey did in the nineties (short of waking up in a stranger's living room), this is an action film lacking action. Mickey Rourke makes for a potentially decent villain, but is given two (relatively quick) scenes battling our hero, the metal clad warrior not up for saving the world (but from what, or who?). The lack of a decent heavy is replaced by Sam Rockwell's sleazy arms-dealing senator, given too much dialog in scenes that need more <em>punch</em>. Much like ROCKY IV... a lazy "champion" with too much money verses a killer Russian... but even that had more vapidly entertaining comic book appeal, something this needed more of. </div>

comic book, franchise, mickey rourke, robert downey jr., sam rockwell, samuel l. jackson, sequel, superhero, tens

IRON MAN 2

title: IRON MAN 2 year: 2010 cast: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell rating: **1/2 Although it's intriguing watching R...

THE LAST AIRBENDER

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TVAz3OD-71I/AAAAAAAABQc/DOA6N4BTDFM/s1600/LASTAIRBENDER.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571009762817929042" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TVAz3OD-71I/AAAAAAAABQc/DOA6N4BTDFM/s200/LASTAIRBENDER.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 154px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> THE LAST AIRBENDER<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Nicola Peltz</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> *1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>M. Night Shyamalan's style is to make good actors sound like robots, working fine for Bruce Willis, Samuel Jackson, Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix in his first three (and only good) films. But when dealing with kids who seem right out of a Nickelodeon sitcom, it's downright embarrassing. Based on a cartoon, the film centers on a child with powers aka The Last Airbender who can master (move around) all the elements: earth, water, air and fire, each with their own <em>nation</em>. The evil Fire Nation wants to control him while two Arctic teenagers want to save him. There's a lot of frantic CGI action but even more dialog; all as bad as the monotone delivery. Let's hope M. Night's hit rock bottom, for then he can't sink any lower. Although this was far more enjoyable (fun to bag on) than THE VILLAGE, LADY IN THE WATER, and THE HAPPENING. </div>

action, m. night, tens

THE LAST AIRBENDER

title: THE LAST AIRBENDER year: 2010 cast: Nicola Peltz rating: *1/2 M. Night Shyamalan's style is to make good actors sound like r...

RYAN'S DAUGHTER BY DAVID LEAN

<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;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569900732362432082" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TUxDNJqmnlI/AAAAAAAABQU/5VRNnszCiyQ/s320/ryans%2Bdaughter.jpg" style="height: 200px; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 111px;" width="177" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1970 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Starts out fantastic... The first hour centering on a young girl named Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) wandering the Ireland coast, dreaming of being married and growing up; sharing her thoughts with local priest Terrance Howard and courting aged, handsome schoolteacher Robert Mitchum.<br /> <br /> On the peripheral are other townies including the girl's father, a pub owner; a village Idiot; and two revolutionaries. Rosy marries the schoolteacher and realizes her dreams haven't come true.<br /> <br /> She has an affair with the new man in town: a young English war hero. This is where things wane, becoming a glossy soap opera.<br /> <br /> And a side-story involving the revolutionaries and townspeople collecting guns on the beach during a storm makes the entire set-up forgotten. David Lean's direction is creative and the natural settings are gorgeous, but the script's only strong in the foundation... The rest is made of sand that drowns in the tide.

david lean, drama, robert mitchum, romance, sarah miles, seventies, trevor howard

RYAN'S DAUGHTER BY DAVID LEAN

1970 rating: *** Starts out fantastic... The first hour centering on a young girl named Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) wandering the Ireland co...

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TUszQCgiTBI/AAAAAAAABQE/B1CcsCyhrgY/s1600/lawrence.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569601714818010130" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TUszQCgiTBI/AAAAAAAABQE/B1CcsCyhrgY/s200/lawrence.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 146px" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> LAWRENCE OF ARABIA<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1961</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> *****</div><br /><div></div><div>Don't let a lot of sand, a long running time, and the word <em>epic</em> make you think this film is anything short of pure entertainment. Each <em>segment </em>lasts no more than twenty minutes, and all seem like individual shorts enveloping the entire masterpiece by David Lean, who directed this miraculous film starring newcomer Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence, a quirky British soldier who never quite fit: given the task to investigate a revolt against the Turks in 1916. He does more than that, eventually leading a group of Arabs, including a young Omar Sharif and veteran Anthony Quinn, across a fatal desert and into an important battle: both seeming impossible to everyone except Lawrence. The first part, including the famous mirage scene (Sharif on a horse appearing from the distance and slowly moving in closer) and incredible battle sequences sets up for part two: handing off the perspective to an American columnist writing the story of the man who's become a living legend. One scene, where Lawrence admits to a general that he wants to quit because he <em>enjoys</em> killing, is beyond description. How O'Toole didn't win an Oscar for this... </div>

anthony quinn, david lean, epic, jack hawkins, omar sharif, peter o'toole, sixties

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

title: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA year: 1961 cast: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins rating: ***** Don't let a lo...

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TUsHWl6odzI/AAAAAAAABP8/qPw_TgZNJmI/s1600/river.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569553448890300210" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bFgFFecXa_Q/TUsHWl6odzI/AAAAAAAABP8/qPw_TgZNJmI/s200/river.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 180px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px" /></strong></a><strong>title:</strong> THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 1957</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, James Donald</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> ***1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>The best moments are the mind games between British Colonel Nicholson, played with gallant flavor by Alec Guinness, and the Japanese Colonel, who heads a jungle-surrounded prison camp where British and America soldiers are treated as slaves to build an important bridge. Guinness, in refusing himself and fellow officers to do any grunt work, is punished until his stubbornness wins over: it's apparent the bridge can only be made on time if British officers command their own troops. William Holden, a rogue American whose escape is much too easy, winds up aiding Jack Hawkins in the breezy b-story: a counter-mission to blow up the bridge that Guinness takes pride in building. Although many of the scenes fade-out before developing completely, and the end, while looking fantastic, feels a bit rushed, it's still a very good film by director David Lean... one step away from his true masterpiece, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. </div>

action, alec guinness, david lean, epic, fifties, jack hawkins, william holden

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

title: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI year: 1957 cast: Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, James Donald rating: ***1/2 The best ...