REVIEWS OF MAX & INSIDE OUT IN TWO PARAGRAPHS

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRZQZ8Yq2TaD4amJ8zkVq75FYwFGDdj-BkFhLmgNSJGrYY_kljiHRggwjoG0Y0_zclJHoixy_yrgpWnF_BoQD2B9vCwk1_pkD1h3XCma4BI8WAWMZbFWPmamH17ms7XB6vNJ8nhUQkX4/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRZQZ8Yq2TaD4amJ8zkVq75FYwFGDdj-BkFhLmgNSJGrYY_kljiHRggwjoG0Y0_zclJHoixy_yrgpWnF_BoQD2B9vCwk1_pkD1h3XCma4BI8WAWMZbFWPmamH17ms7XB6vNJ8nhUQkX4/s320/1.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 grade: D</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>MAX: </b>Like a dog buries a bone, the makers of MAX buries the titular lead, and instead of centering on a military Marine dog suffering shell shock, as promised, or an unlikely friendship between dog and boy, we follow a confusing melodrama about white trash bullies with some kind of military secret as Max the German Sheppard circles around this boring mainline also including a group of teenagers with less chemistry than a bad After School Special… So Max not only gets lost in the confusing political intrigue that’s hardly intriguing, but his young master’s new human friends hijack any purpose he would have otherwise… After all, it’s supposed to be his very own Dog Gone movie, so where on earth is he?<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJo7UoNXmAaR_N7BTYmyBNf9fVHuaJSiaUtYlgwNH0saYhH4O4xPzojcsQPsTHrfm0Zx6uV15cdwwwC015LtZ7wVDJvJXOXuRcc8y8vgKx01lnB2VCJOxgpKj6UDydaHlrQbTGJ7uGsE/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJo7UoNXmAaR_N7BTYmyBNf9fVHuaJSiaUtYlgwNH0saYhH4O4xPzojcsQPsTHrfm0Zx6uV15cdwwwC015LtZ7wVDJvJXOXuRcc8y8vgKx01lnB2VCJOxgpKj6UDydaHlrQbTGJ7uGsE/s320/2.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 grade: C</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>INSIDE OUT: </b>Now for a venture that can be compared to two films that shouldn’t be mentioned in a review about a children’s movie: EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK and THE EXORCIST… In the first, Woody Allen took us inside a body as we saw humans, as mechanics, controlling from the outside, like a bridge on a spaceship, the person inside… And in the latter, well, a little girl is wielded by something other than herself – in this case a handful of personality traits including Joy, Sadness, Anger and the token goofball relief, an Imaginary Friend elephant creature that, in trying to be the Josh Gad FROZEN favorite, winds up more annoying than helpful in a somewhat creative yet rather bland trek – the personalities traipsing slowly through the child’s cerebrum as, on the outside, a little girl deals with unrealistically jovial parents and a new school, which all seems an afterthought to the candy-coded fluff going on elsewhere: perhaps too much for grownup taste buds yet INSIDE OUT might make kids think... about thinking.

2015, animation, kids

REVIEWS OF MAX & INSIDE OUT IN TWO PARAGRAPHS

year: 2015 grade: D MAX: Like a dog buries a bone, the makers of MAX buries the titular lead, and instead of centering on a military Mar...

PARENTHETICAL CAPTURES FROM THE MOTION PICTURE 'JAWS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB822tF6PEhC0XqF9TNhzcVTAe6Ks0DK4oFqZjlIO4fHlq1x0rXk6AbN9tgib4OQhWIALus1H1gBR5iliEkhgiA7J1k83-N4RBGrTjjt5q17zNijgn76Pk9aU-dq2fm2lnGx4cC_jXRC7FYcpAQR2F8lLKZqllyqsvTAbrr-E754FA24cqePnUbgljuQ/s916/Picture%2010.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="916" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB822tF6PEhC0XqF9TNhzcVTAe6Ks0DK4oFqZjlIO4fHlq1x0rXk6AbN9tgib4OQhWIALus1H1gBR5iliEkhgiA7J1k83-N4RBGrTjjt5q17zNijgn76Pk9aU-dq2fm2lnGx4cC_jXRC7FYcpAQR2F8lLKZqllyqsvTAbrr-E754FA24cqePnUbgljuQ/s16000/Picture%2010.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Random Screencaptures from JAWS: Like this KILLER SHARK video game</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table>JAWS is celebrating the 40th Anniversary this year, a timeless summer classic directed by Steven Spielberg with images as iconic as anything in the history of film: so here are some cool shots you don't always get to see, along with descriptions, trivia, and beyond.<br>

dick young, horror, photobreak, richard dreyfuss, robert shaw, roy scheider, seventies, shark, steven spielberg, thriller

PARENTHETICAL CAPTURES FROM THE MOTION PICTURE 'JAWS'

Random Screencaptures from JAWS: Like this KILLER SHARK video game JAWS is celebrating the 40th Anniversary this year, a timeless summer cl...

WEEKEND REVIEW OF TED 2

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGywEFhqXYlxviDiXLy96xCgVr_Q26L3so-3dozHUA7foPC9FYYkGQiHncBU4LnOd4K8dPci3iGyBJRoHvUniaoNDKxu-7JokJXqYw5tNaYNOp-VZUZPPO5RgwNLiiIp2nHNe6BhywtI/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGywEFhqXYlxviDiXLy96xCgVr_Q26L3so-3dozHUA7foPC9FYYkGQiHncBU4LnOd4K8dPci3iGyBJRoHvUniaoNDKxu-7JokJXqYw5tNaYNOp-VZUZPPO5RgwNLiiIp2nHNe6BhywtI/s320/1.png" width="134" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> For what's considered a silly stoner buddy comedy, TED was pretty philosophical, taking on everything from pop culture to relationships to religion. Through the safety net filter of a foul-mouthed, pot smoking Teddy Bear, Seth McFarland could channel everything he loathed without restraint and, providing the voice of the titular doll turned human-like sidekick of Mark Wahlberg’s sweet-natured Boston slacker John, the sky was the limit.<br /> <br /> Like any comedy sequel, the main agenda here is to go so overboard, fans will forget the past. Right off the bat is a dance number opening credit sequence, as if Seth’s Oscar gig inspired an extravaganza that might lead to something maybe not better, but definitely bigger this time around... Nothing doing.<br /> <br /> With a semi-serious plot about Ted going to court to prove he’s human enough to have a baby with his wife; a new love interest for the divorced John in cool chick lawyer Amanda Seyfried; a pointless road trip and a handful of lazy cameos seeming like guests at a stranger’s funeral, TED 2 doesn’t try for anything, really, that would push the envelop any further in this bland vehicle, too contained to be extemporaneous, too restrained to be raucous, too reserved to be controversial, and using the same lame villain, can’t even die with dignity.<br /> <div> <br /></div>

2015, comedy, mark wahlberg, sequel, seth mcfarlane

WEEKEND REVIEW OF TED 2

2015 rating: *1/2 For what's considered a silly stoner buddy comedy, TED was pretty philosophical, taking on everything from pop cul...

ANDREW DICE CLAY IN 'THE ADVENTURES OF FORD FAIRLANE'

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hikfhQWsInEGiZ0_hE5Thf0Y7j_SIIMpFnzLYNF4qwKyk95ETU4Eera69VVLMRGci1wu-H4BqZgrNTRNgNJNZKds9LSZlfyKjqRY2paEhSjq6I8NeMd1FeELYmo_YZJ69f6czqNOkE8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hikfhQWsInEGiZ0_hE5Thf0Y7j_SIIMpFnzLYNF4qwKyk95ETU4Eera69VVLMRGci1wu-H4BqZgrNTRNgNJNZKds9LSZlfyKjqRY2paEhSjq6I8NeMd1FeELYmo_YZJ69f6czqNOkE8/s320/1.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1990 rating: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This movie seems like something it isn’t – an introduction to Andrew Dice Clay onto the big screen, the at-that-time popular standup comic whose gloriously chauvinistic routine gave him the chance to have his own vehicle and character both, FORD FAIRLANE, and yet THE ADVENTURES is hardly his first time at bat… Clay had a scene-stealing role, praised by critics and audiences alike, in CASUAL SEX, played the cool bouncer bonding with Jon Cryer in PRETTY IN PINK and before all that was a thug nicknamed “Dice” in the Judd Nelson comedy MAKING THE GRADE.<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJq3XpZg7bns0EwBQgjSnfjKyAfqgw5dnYY9-IpLHcGJh_8xUPyl3ZkfWNwDTzxOnpKEFi_OdUa72sYyZEVdhsoDth2l9s5S3xv-vY49xMrSz2R3iYujprslwzMEGBtH7_s7vynkG0YFmG/s1600/vlcsnap-2011-10-29-12h37m37s137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="130" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJq3XpZg7bns0EwBQgjSnfjKyAfqgw5dnYY9-IpLHcGJh_8xUPyl3ZkfWNwDTzxOnpKEFi_OdUa72sYyZEVdhsoDth2l9s5S3xv-vY49xMrSz2R3iYujprslwzMEGBtH7_s7vynkG0YFmG/s320/vlcsnap-2011-10-29-12h37m37s137.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Koala Survives!</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> But FORD gave the man the chance to prove his worth as a screen giant, and surprisingly it was not in a comedic fashion… Which doesn't mean Dice doesn’t try to be funny… Yet his signature one-liners seem rather contrived – the comic persona fails to resonate throughout the otherwise entertaining story about a Rock N' Roll detective caught in a Neo Noir Gumshoe maze, searching for the cause of a famous singer's death, and that of an obnoxious deejay. Like the Bogart genre this intentionally mirrors, there are tons of smitten dames, last names, dangerous clues, neon nighttime locales, and noisy brawls where Dice seems most comfortable.<br /> <br /> High octane director Renny Harlin began as a second rate Tony Scott, specializing in extreme close-ups captured within an MTV gloss readymade for opening night audiences, but no one can deny his talents here, rising above a flawed script while making FAIRLAINE a worthwhile action vehicle even when the driver seems overwhelmed in the process. Like when Dice shined in his cameo roles, he basically plays second fiddle to all the suspenseful big budget distractions.

andrew dice clay, neo noir, nineties

ANDREW DICE CLAY IN 'THE ADVENTURES OF FORD FAIRLANE'

year: 1990 rating: *** This movie seems like something it isn’t – an introduction to Andrew Dice Clay onto the big screen, the at-that-t...

CONNERY BOND THREE: GOLDFINGER

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakOVe80Pr2rlE3ihGLs338soEC4OYl0mPEc06AiOseIRq32Zel52WAnjVNbwc7PHobdPUOSdB4n9lIFL6DJZr68pLTLEqdf9erqPPvCddPbtmH2Cy5kt8o4y7jaN6Y-sDuYnpPpS_9U74/s1600/goldfinger-golf-scene-1024x606.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="794" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakOVe80Pr2rlE3ihGLs338soEC4OYl0mPEc06AiOseIRq32Zel52WAnjVNbwc7PHobdPUOSdB4n9lIFL6DJZr68pLTLEqdf9erqPPvCddPbtmH2Cy5kt8o4y7jaN6Y-sDuYnpPpS_9U74/s400/goldfinger-golf-scene-1024x606.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sean Connery golfs with the villain in Goldfinger YEAR: 1964</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> For some people... one in particular, pictured below and mentioned later in a very special, personal family tragedy tribute... the main problem with GOLDFINGER is simple enough: James Bond is captured throughout most of the story. But that’s also what sets the third film apart from every other Connery vehicle. Taking a prolonged look inside the villain’s process, we get to see how he really ticks...<br /> <br /> In the title role, Gert Fröbe underplays what would become gloriously fantastical by the likes of Blofeld and other world-dominating, monologue-spouting drama kings. He's surely the most subtle Ian Fleming inspired heavy in the 007 canon. Some of the best sequences occur before Bond goes on his caged sabbatical. The golf match between he and Goldfinger has its own rhythm, purpose and agenda: A beginning, middle and end... And a chance to enjoy our resilient hero as a free man, playing a gentleman's game with mischievous tricks under his sleeve.<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KFlhQ4aiYIiVKMAeS4y8uzTIdiWot-q1NiFMpeY2ASXG48YeCH3Awirj9jz5kOmxHQQBuf3hTHP2zRkbstyJgN56PuW8mRz_We8GbJjpPk4ZeLxm2JkPH3Szfdo4jzD76qFA5mY-1-o/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KFlhQ4aiYIiVKMAeS4y8uzTIdiWot-q1NiFMpeY2ASXG48YeCH3Awirj9jz5kOmxHQQBuf3hTHP2zRkbstyJgN56PuW8mRz_We8GbJjpPk4ZeLxm2JkPH3Szfdo4jzD76qFA5mY-1-o/s1600/1.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goldfinger Artwork</td></tr> </tbody></table> In many Bond films, the villain’s henchman trumps the big boss himself, and it’s no different here. Odd Job, the killer Korean with his decapitating boomerang hat, provides this meticulous vehicle some fun and pulpy fare. As does the third of three “Bond Girls”, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), and her aerial troop of killer blondes...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Galore’s connection with Bond injects a tinge of humanity that ruled the entire FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, which was less daring and dashing than the groundbreaking DR. NO, and more realistic than GOLDFINGER – unintentionally comical during the final heist on Fort Knox as a myriad of American troops are rendered unconscious, or pretend to be… Quite badly, either way.<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUr2nk-Goh_0t0L7dfA-iVHX5vZjBFSV2OPehadpsuSZ2JMDJ5FJ7S2FtHYhA6V82nOt4gfOzpq6SL-mWrm4adUfnmu4q7MPnalnyJsQlyGXzuEz6XsSJ2G6icFnb_9HZ93NefvduiKvQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-06-15+at+9.46.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUr2nk-Goh_0t0L7dfA-iVHX5vZjBFSV2OPehadpsuSZ2JMDJ5FJ7S2FtHYhA6V82nOt4gfOzpq6SL-mWrm4adUfnmu4q7MPnalnyJsQlyGXzuEz6XsSJ2G6icFnb_9HZ93NefvduiKvQ/s320/Screen+shot+2015-06-15+at+9.46.20+PM.png" width="136" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;">Shared A Bond</td></tr> </tbody></table> So while the potential of the first act… also including Bond thwarting Goldfinger’s gambling ruse in Florida, a nifty chase inside the first-time Aston Martin and Q’s roomful of gadgets… is slightly derailed once the tables turn, we get to experience a sly sense of our dashing hero moving forward by giving in completely.<br /> <b><u><br /></u></b> <b><u>PERSONAL MEMORIAL TRIBUTE:</u></b> <i>This post is dedicated to an awesome nephew, who died recently, at 28-years-old, and while he was not a huge fan of GOLDFINGER for the fact Bond was imprisoned for so long, there was a three-decade debate, particularly endearing for his young age back in the early 1990's, and unceasing as we would sporadically discuss the movie... and just last week, sitting in the Bella Terra, Huntington Beach, California theater we both frequented, we caught a trailer during their Classic Series promotion, and thus planned on catching GOLDFINGER on the big screen, which sadly, never happened... But the 007 franchise was a mere drop in the pop culture bucket, ranging from Orson Welles to Jack Kerouac to Charles Bronson to Led Zeppelin to Judd Nelson to Kurt Cobain to Reservoir Dogs, connecting Nephew with Uncle, and vice versa. So Rest in Peace, Austin Tavolara, you're already missed... and then some. </i><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

franchise, james bond, sean connery, sixties, spy

CONNERY BOND THREE: GOLDFINGER

Sean Connery golfs with the villain in Goldfinger YEAR: 1964 For some people... one in particular, pictured below and mentioned later in...

TOBE HOPPER DIRECTS THE REMAKE OF 'INVADERS FROM MARS'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInSHeQxr7mNhEECSnWKb5EeIA6bYLFbrO7wBuhikQe5MMmbwEHgUbl10S04zMW3MJPE1ewb8k4Lc9Fl0TLNmHWllecEKNBDV6RFQrvDJZoBE76lCayp6L4RIsSFayY4NFswgn65bMV9U/s1600/1111.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInSHeQxr7mNhEECSnWKb5EeIA6bYLFbrO7wBuhikQe5MMmbwEHgUbl10S04zMW3MJPE1ewb8k4Lc9Fl0TLNmHWllecEKNBDV6RFQrvDJZoBE76lCayp6L4RIsSFayY4NFswgn65bMV9U/s400/1111.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;">year: 1986 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Starting off... off the beaten path, relating only partially to the subject at hand, the infectious Steven Spielberg magic often gets rubbed off on his directors, from the likes of Robert Zemeckis, whose mailbox-shaking, license plate spinning BACK TO THE FUTURE looks nothing like the subtle I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND or USED CARS; Joe Dante, whose sparsely terrifying PIRANHA and HOWLING look and feel quite different than the rolling camera mainstream vibe of GREMLINS; Richard Donner going ultra-slick in GOONIES; and last but not least Tobe Hooper, the groundbreaking, blood-splattered, low budget exploitation king of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and the more conventional yet still ultra violent and thrilling FUNHOUSE, who, after stepping behind the lens for Spielberg’s ultimate ghost story POLTERGEIST, kept that mystical yet youth-friendly vibe alive in INVADERS FROM MARS, a chance for Hooper to show he could pull off an extravaganza WITHOUT Spielberg's backing while keeping a lot of the fantastical signature elements, epic soundtrack style and best yet, in 1986... for Karen Black to work with her son, PARIS TEXAS child actor Hunter Carson as David, and other memorable cult cinema moments like Louise Fletcher eating a frog and Martians who are actual costumed creatures ("ugly, slimy, giant Mr. Potato Heads") before the computer generated takeover: all in a film that balances a nostalgic b-movie homage with the kind of adventurous paranoia that delves our buried young lead within a nifty cast also including Timothy Bottoms as dad, Laraine Newman as mom, Bud Cort and POLTERGEIST human antagonist James Karen as a military general whose Marine compound could harbor government secrets… per usual in this genre. But we’re skipping way ahead… <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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AtMmjHB_Z5V4VAMBTO8IXAE3c6So1-W7Ny3I8X93mYKovYri3yj6BBPL1rCi1KsLjar7PoFdXlTJvAaVqbm5eD0LmNmIMnn0NjWZ3jaYP3lzCKmjLWoIaMOATwylhGzBLWOj-Y-bmtA/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AtMmjHB_Z5V4VAMBTO8IXAE3c6So1-W7Ny3I8X93mYKovYri3yj6BBPL1rCi1KsLjar7PoFdXlTJvAaVqbm5eD0LmNmIMnn0NjWZ3jaYP3lzCKmjLWoIaMOATwylhGzBLWOj-Y-bmtA/s320/1.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retro Opening Credits</td></tr> </tbody></table> MARS takes a little while to get going, starting out with a nuclear family too hip to be realistic – making sense when the inevitable monotone changeling occurs. The beautiful locations trump the somewhat dragging initial takeoff – one incline viewed outside the kid’s window (adorning the official poster above) winds into a rural, fog-shrouded backdrop reminiscent of E.T. with the enigmatic glow liken to CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, adding to the dreamlike aesthetic and, like already mentioned, showing Hooper's residual influence (intentional or otherwise) to his former POLTERGEIST boss.  <br /> <br /> Yet the coolest visuals are <i>inside</i> pivotal caverns, leading to origin-secrets revealed about the Martians, who, up until that point, seemed part of the kid's wild imagination... at least in the narrow-minded adult point of view. Only Karen Black’s friendly school nurse, not having the mark on the back of her neck like the others, seems legit, joining the trek to discover and uncover what’s behind the nefarious curtain, providing Tobe Hooper a chance to wield his own unique brand of paranormal intrigue and, for core fans, getting sporadically morbid and downright gruesome. Yet INVADERS never gives too much away for the characters or the audience, so even the overboard militaristic finale still holds an intriguing potential: that anything can happen around each cavernous bend.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCq7847KBkIDs_f_0gWiowuDkYqNaZ_c3lO6pX34A88zHfqV5_6uKN2a9BcHj1CG_wACcBFrMnnGsip-OXOllEgfylwhstX5dwmrXEj6iv49H6AG9StsBL74LrxSbEYHjbLSf9CWQ5-g/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCq7847KBkIDs_f_0gWiowuDkYqNaZ_c3lO6pX34A88zHfqV5_6uKN2a9BcHj1CG_wACcBFrMnnGsip-OXOllEgfylwhstX5dwmrXEj6iv49H6AG9StsBL74LrxSbEYHjbLSf9CWQ5-g/s1600/3.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Carton Hunter's perspective as Louise Fletcher provides the White Rabbit into Martianland</td></tr> </tbody></table> <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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYrJObWNa2Y9ntX2FdX1PwWBhFh0pEti4IPIohH-KFsm5cb6CPCWwm25IHh8SSF7pUB16jbaZbGNfNDfjTapI4TIklgWpdmYcErOwBQaed7PBXj0DGE9rT-FyRquH6ghTH-1pkwqiWz8/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYrJObWNa2Y9ntX2FdX1PwWBhFh0pEti4IPIohH-KFsm5cb6CPCWwm25IHh8SSF7pUB16jbaZbGNfNDfjTapI4TIklgWpdmYcErOwBQaed7PBXj0DGE9rT-FyRquH6ghTH-1pkwqiWz8/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Signature Location with the backs of Hunter Carson, Laraine Newman & Timothy Bottoms</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

horror, science-fiction, tobe hooper

TOBE HOPPER DIRECTS THE REMAKE OF 'INVADERS FROM MARS'

year: 1986 rating: *** Starting off... off the beaten path, relating only partially to the subject at hand, the infectious Steven Spielb...

BREAKING ICE WITH HAPPYISH EPISODE 8

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLusdVMvoOVJV23H3Dq3Yv5iZA7jM2gZsYoRIrtet-MdRw-FHEpkNVm8rL7ZunNoFJgMxcgt8m6uEZ7I9NGv8EPDP0-OyWAR-JQXQjNZA0tJFLsKwkVx_yjaFHY604M9LijOlYdIKTANM/s1600/0.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLusdVMvoOVJV23H3Dq3Yv5iZA7jM2gZsYoRIrtet-MdRw-FHEpkNVm8rL7ZunNoFJgMxcgt8m6uEZ7I9NGv8EPDP0-OyWAR-JQXQjNZA0tJFLsKwkVx_yjaFHY604M9LijOlYdIKTANM/s1600/0.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E8 Grade: C-</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;">When a show’s been on for a little while, the conversation/dialogue seems more like eavesdropping than a stage play catered to win over the audience… In other words, you're more listening than being spoken to...</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-XpnLme0dWrVNvXHPEqKSPFf_FRVlv-hvSPccsJSJ2GuING8JvWaAJ15NpqsStfk9cj0nXQ8IPCUIKyG4mYT5VK2xKmbOKuEfPN3XAY7H1lqIH6WskuCP1e6_5bqgdAuWfH-MCzjCA4/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-XpnLme0dWrVNvXHPEqKSPFf_FRVlv-hvSPccsJSJ2GuING8JvWaAJ15NpqsStfk9cj0nXQ8IPCUIKyG4mYT5VK2xKmbOKuEfPN3XAY7H1lqIH6WskuCP1e6_5bqgdAuWfH-MCzjCA4/s1600/1.png" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">So whether or not HAPPYISH, starring Steve Coogan as Thom Payne and his equally-frustrated wife Kathryn Hahn as Lee, is comfortable enough in its own shoes to keep a steady pace without overselling loads of snarky pessimism... well so far, after eight episodes, still isn’t clear… It’s like eavesdropping on someone else’s favorite play, and this week deals with Lee abhorring the popular Disney musical, FROZEN, shedding light on how parents have to weather this misleadingly optimistic parade that only honest adults can rain on: by either complaining in another room, or smoking loads of pot outside… Which Lee does, both, and that’s pretty much that other than Thom at the ad agency disliking some kind of kitschy think tank room… And what better to counterbalance wife’s Disney hatred than a porn star providing a forth-wall-breaking narration at husband's work, which hardly relates to anything relevant or entertaining: Thus Episode 8, titled “Starring Rene Descartes, Adweek and HRH the Princess of Arendelle" sort of remains in neutral with one foot orbiting the brakes, and yet, there's a feeling both characters want to be, at this point, on a steady cruise control... but it just ain't happenin', yet.  </span>

2015, cable, kathryn hahn, steve coogan

BREAKING ICE WITH HAPPYISH EPISODE 8

E8 Grade: C- When a show’s been on for a little while, the conversation/dialogue seems more like eavesdropping than a stage play catered...

WEEKEND REVIEW OF JURASSIC WORLD

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYI6HUriZvNUjCdQtz52mNr1YcrjeaSwz73oj2n3AacqTDOcsnD6pQDnFazwavDZMgmwSVuf-4LO2WZnSKAEFzljMbtSPlTzPD3bAxAq9OMFmdScWrjkD7-_9DgDwGk7lmTpr_Nsd32o/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYI6HUriZvNUjCdQtz52mNr1YcrjeaSwz73oj2n3AacqTDOcsnD6pQDnFazwavDZMgmwSVuf-4LO2WZnSKAEFzljMbtSPlTzPD3bAxAq9OMFmdScWrjkD7-_9DgDwGk7lmTpr_Nsd32o/s320/Picture+2.png" width="179" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: *</td></tr> </tbody></table> The wasted potential of the title alone, an entire WORLD as opposed to a PARK, is the first thing very, very wrong here – and this JURASSIC sequel/reboot is flawed beyond extinction. <br /> <br /> Ripping off ALIENS, a troop of soldiers are viewed on their own monitors, falling prey to a gigantic combination of T-Rex and… other mischievous ingredients at the famous (or infamous) Theme Park finally open to the public, and not just in test-only mode or posthumous ruins…<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo7u7SRgF71DFq7f5kS-EON7bE1Jhi1zwqdT_ffNYS5jFyixM8Tw4vU2wFfy_KmNF6aMqhMZGbfeaaR-GhIM4P4nOrWMWA0_NyZjwFZPRe7kFenJttLkjqUM4kuTkZK8OpbBlEjN5UqQ/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo7u7SRgF71DFq7f5kS-EON7bE1Jhi1zwqdT_ffNYS5jFyixM8Tw4vU2wFfy_KmNF6aMqhMZGbfeaaR-GhIM4P4nOrWMWA0_NyZjwFZPRe7kFenJttLkjqUM4kuTkZK8OpbBlEjN5UqQ/s400/Picture+1.png" width="270" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Shark Still Rules, Steven</td></tr> </tbody></table> Actually, it’s been going for a little while, and people are already tired of normal dinosaurs roaming around: thus the edgy hybrid was born. And if up to leading lady and semi-villainous Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire, whose nephews visit the way John Hammond’s grandchildren did in the original, the fierce monstrosity would have its very own limousine... <br /> <br /> But our token action hero Chris Pratt knows better… Much, much better… With breezy idealism intact, and an ability to maneuver Raptors like sheep, unlike his GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY intrepid slacker he’s just too perfect to relate with. And, being this film’s Sam Neill, there's a potential Jeff Goldblum sarcastic sidekick who winds up completely benign...<br /> <br /> So basically all Pratt’s Owen does is argue with the slowly-thawing Claire as they attempt to rescue the boys, who, like everyone else in human form, we hardly get to know at all… Especially one jerk wanting the dinos for military gain: Talk about cliché. But the real crime of WORLD is the lack of JURASSIC: the impressive location is a mere afterthought for a dull Monster Movie, set mostly behind the public's view, while the other neat looking dinosaurs are hardly shown at all. Just because the fictional public within this story are tired of them doesn't mean we are. (Believe it or not, the ultra maligned camp sequel of a sequel, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2013/10/jaws-3-sucks-greatly.html">JAWS 3D</a>, did a much better job showing an underwater theme park attacked by a predator.)

2015, action, chris pratt, franchise, reboot, sequel

WEEKEND REVIEW OF JURASSIC WORLD

year: 2015 rating: * The wasted potential of the title alone, an entire WORLD as opposed to a PARK, is the first thing very, very wrong ...

PAUL DANO & JOHN CUSACK AS BRIAN WILSON IN LOVE & MERCY

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlowK42r2ihLnO7T0CBNYotSAxvU75vzcFr_tbsBtiLXt32eVagcB95TLI1J3ySz-OsA5gO6A6k9MTfJODIpqAqScKhwugmgF8Hs4_2nTLo6CO_T1Cd7crV_9RyyVzoV8jrH6_rUW1H7Y/s1600/b8616ba1-9fc0-41ec-8bbb-011b32e28e63.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlowK42r2ihLnO7T0CBNYotSAxvU75vzcFr_tbsBtiLXt32eVagcB95TLI1J3ySz-OsA5gO6A6k9MTfJODIpqAqScKhwugmgF8Hs4_2nTLo6CO_T1Cd7crV_9RyyVzoV8jrH6_rUW1H7Y/s320/b8616ba1-9fc0-41ec-8bbb-011b32e28e63.PNG" width="131" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Brian Wilson played an immense part in making The Beach Boys timeless and legendary. Their catchy Southern California pop defined the early 60’s before psychedelia took over the entire counter culture, and the best scenes in LOVE & MERCY provide a glimpse into Wilson working with studio musicians to create the few important tracks that bridged the Boys from (in symbolic terms) HAPPY DAYS to PURPLE HAZE. <br /> <br /> Paul Dano does a good job as the young Brian, guiding us through the process of creating a new sound, butting heads with fellow bandmate and stubbornly nostalgic Mike Love, not making him look too good in the process while shedding<i> </i>a worse light on Wilson's bullying father, who eventually sold the Song Rights for pennies…<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOwr6G7KumJFMZtbKqzQzl0KFG40xnpL7m6VTasMaFgd6maMbVLv6PLu83z-K4fq1Ek3cH50bSSQ5Ekv0Kngmd3cd4DF-rnhoXFUWQe3we5_4soiNSmJyHtLZeJBSU_QgZfaoCp0cHgw/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOwr6G7KumJFMZtbKqzQzl0KFG40xnpL7m6VTasMaFgd6maMbVLv6PLu83z-K4fq1Ek3cH50bSSQ5Ekv0Kngmd3cd4DF-rnhoXFUWQe3we5_4soiNSmJyHtLZeJBSU_QgZfaoCp0cHgw/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian Wilson's Sgt Peppers</td></tr> </tbody></table> Which doesn’t fully explain why Brian, played by John Cusack as the older, not so mentally stable icon… was still a millionaire. Thus the chief villain exists in the "present time" 1980's as Paul Giamatti takes on Wilson’s manipulative, controlling Dr. Landy with the kind of spiteful venom usually given to a Bond villain – and it’s not the medicated rock god on a short leash his paranoid sites are locked on…<br /> <br /> Thus the LOVE in LOVE & MERCY is entirely channeled onto classy car saleswoman Monica played by Elizabeth Banks. Her sporadic scenes with Cusack’s vulnerable man-child provides more of a flashback vibe to the 1960’s than vice versa, often making their budding relationship an intrusion rather than a focal point. Meanwhile, we don’t get enough of either time period to put the film into a genuine Rock Biopic category or that of a Disease of the Week/Middle-Aged Romance, which this seems like a watered-down... yet still breezily entertaining... Lifetime Channel version of.

2015, biopic, john cusack, paul dano

PAUL DANO & JOHN CUSACK AS BRIAN WILSON IN LOVE & MERCY

2015 rating: **1/2 Brian Wilson played an immense part in making The Beach Boys timeless and legendary. Their catchy Southern California...

REVIEW OF INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU82LgU95oIxQ7GuFzQN3DTGuh1R23XA9biwOsGDDU9yDG_zFBHtdbDzSD39Tr0X1T9RUkz63yqmXepCsSM26_MpkkGfM0YxdoQiRb0QHCL5H5pOLxfI_bILu8Q4RzOlvkASrf8ptnJNM/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU82LgU95oIxQ7GuFzQN3DTGuh1R23XA9biwOsGDDU9yDG_zFBHtdbDzSD39Tr0X1T9RUkz63yqmXepCsSM26_MpkkGfM0YxdoQiRb0QHCL5H5pOLxfI_bILu8Q4RzOlvkASrf8ptnJNM/s200/Picture+2.png" width="140" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> INSIDIOUS 3 is a nice looking sequel that works exactly when it should: dealing with our new frightened starlet, ready-made to be horrendously stalked and haunted, and then some... <br /> <br /> But there’s simply too much time with the channeling old lady who ties the franchise together, experiencing her intrepid, meditating ventures into the actual nightmare factory: a not exceptionally scary place, being the origin of what’s truly suspenseful and terrifying while reflected onto the outside realm where the best scenes occur, the real story exists, and we should have remained for much longer with the ultimate vulnerable ingénue for this particular genre: a beautiful young girl stuck in bed with two broken legs. Ah, just what the horror doctor ordered! <br /> <br /> The location within an antique apartment complex is effective and creepy, especially as the camera glides throughout mazes of spooky vents where a wheezing wraith exists, and who's far more chilling at a quick glimpse rather than a full gander giveaway. Meanwhile, those two funny slacker ghost hunters seem more a tacked-on punchline than an important part of the story, like the last film. But overall, i3 is a decent rollercoaster even when it fails to stay on track.

2015, franchise, horror, sequel

REVIEW OF INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3

2015 rating: **1/2 INSIDIOUS 3 is a nice looking sequel that works exactly when it should: dealing with our new frightened starlet, read...

STROLLING WITH EPISODE SEVEN OF HAPPYISH

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCMGJWxy7e8gH_N6deiS5wFPzxYvOR3FLVPOr1zW_uuAm7Qxqysp7gZxokIuw3GGXSVoa582E8Xu0YpZQ9qo9WrD7UmmGUkAY2jbFG-y3OF_BqOjH4eV2V2GlVSjvMn2uhUkbwimd6yk/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCMGJWxy7e8gH_N6deiS5wFPzxYvOR3FLVPOr1zW_uuAm7Qxqysp7gZxokIuw3GGXSVoa582E8Xu0YpZQ9qo9WrD7UmmGUkAY2jbFG-y3OF_BqOjH4eV2V2GlVSjvMn2uhUkbwimd6yk/s320/Picture+1.png" width="147" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E7 Grade: C+</td></tr> </tbody></table> “Starring Daniel Ogilvy, Anton Chekov and Gluten Enteropathy” is an eclectic title that hardly means a thing, beginning with the subject of what every episode should be named after; and after yet another shot at the reliable Jesus Scapegoat, we venture into one of the more Outside the Box episodes of an overly claustrophobic study of a neurotic New York couple who have problems with just about every concept. It’s to the point where main character Thom Payne, played by Steve Coogan, is so sarcastic it’s difficult to tell if and when (and why on Earth) he’s genuinely perturbed.  <br /> <br /> Technically, there are several things for his character, an Ad Man in the modern era, to complain about – but as the old saying goes, “We should only have your problems.” Many out there wouldn’t be repulsed while working with director Rob Reiner, even if his commercial idea sucks worse than NORTH. So trying to sympathize with Thom is like imagining the bedroom Jacuzzi not completely warm when you get home from an afternoon stroll. Meanwhile, Thom’s wife Lee is once again trying to keep their son content at school, and, realizing he’s smarter than a whip, she cracks more smiles than we’ve seen thus far… Giving Episode 7 a brighter outlook than usual, and the characters seem like they’re actually going somewhere... or that they really want to.

cable, kathryn hahn, steve coogan

STROLLING WITH EPISODE SEVEN OF HAPPYISH

E7 Grade: C+ “Starring Daniel Ogilvy, Anton Chekov and Gluten Enteropathy” is an eclectic title that hardly means a thing, beginning wit...

WRENCH IN THE GEARS: BAD GUYS IN MOVIES ABOUT BAD GUYS

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVPa_20ksOhCBH18OA83uAvvEdKCKm006a9Yqh9UoYgPFYDpK_xc9BsWM-jwQoPIJVxQZwtkjyu3P4ilT99Fi8lz5I_yGER5nKqly8-Jt_Ty7qiiUK0wxgjCDCMcnmYyqWH8nEv0GIjoW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-27+at+7.02.48+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="782" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVPa_20ksOhCBH18OA83uAvvEdKCKm006a9Yqh9UoYgPFYDpK_xc9BsWM-jwQoPIJVxQZwtkjyu3P4ilT99Fi8lz5I_yGER5nKqly8-Jt_Ty7qiiUK0wxgjCDCMcnmYyqWH8nEv0GIjoW/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-10-27+at+7.02.48+AM.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Al Lettieri double whammy</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: small;"><i>You know<span style="font-size: medium;"> a </span>character is bad when not even the bad guys can trust them<span style="font-size: medium;">... <span style="font-size: medium;">And so,</span> h</span>ere<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'</span>s</span> a list<span style="font-size: medium;"> of five</span> villains who<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">throw</span></span> <span style="font-size: medium;">their dirty wrench into the already crooked gears of <span style="font-size: medium;">cri<span style="font-size: medium;">minals</span></span> we're<span style="font-size: medium;"> rooting for, </span></span></i><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>starting with</i><span style="font-size: medium;">...</span></span></span><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;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYotCJns2tpD375KGCNfYJvqwsdYnK9YVELXQ0LCtZnRWX48Wic5SPZaX0lwG24NMVldAJRX5arIJb9XB8jKnJaWTPGst9H1bDwzbpTp-hbUSEhN_axRwvW0aG7_XN_o-HiDU3y-v0ygo/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYotCJns2tpD375KGCNfYJvqwsdYnK9YVELXQ0LCtZnRWX48Wic5SPZaX0lwG24NMVldAJRX5arIJb9XB8jKnJaWTPGst9H1bDwzbpTp-hbUSEhN_axRwvW0aG7_XN_o-HiDU3y-v0ygo/s320/Picture+1.png" width="126" /></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This Butler Did It</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: small;">1) <u>AL LETTIERI (THE GODFATHER & THE GETAWAY)</u>: Al Lettieri not only champions this list<span style="font-size: medium;">,</span> he scores tw<span style="font-size: medium;">o-fold</span>... First, <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">h</span>is Victor </span>Sollozzo in THE GODFATHER<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span>attempts a risky yet lucrative deal with the most powerful mob boss/family in <span style="font-size: medium;">New York;</span> and then goes after that aging kingpin, Marlon Brando's Don Corleone... Making Sollozzo a <span style="font-size: medium;">heroin</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">importer who,</span> with<span style="font-size: medium;"> only a few</span> connections, tries<span style="font-size: medium;"> overriding</span> an otherwise unbreakable system... <span style="font-size: medium;">Which</span> takes guts, and one helluva vile villain... And if you think that's bad, wait till you see what he does to Sally Struther's small town veterinarian husband in Sam Peckinpah's heist/road flick, THE GETAWAY... As Rudy Butler, <span style="font-size: medium;">hired</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">by</span> Ben Johnson to keep a narrowed eye on Steve McQueen's Doc McCoy, Lettieri is possibly the slimiest alley cat ever to crawl from the slime of the <span style="font-size: medium;">primordial</span> 70's crime genre<span style="font-size: medium;">, and that's saying something<span style="font-size: medium;">... twice!</span></span></span><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;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTsFv7aAFz7F8EtIiAa9uAoQ7_F6AkXgwEBz8uL0WJQx9i7g00mslXC7cNDp9iwiOsbiDAmdC1ITbsZgPXZkuB_I4KLWhClhqJyK0kIOEhlq0_n-l9WRWPQFZKg9QtmJg340oUKcmanA/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTsFv7aAFz7F8EtIiAa9uAoQ7_F6AkXgwEBz8uL0WJQx9i7g00mslXC7cNDp9iwiOsbiDAmdC1ITbsZgPXZkuB_I4KLWhClhqJyK0kIOEhlq0_n-l9WRWPQFZKg9QtmJg340oUKcmanA/s320/2.jpg" width="179" /></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stuck In The Middle</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: small;"><b>2) </b><u>MICHAEL MADSEN (RESERVOIR DOGS</u><b>):</b> Never has an otherwise <span style="font-size: medium;">jovial </span>song inspired such heated venom and awful behavior... That is if you don't count what Malcolm McDowell d<span style="font-size: medium;">oes</span> to Classical Music throughout A CLOCKWORK ORANGE... But this is another timeless<span style="font-size: medium;"> pop cultur</span>e phenom, RESERVOIR DOGS, Quentin Tarantino's first and still possibly his best movie,<span style="font-size: medium;"> centering on</span> a<span style="font-size: medium;"> gang</span> of jewel thieves after a<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">heist</span></span> gone wrong<span style="font-size: medium;">, and,</span> holed-up in a warehouse<span style="font-size: medium;">,</span> we find out very soon who the dirtiest of the dirty is: <span style="font-size: medium;">Madsen's<span style="font-size: medium;"> Vic Vega aka Mr. Blonde</span></span> not only tortures a kidnapped <span style="font-size: medium;">cop</span> but he messed up the <span style="font-size: medium;">robbery</span> to begin with... And connecting Madsen to Lettieri: Just as Al got the GETAWAY <span style="font-size: medium;">role from his GODFATHER <span style="font-size: medium;">catapult</span>, </span>Michael played Al's character in the GETAWAY remake, and basically landed that gig because of <span style="font-size: medium;">DOGS</span>. </span><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;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i0to-F2JpNBWwRSGsc0FXtLvYwi6UsuuTCQLQQ2cxZTaE3tINjMzP8kTZuQTqLfnsh7QslIYq1xYjUo5waMo2pxJG9lvuQDJ2elU-FChbmwkRsGdaGGGlSdVEsBaE9Q19Vu9sp2kP8Y/s1600/3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i0to-F2JpNBWwRSGsc0FXtLvYwi6UsuuTCQLQQ2cxZTaE3tINjMzP8kTZuQTqLfnsh7QslIYq1xYjUo5waMo2pxJG9lvuQDJ2elU-FChbmwkRsGdaGGGlSdVEsBaE9Q19Vu9sp2kP8Y/s320/3.jpg" width="181" /></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Dirtiest Rat</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: small;"><b>3)</b> <u>HUMPHREY BOGART (ROARING TWENTIES</u>)<b>:</b> Before becoming his own very distinguished version of a likable yet <span style="font-size: medium;">flawed<span style="font-size: medium;">, <span style="font-size: medium;">often </span>crooked leading man</span> ala </span>James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart was Cagney's nefarious second fiddle in <span style="font-size: medium;">the</span> classic R<span style="font-size: medium;">aoul Wa<span style="font-size: medium;">lsh <span style="font-size: medium;">gangster</span></span></span> flick ROARING TWENTIES<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">.<span style="font-size: medium;">.. As our hero<span style="font-size: medium;">'</span>s</span> </span></span></span>war buddy turned rum running partner,<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> he</span> still <span style="font-size: medium;">cou<span style="font-size: medium;">ldn't</span></span></span> be trusted... Even from the beginning, during a raging battle <span style="font-size: medium;">on Ge<span style="font-size: medium;">rman soil</span></span>, <span style="font-size: medium;">Cagney</span> had a really bad feeling about Bogart's George Hally<span style="font-size: medium;">.</span><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;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUpdVM3KSe0NPijU_IhCK9mk2Ltr3F48s_V2UQeZiPw1qRBkF6G2bqwOv0fwv0WtXmNr_w_kwD2l2h-IhfyGX8ak-z1p6zEKiGNwYcSYiQj07YB41Nd_XVzs6-nYyrFa-6aevVQuDG9E/s1600/4.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUpdVM3KSe0NPijU_IhCK9mk2Ltr3F48s_V2UQeZiPw1qRBkF6G2bqwOv0fwv0WtXmNr_w_kwD2l2h-IhfyGX8ak-z1p6zEKiGNwYcSYiQj07YB41Nd_XVzs6-nYyrFa-6aevVQuDG9E/s200/4.png" width="167" /></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wild Bunch Wild Card</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: small;"><b>4) </b><u>BO HOPKINS (THE WILD BUNCH):</u> <span style="font-size: medium;">Well hell,</span> his nickname should have been warning enough <span style="font-size: medium;">for</span> the gang of titular bank robbers, led by William  Holden and including Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates,<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span>and Ben Johnson...  </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;">Related to one of the central <span style="font-size: medium;">bandits</span>, Crazy Lee lives up to his title, treating the bank hostages like garbage and making Bo really stand out amongst the bigger stars... <span style="font-size: medium;">For e</span>ven though he checks out early in this beloved Sam Peckinpah Western epic, he<span style="font-size: medium;"> leaves quite an impression<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">.<span style="font-size: medium;"> Connection: Bo Hopkins played Al Lettieri's partner in THE <span style="font-size: medium;">GETAWAY, and doesn't <span style="font-size: medium;">have</span> a chance to live to regret it. </span></span></span></span></span></span><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;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0w6EKo0GXV7RCc56xD-rRITzKHOMKMIhzsviIO98uUbWEvfmXZmVIN18m3rCFL6HyyN-8HXcjHqlSrrrSRIPpvNcVTm1uow_euJFb3BEZn5s4mmLG53KgK8IJG7ZlyUNkVMWDphcduY/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0w6EKo0GXV7RCc56xD-rRITzKHOMKMIhzsviIO98uUbWEvfmXZmVIN18m3rCFL6HyyN-8HXcjHqlSrrrSRIPpvNcVTm1uow_euJFb3BEZn5s4mmLG53KgK8IJG7ZlyUNkVMWDphcduY/s200/5.jpg" width="165" /></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why He Outta!</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: small;"><b>5) </b><u>STEVE COCHRAN (WHITE HEAT)</u>: Points should be given if you snake the main character's<span style="font-size: medium;"> girl</span>... And what a woman in Virginia Mayo... As you see in this pic, Steve Cochran's handsome and rugged, downright <span style="font-size: medium;">dirty</span> Big Ed literally hold<span style="font-size: medium;">s</span> the Mayo, and not in a very <span style="font-size: medium;">respectful</span> manner...<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nksvsIanOrVVE2GxHysn2JkRtfaML0qhtjZnpRKknNKOAJgc84gPA8qoCspSmfIPNJHi8miEuho3hlPk8Px3A8A0wuf04hrqkgxJJdf4Jjfc7pZqrbTwtM1VEvwLU74fysSxvpQcL-k/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nksvsIanOrVVE2GxHysn2JkRtfaML0qhtjZnpRKknNKOAJgc84gPA8qoCspSmfIPNJHi8miEuho3hlPk8Px3A8A0wuf04hrqkgxJJdf4Jjfc7pZqrbTwtM1VEvwLU74fysSxvpQcL-k/s320/Picture+2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Virginia Mayo in White Heat</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And</span> in his own sneaky fashion,<span style="font-size: medium;"> he's </span>a lover<span style="font-size: medium;">, </span>not a fighter... <span style="font-size: medium;">But he </span>has backstabbing plans to take out James Cagney's<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">hyped-up, resilien<span style="font-size: medium;">t, <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">calculating, cold-blooded and<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">yet </span>sy<span style="font-size: medium;">mpathetic</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size: medium;">criminal Cody Jarrett</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">to</span> take over the gang that <span style="font-size: medium;">Cody</span> returns to after a prison break,<span style="font-size: medium;"> and m<span style="font-size: medium;">ost important,</span> to keep <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the not so sweet </span>Virginia</span> for himself</span></span>... <span style="font-size: medium;">H</span>e even did away with <span style="font-size: medium;">Jarrett's</span> gun moll mother<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">, a</span>lthough not without some prom<span style="font-size: medium;">pting...<span style="font-size: medium;"> Guess Virginia Mayo<span style="font-size: medium;"> should be included on this list <span style="font-size: medium;">right along with him... <i>NOTE: <span style="font-size: medium;">I<span style="font-size: medium;">f you think <span style="font-size: medium;">of <span style="font-size: medium;">characters</span></span> we missed, we missed nothing... This is part one of<span style="font-size: medium;"> many<span style="font-size: medium;">, many posts<span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">co<span style="font-size: medium;">ncerning this</span></span>, so, stay tu<span style="font-size: medium;">ned<span style="font-size: medium;">!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

al lettieri, bo hopkins, crime, gangster, humphrey bogart, james cagney, list, michael madsen, sam peckinpah, steve cochran

WRENCH IN THE GEARS: BAD GUYS IN MOVIES ABOUT BAD GUYS

Al Lettieri double whammy You know a character is bad when not even the bad guys can trust them ... And so, h ere ' s a list of ...

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF SPY

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidA81jLybaiA_s9zEDR0V9lOSyYyHz3bvEx0n1Yiu4un6LFG7va_3sElDlD7NxzrZmAhpD9kScLNtkO0k1J_ZRH95yaN9_4eMk-VdSjV4fvPKxB6-8rk5XXhbLPkVAQSX2jTdAHPylI2o/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidA81jLybaiA_s9zEDR0V9lOSyYyHz3bvEx0n1Yiu4un6LFG7va_3sElDlD7NxzrZmAhpD9kScLNtkO0k1J_ZRH95yaN9_4eMk-VdSjV4fvPKxB6-8rk5XXhbLPkVAQSX2jTdAHPylI2o/s200/Picture+1.png" width="115" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> The string of films that came out after Melissa McCarthy got famous from her feature role in BRIDESMAIDS seemed like, for fans of the energetically rotund comedy actress, they just couldn’t miss. Well, they all kind of did – especially her passion project TAMMY, not even scoring in the box office. And now, Melissa and her BRIDESMAIDS and THE HEAT director Paul Feig have taken a huge risk… and surprisingly enough, this big budget SPY spoof pays off, pretty much…<br /> <br /> With a fairly serious body count, it isn’t all fun and games. A good thing since some of the jokes aren’t that humorous, and can get downright redundant. And taking the usual underdog McCarthy role is Miranda Hart as Nancy: Once Melissa’s basement-dwelling backup CIA agent Susan Cooper travels to Paris to be the real thing, Hart's token sidekick winds up as the forced yet sometimes effective comic relief to McCarthy’s, dare it be said… relatively serious performance.<br /> <br /> With a reluctant partnership with Rose Byrne’s classy villain, and both Jason Statham and Jude Law playing completely different types of Alpha Males, what really works about SPY is the story – one scene leads smoothly to the next in an intriguing, adventurous fashion while the cast seems merely along for the ride.

2015, action, comedy, jason statham, jude law, melissa mccarthy, paul feig, rose byrne, spy

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF SPY

2015 rating: *** The string of films that came out after Melissa McCarthy got famous from her feature role in BRIDESMAIDS seemed like, f...

UNFAIR REVIEW OF ENTOURAGE BY A COMPLETE OUTSIDER

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE2Ff2oNQhd_UpW7igdp-JOI7aPVLcGmV9c7166fYgVGM83k8uqo8WVof6qghMw2izywOrYpqBEuw_xL-5jcYAcMgAV-Vz6lA1BCgLQrp0etOXeaYTlmfpjYe-md5Y3rm0NRqvQtLhfw/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE2Ff2oNQhd_UpW7igdp-JOI7aPVLcGmV9c7166fYgVGM83k8uqo8WVof6qghMw2izywOrYpqBEuw_xL-5jcYAcMgAV-Vz6lA1BCgLQrp0etOXeaYTlmfpjYe-md5Y3rm0NRqvQtLhfw/s320/Picture+1.png" width="212" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *</td></tr> </tbody></table> To judge much less review a movie taken straight from a popular cable television series that you have never seen, or ever wanted to see, is like judging religion or that religion’s followers, or the very God they worship, based on one Easter Sunday sermon you were forced to experience... <br /> <br /> So let’s just say, in the case of the theatrical ENTOURAGE, whoever that show’s fan base are worshipping lacks anything resembling a soul... in this particular venue.  <br /> <br /> First off, the character who is famous and needs to be more famous doesn’t really seem like he’d be more popular than a… guy on a cable series. Not that that’s not enough, nowadays… While we old-timers brag about the classic films of yesteryear, let’s face it, the Millennial generation are growing up with cable shows that equal and can even surpass some of the coolest nostalgic films… But this particular venture just doesn’t work: The four characters seem as one person, and none have anything special to say, really…<br /> <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxrZD4I86f3XU8uBLVBw5yoyZphqjh8Ag0Lp7G9mGdqJm1Ivr521RqyzZIn5VXavTCt2jIHnZ96FLBUjj9yjPOgagIB0AvLZ8u6EPGd-JEHnvEjFo5vsEBJolT-F7xFQvjMfKBygpsBw/s1600/Picture+2.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxrZD4I86f3XU8uBLVBw5yoyZphqjh8Ag0Lp7G9mGdqJm1Ivr521RqyzZIn5VXavTCt2jIHnZ96FLBUjj9yjPOgagIB0AvLZ8u6EPGd-JEHnvEjFo5vsEBJolT-F7xFQvjMfKBygpsBw/s320/Picture+2.png" width="201" /></a>Except maybe the overly obvious comic relief Kevin Dillon as the less attractive brother of the famous heartthrob; a perfect fit since, well, he experienced that while Matt Dillon reigned in the early/middle 80’s… The main difference is Kevin’s a good actor, and his blunt muscle-headed character is pretentious and talentless, and not in that order… Yet he seems more like an imitation of an oblivious loser than the real thing.  <br /> <br /> The guy who seems to be the central force is busy (possibly) knocking up beautiful women, and is about as stressed as someone who catches a flu after winning the lotto, so there’s no one to really sympathize with or relate to. He's not even a cool Draper-like anti-hero. Meanwhile the fourth banana, smitten with a bad ass celebrity, has a D-story that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.  <br /> <br /> If anyone in particular “steals the movie” it’s the same guy that probably stole the show, and Jeremy Piven, as the talent agent turned fledgling studio chief, has always given his all – anyone who hasn’t seen JUDGEMENT NIGHT, should… He brilliantly polishes a turd… <br /> <br /> But even his infectious energy and bullish charm can’t cover this stench, and the four guys he deals with and stresses over don’t seem legitimate or realistic at all: Perhaps it’s the awkward transition into theaters, an incoherent script full of wannabe-PLAYER industry clichés along with a bagful of useless cameos, but if anyone hasn’t seen, or doesn’t know anything about, ENTOURAGE the HBO series, it’s probably best to discover the medium before slipping into the large – 'cause this mess is completely small time. <br /> <br />

2015, jeremy piven

UNFAIR REVIEW OF ENTOURAGE BY A COMPLETE OUTSIDER

2015 rating: * To judge much less review a movie taken straight from a popular cable television series that you have never seen, or ever...

BALLET OF THE MACHETE: 'FRIDAY THE 13TH' STAR ADRIENNE KING

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LbrHYdQhofTH4dG1BaAmCLDUNDeYJTZrsCmFfB85r-odAq-yAv4hXmRHsY5AI8mxdfjx5W8HF_XVPxwehB_aOVKXR7ZxcSyUqH9humX5fLXFha2_uwu6E03XvULaDIH_P-yD5LrwrRY/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LbrHYdQhofTH4dG1BaAmCLDUNDeYJTZrsCmFfB85r-odAq-yAv4hXmRHsY5AI8mxdfjx5W8HF_XVPxwehB_aOVKXR7ZxcSyUqH9humX5fLXFha2_uwu6E03XvULaDIH_P-yD5LrwrRY/s320/Picture+2.png" width="186" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adrienne King Interview</td></tr> </tbody></table> “That’s the moment in the whole movie,” the first FRIDAY THE 13TH sole survivor, Adrienne King, shared in a 2010 Cult Film Freak interview about Betsy Palmer’s classic performance as Jason’s mother, the killer to get the horror franchise rolling. “When she goes from that normal person, standing in the doorway… Right then is when everything in Alice’s, or my demeanor, goes from Thank You God to Oh Shit! And she gave that to me,” Adrienne recalled of Betsy, who passed away on May 29th, 2015. “That was her. That was all total reaction to what she was giving me.”<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjukE6p-zMO5L78ch2v3aidsfN670CR9mEO8hwFUgW1UxrOBwkUV5-Bhk4_c6GZpu4MsJReGtBCULmEpPphUAenJ6s1mIgx_QIEsxJjPqQjWAi-aOkjSBUZvFzUD9og1B-BgWlm1Swib-Y/s1600/Picture+5.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjukE6p-zMO5L78ch2v3aidsfN670CR9mEO8hwFUgW1UxrOBwkUV5-Bhk4_c6GZpu4MsJReGtBCULmEpPphUAenJ6s1mIgx_QIEsxJjPqQjWAi-aOkjSBUZvFzUD9og1B-BgWlm1Swib-Y/s320/Picture+5.png" width="201" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adrienne King & Betsy Palmer</td></tr> </tbody></table> And Betsy Palmer gave horror fanatics all something in that legendary scrap between Adrienne King’s Alice Hardy verses the mother of Jason Voorhees, who is even mentioned during that spooky phone call in SCREAM – an integral moment in pop culture trivia as Betsy, who appeared in many films before and after, was the raging catapult of an immense slasher franchise that spawned a handful of sequels, a remake, and countless imitations. <br /> <br /> And here Adrienne King goes blow by blow on the famous scene with Betsy Palmer in Sean S. Cunningham’s 1980 horror classic, FRIDAY THE 13TH…<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b7s8I_LFpfxH1PR_wLi8QsNQyPJmA3hpah36XsJ90ceTxPhOm4Q17y5VQAOwI5daQHKM9XI23ll8r6plAdlRmoCd4fVFPDYgx7ekbr8HdYyvFKMdFDYLaRTpVWyo3-UaaAfoYjsqUts/s1600/Picture+3.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b7s8I_LFpfxH1PR_wLi8QsNQyPJmA3hpah36XsJ90ceTxPhOm4Q17y5VQAOwI5daQHKM9XI23ll8r6plAdlRmoCd4fVFPDYgx7ekbr8HdYyvFKMdFDYLaRTpVWyo3-UaaAfoYjsqUts/s320/Picture+3.png" width="222" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Go Ahead, Make My Day</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>What did you feel as you prepared for the final scene with Jason’s mother? </b><br /> <br /> That she was going to beat the shit out of me… And that… We knew this going in… Sean wrote down these notes and we basically, it was like… It was choreographed, almost like… I call it “The Ballet of the Machete.” Because we walked through it many, many, many times while it was still getting dark… <br /> <br /> We didn’t get the Fever Pitch going until probably about 2 a.m. when we revved up to those scenes and then… She, once we started shooting… It was just no holding back, and everything you see in there, that face going into the sand – she was pounding me! <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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIOzr1Eui9GcM-NUw__MnDMFWqEFT83EePUodJDo1NkpvxBUmNTvtJeDRK7TnqNZwpvTWSKtbEA6J5uTWORkloHP6PPlReLd1XbLqNyBpCa7odH1RdCWTi3ENUckqisi5nhSIxYCQlRc/s1600/Picture+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIOzr1Eui9GcM-NUw__MnDMFWqEFT83EePUodJDo1NkpvxBUmNTvtJeDRK7TnqNZwpvTWSKtbEA6J5uTWORkloHP6PPlReLd1XbLqNyBpCa7odH1RdCWTi3ENUckqisi5nhSIxYCQlRc/s200/Picture+6.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Move back, Oar Else!</td></tr> </tbody></table> And when that oar broke… That oar broke in half… That was a total, again, without being scripted, it just happened and I saw that, I guess, at that moment, just to go with it… And it worked… It worked really well… <br /> <br /> She was lucky she didn’t get impaled with it, you know… Because that was, basically, even though we had the choreography, again… Sean was all about following his actors with the camera, not the actor’s staging for the camera… <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjk49d0DLoRzH2bbGqTitQY3gF7bAUwkAu3nja_OuEyeTzNWOKKpOsCM6WEAe2GZRFpFlHTIEovTh-YGBUqzZpkHvvsnqJl9xcVUryQHsJHo_tKTLEoW0QaRF7BHuDECvManpOQpcvGyU/s1600/Picture+12.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjk49d0DLoRzH2bbGqTitQY3gF7bAUwkAu3nja_OuEyeTzNWOKKpOsCM6WEAe2GZRFpFlHTIEovTh-YGBUqzZpkHvvsnqJl9xcVUryQHsJHo_tKTLEoW0QaRF7BHuDECvManpOQpcvGyU/s320/Picture+12.png" width="216" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bullied at the Beach</td></tr> </tbody></table> When we got tied-in for the close-up of the beheading, then obviously that’s when Tom Savini stepped in and put the fake head on his shoulders and all that. But, up until then it was going at it for real… And that’s, you know, I don’t think people really do that anymore. <br /> <br /> You know, Betsy, I used to always say… It was like; I compare it to playing tennis with a better player… She was consummate in her craft and she gave me everything she had, and she pulled my game up all the way, you know? <br /> <br /> And we watched it together for the first time… A couple of years ago in Chicago… They had an old… at the old Music Box Theater… They had renovated the beautiful theater in Chicago…<br /> <br /> They had a midnight screening and then, Betsy and I were just blown away... Because we’d never watched it together. And we sat in the back of the theater with a writer friend of ours… And the whole audience was packed and there were still screams, and they still jumped and it was just... It was a cool thing. And Betsy tapped me on the leg, and she said, “Honey, it still holds up.”<br /> <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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-zcdbEaHluVFRheHZR2zGPbB2I3WF_OBNUAmEIZEsIIRZO5QOkAAJsPHjY73Qf8hGy7_IamsE3SzqnGXTP1DEwXdp8ld1xuX05rBS4__hShOdB5C0Owhq5tuP0_whX2NgfEZvbC_OEY/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-zcdbEaHluVFRheHZR2zGPbB2I3WF_OBNUAmEIZEsIIRZO5QOkAAJsPHjY73Qf8hGy7_IamsE3SzqnGXTP1DEwXdp8ld1xuX05rBS4__hShOdB5C0Owhq5tuP0_whX2NgfEZvbC_OEY/s1600/Picture+1.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adrienne King and Betsy Palmer in the original FRIDAY THE 13TH</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

adrienne king, betsy palmer, horror, interview, tribute

BALLET OF THE MACHETE: 'FRIDAY THE 13TH' STAR ADRIENNE KING

Adrienne King Interview “That’s the moment in the whole movie,” the first FRIDAY THE 13TH sole survivor, Adrienne King, shared in a 2010...