CHARLES CHAPLIN ENDS WITH 'A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F3RZSgyZtR4/XdJYRW23i7I/AAAAAAABLIQ/8VCdwou-LoAT9Ap9XFvH2KuNeYRnXLRDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="770" height="323" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F3RZSgyZtR4/XdJYRW23i7I/AAAAAAABLIQ/8VCdwou-LoAT9Ap9XFvH2KuNeYRnXLRDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/1.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sophia Loren plays A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG Year: 1967</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By the late sixties, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando were both iconic performers known for their topnotch skills: The first a physical comic and the latter extremely dramatic... </span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So when Brando tries for comedy in Chaplin's final directorial effort, A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG, it's one of the most dramatically awkward performances ever... by anyone. But it's mostly Chaplin's fault. Having once told Orson Welles that he needn't move the camera using creative angles because his antics made up for it, he should have realized that wasn't the case with Brando and/or Sophia Loren; the latter our titular stowaway on a ship holding the multi-millionaire oilman "captive" in his room while on the verge of gaining importance in politics, or something... </span><br>

angela scoular, charles chaplin, geraldine chaplin, marlon brando, romantic comedy, sixties, sophia loren, sydney chaplin, tippi hendren

CHARLES CHAPLIN ENDS WITH 'A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG'

Sophia Loren plays A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG Year: 1967 By the late sixties, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando were both iconic performe...

YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS REVIEW OF POWER RANGERS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1hAoJA_LXk/WOSLVwyyR2I/AAAAAAAAxWw/w-u9Xdi0YxEYzofENnRSn_SKeqQ3zHEzACLcB/s1600/landscape_ustv-power-rangers-original-cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1hAoJA_LXk/WOSLVwyyR2I/AAAAAAAAxWw/w-u9Xdi0YxEYzofENnRSn_SKeqQ3zHEzACLcB/s400/landscape_ustv-power-rangers-original-cast.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Rangers hanging at David Letterman's old Late Nite set YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not long ago, once-successful director John Landis's currently working son, Max, wrote CHRONICLE, centering on a group of underdog teenagers gaining superpowers, and one difference between that movie and this one is: these kids <i>really want</i> to be superheroes in order to save the world: </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But for the mere fact of <i>not</i> using the Paranormal Activity/Blair Witch method of kids videotaping everything that the audience experiences, POWER RANGERS, like Michael Bay's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, attempts to turn an extraordinarily dated and embarrassingly campy TV show into brooding, reluctant, ragged heroes liken to the MARVEL franchise; although RANGERS is a lot more like DC given the amount of time for the characters to finally admit — in this case, despite being told over a dozen times by Bryan Cranston's giant "big brother" face in a million-year-old spaceship — that they are in fact very <i>special</i> kids...</span><br>

2016, action, based on TV, bryan cranston, kids, science-fiction

YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS REVIEW OF POWER RANGERS

The Rangers hanging at David Letterman's old Late Nite set YEAR: 2017 Not long ago, once-successful director John Landis's curre...

TOM CRUISE ONCE AGAIN AS JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK

<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hKhVYLZGuK4/WVQbiUuKbUI/AAAAAAAAyGk/ti8fouOzR5YBInL32tHkEaVbvs9rPpYsACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-28%2Bat%2B2.07.44%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="525" height="231" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hKhVYLZGuK4/WVQbiUuKbUI/AAAAAAAAyGk/ti8fouOzR5YBInL32tHkEaVbvs9rPpYsACLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-28%2Bat%2B2.07.44%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>It's a family affair this time for JACK REACHER Year: 2016</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There's a sequel titled SON OF KONG so why not DAUGHTER OF REACHER? Well for the most part, it's not a foregone conclusion he's really the father. Either way, a tagalong kid (or teen) doesn't usually belong in an espionage/action flick...</span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Although in the original there was a troubled girl but this time it's closer, and personal. The first thing the icy asskicker has <i>really</i> cared about. He's the kind of (ex-Army) rogue hero bordering on anti-hero who knows the score before each maneuver. So there was a touch of slowburn Neo-Noir in the first picture, and now, one of that genre's major plot-lines is the core: Jack's a "Wrong Man," accused of, as the story goes on, several deaths along the path where he's already been...</span><br>

2016, action, cobie smulders, espionage, military, sequel, suspense, tom cruise, wrong man

TOM CRUISE ONCE AGAIN AS JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK

It's a family affair this time for JACK REACHER Year: 2016 There's a sequel titled SON OF KONG so why not DAUGHTER OF REACHER? W...

KEANU REEVES BACK BLASTING IN JOHN WICK CHAPTER 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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2OSugFIxW9g/WVMwvQwKypI/AAAAAAAAyEg/N0JJZe4iItUXiFaFMeIpL45Hh-Db4AZBwCLcBGAs/s1600/share.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1127" height="177" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2OSugFIxW9g/WVMwvQwKypI/AAAAAAAAyEg/N0JJZe4iItUXiFaFMeIpL45Hh-Db4AZBwCLcBGAs/s320/share.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Keanu finds himself in a brand new franchise YEAR: 2016</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm not that guy anymore...</span></blockquote> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A line uttered by JOHN WICK, again played by Keanu Reeves, in the new venture: Yet you'd think this kind of morose surrender would come after three or four movies, having gotten to know "that guy" a lot better. And this sequel is referred to as CHAPTER 2, which makes sense since the original action-packed sleeper was very basic and satisfying i.e. more like a chapter than a book...</span><br>

2016, genre tarantino, keanu reeves

KEANU REEVES BACK BLASTING IN JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2

Keanu finds himself in a brand new franchise YEAR: 2016 I'm not that guy anymore... A line uttered by JOHN WICK, again played by K...

ROB ZOMBIE WRITES & DIRECTS THE BLOODFEST OF 31

<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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z7kwoI89vUo/WVDJFkGhFbI/AAAAAAAAyDk/7uWyeSfKklIqDXqatkfO4AJYQ88jaI8DQCLcBGAs/s1600/31-Movie-Poster-1000x515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="918" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z7kwoI89vUo/WVDJFkGhFbI/AAAAAAAAyDk/7uWyeSfKklIqDXqatkfO4AJYQ88jaI8DQCLcBGAs/s400/31-Movie-Poster-1000x515.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>1970's Homage Style Poster Art for 31 Year: 2016</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Rob Zombie's "31" is one of those horror movies that's terrifying for the fictional characters and not one bit scary to the audience... </span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Seeming like a twisted version of THE RUNNING MAN (originally derived from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME), five people have to survive a tortuous hunting underground hosted by Malcolm McDowell and two old ladies, dressed in wigged European aristocrat costumes, letting the would-be victims know how much time is left, and which antagonist is next up to bat: All bearing names with Head at the end, such as Sick-Head and Doom-Head, they resemble Heath Ledger's Joker combined with Rob's usual Killer Clown motif with a dash of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE demented redneck.</span><br>

2016, body count, horror, lawrence hilton-jacobs, malcolm mcdowell, rob zombie

ROB ZOMBIE WRITES & DIRECTS THE BLOODFEST OF 31

1970's Homage Style Poster Art for 31 Year: 2016 Rob Zombie's "31" is one of those horror movies that's terrifying...

PRODIGAL WARREN BEATTY RETURNS IN RULES DON'T APPLY

<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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iADhdEde7PY/WU8AR2xtM5I/AAAAAAAAyCk/2bRTEbiXttM7QBDKcRNx7GOxXcy2wgtWgCLcBGAs/s1600/la-et-afi-fest-rules-don-t-apply-red-carpet-20161111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iADhdEde7PY/WU8AR2xtM5I/AAAAAAAAyCk/2bRTEbiXttM7QBDKcRNx7GOxXcy2wgtWgCLcBGAs/s400/la-et-afi-fest-rules-don-t-apply-red-carpet-20161111.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Belated Review of 2016's Rules Don't Apply</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">RULES DON'T APPLY stars and is directed by Warren Beatty, who left Hollywood over ten years ago after his comedy disaster TOWN & COUNTRY was chopped on the editing block, not by the studio but the man himself: guilty for his own massive failure... </span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So this is a return for not only Beatty the filmmaker but the actor, whose subtle touch is usually effective yet rarely extraordinary, although he doesn't sell himself as the lead herein: </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Upon first glance, it seems like the film's starlet, Lily Collins as Maria, is a very, very young small town girl up for a part in a Howard Hughes picture... Beatty's Hughes speaks in a purposeful monotone since the real life billionaire's well-known insanity gives any actor a sky's-the-limit opportunity to chew the scenery. In that, he plays it strange yet extremely grounded, and by the time it's realized that Collins is slightly older than she initially appeared, a creepy scene occurs, ruining what had been building up in an effectively mysterious fashion: simply put, it seems that Warren, the famous womanizer, now married and old, gave himself a chance for a love scene with a schoolgirl that a dirty old man could conjure up in his fantasies: liken to an aging action star who'd cast a younger badass to fight, and defeat, so goes the short-lived March/December romance for the aging, mummified Playboy...</span><br>

2016, alden ehrenreich, bio, lily collins, warren beatty

PRODIGAL WARREN BEATTY RETURNS IN RULES DON'T APPLY

Belated Review of 2016's Rules Don't Apply RULES DON'T APPLY stars and is directed by Warren Beatty, who left Hollywood over...

CAGNEY WINDS DOWN WITH NEVER STEAL ANYTHING SMALL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-67u0cpIWY/WEj2LEvx-DI/AAAAAAAAvb4/0wqMTmJHMlAG6iCWK-lCnlCH61j7ihYywCLcB/s1600/15284144_237247110037806_7619244260823720972_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-67u0cpIWY/WEj2LEvx-DI/AAAAAAAAvb4/0wqMTmJHMlAG6iCWK-lCnlCH61j7ihYywCLcB/s400/15284144_237247110037806_7619244260823720972_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Cagney behind blinds in a semi Musical from 1959</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During his last decade of acting before what was really his retirement from show business (despite popping his head out twenty years later), James Cagney never did have that necessary pinnacle or comeback like, say, a fledgling Marlon Brando when director Francis Ford Coppola insisted that he try out for... you know...</span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this case, Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick's favorite actor's filmography during the Fifties is eclectic and, for the most part, at times, pretty mediocre... That's compared to the likes of PUBLIC ENEMY, THE ROARING TWENTIES or WHITE HEAT: And here's one of several breezy breaks for the man who once reigned with vengeance: </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">NEVER STEAL ANYTHING SMALL is a semi-musical about Union corruption, and if that sounds strange, only the little man could pull it off with an edgy vibe, somewhat: Like in one of his other (and far superior) 1950's vehicles, LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, he's in love with a young blonde girl who loves someone else </span>—<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> all while trying to steal an election...</span><br>

comedy, fifties, james cagney, mob, musical, shirley jones

CAGNEY WINDS DOWN WITH NEVER STEAL ANYTHING SMALL

James Cagney behind blinds in a semi Musical from 1959 During his last decade of acting before what was really his retirement from show ...

JOHN HURT & RICHARD BURTON IN GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asTOXqw80xg/WUdjL2ikJaI/AAAAAAAAyCE/i3XS-DgLP3cRXfNGpytHaayVUOZrpGeJwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-18%2Bat%2B10.36.50%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="590" height="292" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asTOXqw80xg/WUdjL2ikJaI/AAAAAAAAyCE/i3XS-DgLP3cRXfNGpytHaayVUOZrpGeJwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-18%2Bat%2B10.36.50%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Hurt very belated Memorial from 1984 YEAR: 1984</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Having grown up part of the original STAR WARS generation, it's impossible to <i>not</i> connect that story with even the most popular of classic futuristic novels that, in this case, proceeded the science-fiction phenom by decades. The question is: Would The Dark Side consider themselves The Dark Side? In their minds, they're right, not wrong... Right? Pure Light, not the absence of light...</span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the 1984 version of the George Orwell adaptation of 1984, despite being purposefully overboard to capture the essence of symbolism, it's difficult to find anything lucrative about this particular totalitarian government in which most of the people are forcefully, methodically content: The dilapidated streets resemble bombarded post-War Germany, and on giant movie screens is the image of a man that looks like Adolf Hitler, somewhat, and there's no turning off the repetitious propaganda ranging from battle front updates to how much chocolate will cost "next week." Meanwhile, the people confess their "sins" to the leader and to "Big Brother," especially those who have read a book by a man named Goldstein (no, he doesn't play basketball at Carver High): his philosophy attempts to delete this horrendous future with no value whatsoever. Hell, there's not even a cool red lightsaber.</span><br>

adaptation, eighties, john hurt, richard burton, science-fiction

JOHN HURT & RICHARD BURTON IN GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984

John Hurt very belated Memorial from 1984 YEAR: 1984 Having grown up part of the original STAR WARS generation, it's impossible to n...

UNWRAPPING THE TOM CRUISE MUMMY REBOOT REMAKE

<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l-K2wV3g3yk/WUHDBpJzi9I/AAAAAAAAyA0/Yz9z8I1tLjMtKVBcVjrVHrsSc4z51AFzgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5345-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="899" height="242" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l-K2wV3g3yk/WUHDBpJzi9I/AAAAAAAAyA0/Yz9z8I1tLjMtKVBcVjrVHrsSc4z51AFzgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_5345-1.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Tom Cruise Mummy has hardly a bandage at all YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Failing to point out similarities that new movies share with old ones is like ignoring a familiar face who says hello... After bumping right into you...</span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So it's important to mention that <i>The Tom Cruise MUMMY</i> is, in its core, almost exactly like AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, arguably the greatest werewolf picture ever and, directed by John Landis, centers on two doomed vacationing hikers: one gets killed by an initial attack, the other injured: The latter has ominous, foreboding dreams while his not-very-pleasant-looking dead friend appears randomly, offering </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">spooky yet cordial reminders that he, the living, must <i>also</i> die to lift The Curse... </span><br>

2017, action, fantasy, new, reboot, science-fiction, tom cruise

UNWRAPPING THE TOM CRUISE MUMMY REBOOT REMAKE

The Tom Cruise Mummy has hardly a bandage at all YEAR: 2017 Failing to point out similarities that new movies share with old ones is lik...

MARVEL GROUNDS THE TRULY BIZARRE OF DOCTOR STRANGE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQkHzKQ0ia4/WT7gB_NITBI/AAAAAAAAyAM/bWBaI3fUkVAqtYROZquIsqOJyILA_znzgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-12%2Bat%2B11.35.26%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="461" height="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQkHzKQ0ia4/WT7gB_NITBI/AAAAAAAAyAM/bWBaI3fUkVAqtYROZquIsqOJyILA_znzgCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-12%2Bat%2B11.35.26%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dragon image in one of many Strange posters YEAR: 2016</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How a comic book adaption like this could be so... well... <i>strange</i> and still make enough sense... at least while you're watching.... is nothing short of miraculous. Or maybe we want it to be clear enough to remain on track this multi-level, cerebral rollercoaster...</span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4c7sxM4ccek/WT8D8-ZjT-I/AAAAAAAAyAc/H_7XCw4gcUggKk1C3DsvpEEsiGBbuf-YwCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-12%2Bat%2B2.11.34%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="134" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4c7sxM4ccek/WT8D8-ZjT-I/AAAAAAAAyAc/H_7XCw4gcUggKk1C3DsvpEEsiGBbuf-YwCLcB/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-12%2Bat%2B2.11.34%2BPM.jpg" width="117"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nuther Filler Pic</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title character with a dash of Robert Downey Jr. style sarcasm. Perhaps any superhero, before taking on a Marvel lead, crams for the <i>Tony Stark 101</i> test since wry, glib humor helps ground a bizarre, otherworldly situation...</span></span><br> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before Downey, Bill Murray did it in GHOSTBUSTERS. Jeff Goldblum in JURASSIC PARK. And many films beforehand allowing the audience to not only laugh during intense moments, but to take random breaks from the pandemonium (basically, the main star becomes his own sidekick). </span></span><br> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And in the case of DOCTOR STRANGE, Cumberbatch <i>does</i> have a style all his own. An intellectual countenance makes for a realistically brilliant surgeon who thinks too highly of himself </span>—<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> with a reason, sort of. The only doctor who can pull off nearly inconceivable  operations, his life is as perfect as his sleek, expensive car. That's until listening Pink Floyd's INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE (early Syd Barrett era instrumental) and crashing down a mountainside, which is too quick and seems forced to get our man to the point where the origin story needs boundless desperation to ignite...</span></span><br>

2016, action, benedict cumberbatch, comic book, fantasy, marvel, science-fiction

MARVEL GROUNDS THE TRULY BIZARRE OF DOCTOR STRANGE

Dragon image in one of many Strange posters YEAR: 2016 How a comic book adaption like this could be so... well... strange and still mak...

FINAL HUGH JACKMAN WOLVERINE GOES BY JUST PLAIN LOGAN

<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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0tjWH_ltLx4/WTkSfQlzzqI/AAAAAAAAx-k/gDhAnEwHj3wSo6E_3u5KMMccMKoQ046GQCLcB/s1600/tindall_logan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="700" height="271" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0tjWH_ltLx4/WTkSfQlzzqI/AAAAAAAAx-k/gDhAnEwHj3wSo6E_3u5KMMccMKoQ046GQCLcB/s400/tindall_logan.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Neat Walking Dead Style LOGAN poster YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Somewhere online, the third and final WOLVERINE is said to have been influenced by films ranging from SHANE... playing on a motel TV... to PAPER MOON: One involving a hired gun protecting farmers and the other a father and daughter traveling across country: But what LOGAN really seems like is an X-MEN reboot of NEBRASKA: an dark comedy where a put-upon son takes his aging, ailing father across Middle America...<br> <br> Whatever the connections, deliberate or otherwise, LOGAN seems to be critic-proof, and has gained over 8.0 on IMDb. And while the first venture, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, was an entertaining Neo-Noir adventure and the followup, THE WOLVERINE, rolled like a Japanese Graphic Novel brought to life with washed-out colors, tons of action and what seemed to be an intentionally simplistic plot-line, LOGAN is an extremely vague Road Movie that, like the last couple X-MEN entries, introduces another young mutant (to carry on): Logan's daughter, a rescued "orphan" with a one-note expression — born to kill — and starting out with the grungy, non-dialect scowl of Newt from ALIENS that, once the levee breaks, you'll pray for a muzzle (almost as annoying as her rambling caretaker "mother"... who thankfully doesn't last long). Actually, the kid's alright, and not an overly-trained child actor type, but she simply takes away from what Logan could have done alone and with a lot more suspense.<br>

2017, action, comic, franchise, hugh jackman, marvel, new, patrick stewart, road movie

FINAL HUGH JACKMAN WOLVERINE GOES BY JUST PLAIN LOGAN

Neat Walking Dead Style LOGAN poster YEAR: 2017 Somewhere online, the third and final WOLVERINE is said to have been influenced by films...

END OF THE WEEKEND REVIEW OF 'WONDER WOMAN'

<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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6aXUOIlXx9s/WTS8VRL_x9I/AAAAAAAAx6s/A41sbWmt6oMPLKDFzl6cEUj0RLMnuN6nwCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-04%2Bat%2B7.03.07%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="744" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6aXUOIlXx9s/WTS8VRL_x9I/AAAAAAAAx6s/A41sbWmt6oMPLKDFzl6cEUj0RLMnuN6nwCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-04%2Bat%2B7.03.07%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Wonder Woman Gal Gadot posing in front of a Weezer logo YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">First things first, and not to be shallow... although both male and female will readily admit that Gal Gadot is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women ever filmed... </span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Which makes perfect sense in the WONDER WOMAN origin story because — she's no ordinary dame. Even living on an island with a race of Amazon beauties, who spend their long days practice-fighting in a slow-motion MATRIX style fashion, she stands out <i>and</i> alone — the only vixen with powers far beyond her kind. <i>Superpowers</i>, indeed...</span><br>

2017, chris pine, comic book, gal gadot, new

END OF THE WEEKEND REVIEW OF 'WONDER WOMAN'

Wonder Woman Gal Gadot posing in front of a Weezer logo YEAR: 2017 First things first, and not to be shallow... although both male and f...

RIDLEY SCOTT SUSTAINS PROMETHEUS WITH ALIEN: COVENANT

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I6cw6xH_a-k/WTIlMG9G1dI/AAAAAAAAx58/agovpYEH_AQnMxara2_qtu93nIoRDm89ACLcB/s1600/alien--covenant-japanese-poster-432576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="488" height="343" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I6cw6xH_a-k/WTIlMG9G1dI/AAAAAAAAx58/agovpYEH_AQnMxara2_qtu93nIoRDm89ACLcB/s400/alien--covenant-japanese-poster-432576.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>More Spoilers Than Usual Since it's Been Out A While YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While Ash, the humanoid robot from the original ALIEN, was so obsessed with the "perfect" species, i.e. The Alien, he let it inside the ship, director Ridley Scott has the same adoration for Michael Fassbender, as the new Synthetic, that it's a wonder anyone else is even around...</span><br> <br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We <i>do</i> learn in COVENANT that Fassbender's David had spent a decade on the planet he and the last sole surviving heroine blasted off to at the end of PROMETHEUS... And what began in 1979 as a body-count horror flick in outer space ("Where no one can hear you scream") has basically turned into a science-fiction version of Frankenstein — and boy, does he have a Monster: But first it takes a spaceship with a crew stupid enough to land there. Enter the new cast of human targets in this rushed sequel of an initially surreptitious prequel that makes the flawed PROMETHEUS seem like the original ALIEN (or James Cameron's action-packed sequel, ALIENS) by comparison.</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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DU2S4LD_-1M/WTIlfiUbitI/AAAAAAAAx6A/H7P9I0851ZYozwcFtoYjEUr2OEmlX5LggCLcB/s1600/51S20FeAcML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="389" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DU2S4LD_-1M/WTIlfiUbitI/AAAAAAAAx6A/H7P9I0851ZYozwcFtoYjEUr2OEmlX5LggCLcB/s400/51S20FeAcML.jpg" width="343"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>CovenantScore: *1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Taking over the Sigourney Weaver "Ripley" mantle is a whiny, weepy Katherine Waterston as Daniels, who's more like Veronica Cartwright's frantic Lambert: the uptight lady who never stopped screeching... And how director Ridley Scott managed to make the otherwise beautiful Waterston look plain and homely is one of many problems here... </span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Other than a cocky cowboy played by Danny McBride (the new Yaphet Kotto blue collar type), the entire crew is downright forgettable and, during sporadic, violent action scenes, aren't worthy enough to care about. While the original ALIEN chief in Tom Skerritt's Dallas provided the PSCYHO Janet Leigh role — seeming like the main character before his surprisingly quick death leaves the crew in an unplanned disarray — Billy Crudup's second-man turned captain, replacing an unlucky guy we never meet but through an archived video, is so inept, pathetic and cowardly he should have feathers. Although, for the record, his banality <i>is </i>needed to explain why they'd wind up on that uncertain, unfamiliar planet in the first place.</span><br>

action, danny mcbride, horror, katherine waterston, michael fassbender, new, ridley scott, science-fiction, suspense

RIDLEY SCOTT SUSTAINS PROMETHEUS WITH ALIEN: COVENANT

More Spoilers Than Usual Since it's Been Out A While YEAR: 2017 While Ash, the humanoid robot from the original ALIEN, was so obsess...

THE L WORD MEME: JENNY, TIM, MAX & THE GERMAN SHEPARD

<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3HBXPSw-148/WxIQv87zgHI/AAAAAAAA2ZE/v-DKomNeKogvnx2naimgMx9L7SD7dvq-QCLcBGAs/s1600/I0g6cxO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="788" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3HBXPSw-148/WxIQv87zgHI/AAAAAAAA2ZE/v-DKomNeKogvnx2naimgMx9L7SD7dvq-QCLcBGAs/s1600/I0g6cxO.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The L Word German Shepard Jenny German Shepard Tim Eric Mabius  The L Word L Word Meme German Shepard The L Word</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The funniest line on THE L WORD is when Tim, played by WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE stud Eric Mabius, whose wife, Jenny... a pretentiously brilliant Mia Kirshner... left him for the life of Lesbianism...<br /> <br /> When Tim returns for one episode two seasons after his departure, and sees that Jenny's dating a transgender-in-transition tomgirl named Max, formerly Moira (Daniela Sea)... after trying not to laugh-out-loud outside after Jenny puts him on the spot, he cracks a smile, walks to his car, followed by new wife Becky (Georgia Craig), and says:<br /> <br /> "Becky, the next time we see Jenny, she might be with a German Shepard." Let's repeat that: "Becky, the next time we see Jenny, she might be with a German Shepard." And again: "Becky, the next time we see Jenny, she might be with a German Shepard... Just brace yourself." It simply never gets old, so here, above, is the first meme in the history of Cult Film Freak. It says: "Becky, the next time we see Jenny, she might be with a German Shepard."

cable, eric mabius, meme, TV

THE L WORD MEME: JENNY, TIM, MAX & THE GERMAN SHEPARD

The L Word German Shepard Jenny German Shepard Tim Eric Mabius  The L Word L Word Meme German Shepard The L Word The funniest line on TH...