SEAN CONNERY LEADS PETER HYAM'S SCI-FI THRILLER 'OUTLAND'

<p></p><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/AVvXsEhTvRhG4IvVt2VIthUQHw8Diq0oZQDK0YPykskeRlEIcQRhooM9tOfhCufnkRKFtMGpZVIyEbWJeYxMwWUGUJccUl-LgVLKH50oj0Bd-Zoui8ihBmf4iiNCHpOmzBQr6bueGOVFEzAmk_-8-JHs5dOg46fu64JJDWHA84KF9hRDOU3HAkomLBeXGoiWBvNn/s1898/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-05%20at%204.06.40%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="1898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvRhG4IvVt2VIthUQHw8Diq0oZQDK0YPykskeRlEIcQRhooM9tOfhCufnkRKFtMGpZVIyEbWJeYxMwWUGUJccUl-LgVLKH50oj0Bd-Zoui8ihBmf4iiNCHpOmzBQr6bueGOVFEzAmk_-8-JHs5dOg46fu64JJDWHA84KF9hRDOU3HAkomLBeXGoiWBvNn/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-05%20at%204.06.40%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: OUTLAND Year: 1981 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Known as a science-fiction version of HIGH NOON, Peter Hyam's OUTLAND... bringing the CAPRICORN ONE director from conspiracy-contrived outer-space into the real thing... is more like the galactic working-class origins of ALIEN, looking straight from the same universe with claustrophobic corridors and steely space-station interiors where a matte-painted planet... in this case Jupiter's moon Ion... looms formidably outside...<br><br>Where you could imagine disgruntled ALIEN union-types Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton working... as random likewise miners are mysteriously/violently dying like in a body-count horror flick: either by an unknown head-exploding factor or apparent suicides having to do with possible stir-craziness within the crowded off-white bunkhouse interiors, or the raunchy and pulsating, proto-BLADE RUNNER neon nightclubs...</p><p><span></span></p>

drugs, eighties, frances sternhagen, james b. sikking, john ratzenberger, peter boyle, science-fiction, sean connery, steven berkoff, thriller

SEAN CONNERY LEADS PETER HYAM'S SCI-FI THRILLER 'OUTLAND'

Title: OUTLAND Year: 1981 Rating: ***1/2 Known as a science-fiction version of HIGH NOON, Peter Hyam's OUTLAND... bringing the CAPRICORN...

GENE HACKMAN WITH ROY SCHEIDER IN 'THE FRENCH CONNECTION'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEiKMb7AxHMg6bciaQsv7VhcKHCZSGVY0vxgip4ot8YOtcsvXptxL4WOvt0nuKwWqjgoSokHRbiE4LLoLMO4o4yhzchUOkeoaf0GRq65ckobuXlsVSV2PiXUi8RjvzBVczAyQiIcVs01NR-K2aTJSXItR9C8knL1s9Sgly1_oK2DYWVfxBbD1bpdcf8SgFBK/s1624/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-03%20at%203.23.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="1624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMb7AxHMg6bciaQsv7VhcKHCZSGVY0vxgip4ot8YOtcsvXptxL4WOvt0nuKwWqjgoSokHRbiE4LLoLMO4o4yhzchUOkeoaf0GRq65ckobuXlsVSV2PiXUi8RjvzBVczAyQiIcVs01NR-K2aTJSXItR9C8knL1s9Sgly1_oK2DYWVfxBbD1bpdcf8SgFBK/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-03%20at%203.23.54%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE FRENCH CONNECTION Shown: Gene Hackman, Marcel Bozzuffi Year: 1971 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After becoming a legendary yet sometimes difficult actor, Gene Hackman would put vulnerable young directors through the ringer, ranging from two of his best known films, HOSSIERS and THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS... and years earlier, the Oscar-winning blockbuster that turned him from a recurring co-star into a bonafide movie star, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, was not much different...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Except that William Friedkin didn't bend to Hackman's initial reluctance to fully<i> </i>embrace the sordid, uncompromising nature of New York City cop Popeye Doyle within the pallid purgatory aesthetic... ironically encroached by classy and sophisticated French drug-smuggler Fernando Rey aka "Frog One" (with deadly henchman Marcel Bozzuffi)... </p><span></span>

alan weeks, arlene farber, bill hickman, cop, drugs, eddie egan, exploitation, fernado rey, frédéric de pasquale, gene hackman, patrick mcdermott, roy scheider, william friedkin

GENE HACKMAN WITH ROY SCHEIDER IN 'THE FRENCH CONNECTION'

Title: THE FRENCH CONNECTION Shown: Gene Hackman, Marcel Bozzuffi Year: 1971 Rating: ****1/2 After becoming a legendary yet sometimes diffic...

GENE HACKMAN RETURNING FOR 'THE FRENCH CONNECTON II'

<p> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEiTw8c1vhHV36_v2zP7lbef6uscchCk6jZIAxEcbRdBby_jf-Ra-0HJHJexFtqemS41eH_MCIiIN5TEXzCauVuGCQzJnzEUjTwtTSBzl5HxVIsL87x-q40IfFw238q_qaLDmkgBJzdrcCW_JtCnj_9IJJToi0021p_vVm7sFZW42hbFUjBfjFneE8c4LU2F/s1312/1-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTw8c1vhHV36_v2zP7lbef6uscchCk6jZIAxEcbRdBby_jf-Ra-0HJHJexFtqemS41eH_MCIiIN5TEXzCauVuGCQzJnzEUjTwtTSBzl5HxVIsL87x-q40IfFw238q_qaLDmkgBJzdrcCW_JtCnj_9IJJToi0021p_vVm7sFZW42hbFUjBfjFneE8c4LU2F/s16000/1-1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gene Hackman in THE FRENCH CONNECTION II Year: 1975 Rating: ***</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There's a kind of guilty pleasure watching a thinned-down Gene Hackman as New York's favorite tough cop Popeye Doyle being force-fed heroin in a Euro-slum, and then kicking it cold turkey whilst squirming, vomiting, and eventually screaming about Mickey Mantle... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>We begin in France and this time remain there. Unlike his New York stomping grounds, Doyle can't get a decent whiskey buzz, this time gets beat up by a black guy, finds it impossible interrogating perps, and is without partner/anchor Roy Scheider, who, that same year, was busy hunting a Great White Shark for Steven Speilberg...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, bernard fresson, cop, drugs, ed lauter, exploitation, fernando rey, gene hackman, john frankenheimer, sequel, seventies

GENE HACKMAN RETURNING FOR 'THE FRENCH CONNECTON II'

Gene Hackman in THE FRENCH CONNECTION II Year: 1975 Rating: *** There's a kind of guilty pleasure watching a thinned-down Gene Hackman ...

AL PACINO AND KITTY WINN WEATHER 'THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEg8hAmoJjOF-7rc_UvaikfjSoaNVvO6w2Wj0cpr80aXtu2aPUYftsJNzzeQBcEUXcO3gv5HSJS-At7dUoLNbqkQprr0UVIMmk_IQkHE_lsl_hV9P7L7iT0A2kVtULYpJ5OP9IAML-kFsu2m35KXVejLUQ1cZp1akwsZeiyG6mxsqAcVlP8EV627E1oMlAIU/s2230/Screen%20Shot%202025-02-24%20at%2011.42.09%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hAmoJjOF-7rc_UvaikfjSoaNVvO6w2Wj0cpr80aXtu2aPUYftsJNzzeQBcEUXcO3gv5HSJS-At7dUoLNbqkQprr0UVIMmk_IQkHE_lsl_hV9P7L7iT0A2kVtULYpJ5OP9IAML-kFsu2m35KXVejLUQ1cZp1akwsZeiyG6mxsqAcVlP8EV627E1oMlAIU/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-02-24%20at%2011.42.09%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Al Pacino in THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK Year: 1971 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are four minutes left of independent director Jerry Schatzberg's heroin-addict expose THE PANIC AT NEEDLE PARK when Al Pacino does the kind of screaming tantrum that would become legendary...<br><br>Yet before he was the gruff-voiced screamer, Pacino had a nasally, higher-pitched tone... and his Bobby seems like the cooler, girl-getting brother of Dustin Hoffman's Ratso Rizzo from <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/06/git-along-little-doggie.html">MIDNIGHT COWBOY</a> (same cinematographer), which would have a similar opposites-pairing vibe in Schatzberg's subsequent indie SCARECROW starring Gene Hackman and Pacino: right after becoming famous thanks to this movie's kickstart that convinced THE GODFATHER auteur Francis Ford Coppola to gamble on the comparably normal-looking, pint-sized, scruffy-haired, method acting no-name... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

al pacino, counter-culture, drugs, jerry schatzberg, joe santos, kitty winn, larry marshall, raul julia, rutanya alda, seventies, warren finnerty

AL PACINO AND KITTY WINN WEATHER 'THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK'

Al Pacino in THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK Year: 1971 Rating: **** There are four minutes left of independent director Jerry Schatzberg's her...

DON SIEGEL'S NOIR-THRILLER 'THE LINEUP' STARRING ELI WALLACH

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" 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/AVvXsEi6UBG4paAhvU9p6uHYJRUdnS7ZnxBUflZXGEfjVgNFt6X7j44pxaYjpr5paoQ4xJgfGaU0c58Pz_6CBjQ0jjRr4eYxqmjFBqSyOHrv4SEe1VvjHG09lfMhNrw4GJsD-y8F4HwWlJhznvSluTXtKKIeOTTVb-ekIcAIkwecyDuQpRyKeo8aO18i7A09XPQI/s400/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UBG4paAhvU9p6uHYJRUdnS7ZnxBUflZXGEfjVgNFt6X7j44pxaYjpr5paoQ4xJgfGaU0c58Pz_6CBjQ0jjRr4eYxqmjFBqSyOHrv4SEe1VvjHG09lfMhNrw4GJsD-y8F4HwWlJhznvSluTXtKKIeOTTVb-ekIcAIkwecyDuQpRyKeo8aO18i7A09XPQI/s320/1.jpeg" width="294"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1958 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Brazen and bizarre crime flick beginning with a police investigation of what turns out being heroin smuggled through antiques from a cruise ship before focusing on the criminals who collect the stuff: the first fifteen minutes a police procedural based on the television series its named after, also known as SAN FRANCISCO BEAT, which was a Bay Area DRAGNET from the early part of the sparse Eisenhower decade, in which this edgy theatrical adaptation came out in the hipper/jazzier crest of...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Eli Wallach, as the crazy, insecure yet sometimes charming lead thug named Dancer, shipped in from Florida with a tan intact, follows subtle "orders" and educationally-inclined etiquette lessons from elder partner Robert Keith... </p><p>Making for a unique and twisted partnership that could be called MY FAIR SOCIOPATH: both (along with "dipso" getaway driver Richard Jaeckel) going from the various oblivious "mules" to either take the hidden heroin, or their lives. Often both...</p><p>And director Don Siegel keeps the suspense on par with the snappy Noir dialog, and there's even some homoerotic stuff thrown in, way, way ahead of its time... THE LINEUP exceeds the very limited series it's loosely derived (there's even a Lineup scene in the beginning to attempt retrofitting the title). Thank Don for that... who fought to make this LINEUP his own way: where the peripheral cops are but a Greek Chorus for the central killers. </p><p><span></span></p>

action, body count, crime, don siegel, drugs, eli wallach, fifties, film noir or melodrama, mary laroche, richard jaekal, robert keith, TV adaptation, william leslie

DON SIEGEL'S NOIR-THRILLER 'THE LINEUP' STARRING ELI WALLACH

Year: 1958 Rating: ****1/2 Brazen and bizarre crime flick beginning with a police investigation of what turns out being heroin smuggled thro...

VICTOR MATURE AND TREVOR HOWARD BATTLE IN 'PICKUP ALLEY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEgy33Rr1Ww_apBeyTbSElQCojWQrDdRSEHxpOPdw6wfZJiXNrz3wL4aPtPqLCX1DHQaoY78iMaQ-tMIhHqmUdEmGPsQnn3XuVw6mAr3LDWyGkDoYwwHCy4cfcph7u7SJFHJF53wu4jxZDpLRYx7fxFv0bhpAg6xlVokiuzOzFIrn5KOv2SPna3MhbCEQ4Ki/s1858/369792540_1791421271287041_2486943400021753132_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy33Rr1Ww_apBeyTbSElQCojWQrDdRSEHxpOPdw6wfZJiXNrz3wL4aPtPqLCX1DHQaoY78iMaQ-tMIhHqmUdEmGPsQnn3XuVw6mAr3LDWyGkDoYwwHCy4cfcph7u7SJFHJF53wu4jxZDpLRYx7fxFv0bhpAg6xlVokiuzOzFIrn5KOv2SPna3MhbCEQ4Ki/s16000/369792540_1791421271287041_2486943400021753132_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster art for Pickup Alley Year: 1957 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sometimes those late 1950's anti-drug, jazz-soaked neo noirs feature shaky method actors mimicking shaky legend James Dean, and for a reason... they're coming off heroin... and preachy melodrama ensues. But this British import starring American actor Victor Mature only begins that way... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>What everything narrows down to is Mature, a U.S. drug enforcement agent, going after classy drug-smuggling kingpin Trevor Howard, himself after an eventual load of heroin in a port among various countries, from England to Greece to France, yet this was all filmed in Italy while making terrific use of their iconic Roman ruins...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, alec mango, anita ekberg, bonar colleano, brian wilde, british film noir, drugs, fifties, film noir or melodrama, jazz score, john gilling, maurice browning, trevor howard, victor mature

VICTOR MATURE AND TREVOR HOWARD BATTLE IN 'PICKUP ALLEY'

Poster art for Pickup Alley Year: 1957 Rating: **** Sometimes those late 1950's anti-drug, jazz-soaked neo noirs feature shaky method ac...

CONNIE STEVENS & WILLIAM SMITH CONNECTING FOR 'SCORCHY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEg96DS_VE4J7Vf_IP44nDWRWCUZdcDZxrTUW6JQlBKID5sd0R8f4YNDJvcIrPuRfJ38gMRHGTY2UcIWII33N3VuLrS0Vs_JjoXhTriQ9bmPH9CejUJZwz9vnsKC6DOwK9iGlv5ZnCg3wOeg5IS3BcziTXxeHgacYoFRsIdgirLWf2Vj2GckFHeHBVM85tny/s1360/newer.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96DS_VE4J7Vf_IP44nDWRWCUZdcDZxrTUW6JQlBKID5sd0R8f4YNDJvcIrPuRfJ38gMRHGTY2UcIWII33N3VuLrS0Vs_JjoXhTriQ9bmPH9CejUJZwz9vnsKC6DOwK9iGlv5ZnCg3wOeg5IS3BcziTXxeHgacYoFRsIdgirLWf2Vj2GckFHeHBVM85tny/s16000/newer.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Connie Stevens in SCORCHY Year: 1976 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cult exploitation SCORCHY is actually a b-movie revamp of THE FRENCH CONNECTION about undercover cops hiding in plain sight while both outwardly and secretly trailing a rich, handsome, sophisticated gangster planning a massive heroin deal from overseas, backed by a deadly henchman... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The latter played by ever-menacing William Smith, part of a central chase scene against our female Gene Hackman in Connie Stevens, initially watching from a taxi as he escapes by tram-car above until he nabs a dirt-bike, providing Connie's SCORCHY a reason to steal a dune buggy with keys conveniently inside... and what a chase it is, going from city streets to upper and lower construction site outskirts... even more entertaining than its Oscar-winning muse...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, caesar danova, connie stevens, cop, crime, drugs, exploitation, hit-man, john davis chandler, seventies, smuggling, william smith

CONNIE STEVENS & WILLIAM SMITH CONNECTING FOR 'SCORCHY'

Connie Stevens in SCORCHY Year: 1976 Rating: **** The cult exploitation SCORCHY is actually a b-movie revamp of THE FRENCH CONNECTION about ...

DEBORAH WINTERS & ELI WALLACH IN 'THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEgP-MBgNs3ZYuupawDz-K8CmqTm3WO2YQUOQTPCLMX5OOc9oFooglNf8eqe04jZ7z_pWZdL3cYEDnQAHBI9jAamGUaEUKbo3wKVH0d3dKhjv-ODSy5cZz5Kfna5zJDcwMVeF6Fb99t0roFQ8idGQoN03NEZ1PG92Id261ZUsfIqC0hteenO8XhY1DwaiQ/s1398/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-MBgNs3ZYuupawDz-K8CmqTm3WO2YQUOQTPCLMX5OOc9oFooglNf8eqe04jZ7z_pWZdL3cYEDnQAHBI9jAamGUaEUKbo3wKVH0d3dKhjv-ODSy5cZz5Kfna5zJDcwMVeF6Fb99t0roFQ8idGQoN03NEZ1PG92Id261ZUsfIqC0hteenO8XhY1DwaiQ/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR Year: 1970 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>David Greene's obscure THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR is out to prove that a parent, in particular a father working eight-hours and then having a nightcap and sleeping pill to fall asleep, is just the same as a wayward teenager dropping acid...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The latter happens quickly as underrated starlet <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/deborah%20winters">Deborah Winters</a>, after watching brother Stephen McHattie's hippie band rehearsing, winds up in her own closet, seeing God on a mountain and thus, freaking out... </p><p><span></span></p>

counter-culture, david greene, deborah winters, drama, drugs, eli wallach, exploitation, family, julie harris, melodrama, seventies, stephen mchattie

DEBORAH WINTERS & ELI WALLACH IN 'THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR'

Title: THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR Year: 1970 Rating: ***1/2 David Greene's obscure THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR is out to prove that a parent, in part...

TIMOTHY DALTON SEEKS REVENGE WITHOUT HIS 'LICENSE TO KILL'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEh-fCLmLklAyqoN9AvLjeUqxJ8P2DAN6iDhv8W6kWM1VUl1zEhsoBtBptwIpJ0ERKdTXweh_nSAkKQI95u7vyG4ZO7alHdaSEXQ2cvCUq-mwe6DGQJjFdRbVpPfdR4LjvVCtovma2m-2WNjOCp1mTGW9novGTLDv8rcrxkWToqg9WQCkcW_B6R8VZy2NQ/s1456/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%202.33.04%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fCLmLklAyqoN9AvLjeUqxJ8P2DAN6iDhv8W6kWM1VUl1zEhsoBtBptwIpJ0ERKdTXweh_nSAkKQI95u7vyG4ZO7alHdaSEXQ2cvCUq-mwe6DGQJjFdRbVpPfdR4LjvVCtovma2m-2WNjOCp1mTGW9novGTLDv8rcrxkWToqg9WQCkcW_B6R8VZy2NQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-12%20at%202.33.04%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Timothy Dalton in LICENSE TO KILL Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A gritty and severe revenge plot makes Timothy Dalton's second of two James Bond vehicles, LICENSE TO KILL, a kind of standalone with built-in irony from the title since, after Roger Moore-era Felix Leiter is mangled and his new wife killed, the vengeful Bond's deadly License is taken away...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Because the charming spy from The Queen's Secret Service is making more like an American Action Movie Hero under a balmy, drug-dealing, hidden-coke-packaging MIAMI VICE influence... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, anthony zerbe, christopher neame, drugs, eighties, everette mcgill, franchise, james bond, revenge, robert davi, robert stroud, spy, timothy dalton

TIMOTHY DALTON SEEKS REVENGE WITHOUT HIS 'LICENSE TO KILL'

Timothy Dalton in LICENSE TO KILL Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2 A gritty and severe revenge plot makes Timothy Dalton's second of two James ...

CHARLES BRONSON AVENGING DANA BARRON IN 'DEATH WISH IV'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEiOpz0XVw6_BpJRswnNLjDWTFZfz0pIEBeCqIFk5GCF3vMingo8riAghsfPsWJ7OMcDABDeVf34RyXp7_GulYO2M4NWELDAc11gYtPuaLmz92qRGJ1o9Ftx2xE4JcgN_FuNj7UOHAhwDgje3slVA5XDAzck0pZ44j3yIw8L9YxoyR7kNvKDTY7CvuPf5w/s1682/AVvXsEguVVktMHBrfFXFez7l9HNl1KDW14GL_Xn0TsKWNZpyGZspTGZEhndqf52AzUq_NLel79LZDsV6aEa4aDVwbrEVVXU4ufe_J2prts1M1xhndIhTaM6ggpL1hwbtU4lOSu5YAtKB2EJGOnuVETHTw3EVjltFtHdwp_TDa3imtTMmIGcY88W75KUXpIhkvg=s16000.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpz0XVw6_BpJRswnNLjDWTFZfz0pIEBeCqIFk5GCF3vMingo8riAghsfPsWJ7OMcDABDeVf34RyXp7_GulYO2M4NWELDAc11gYtPuaLmz92qRGJ1o9Ftx2xE4JcgN_FuNj7UOHAhwDgje3slVA5XDAzck0pZ44j3yIw8L9YxoyR7kNvKDTY7CvuPf5w/s16000/AVvXsEguVVktMHBrfFXFez7l9HNl1KDW14GL_Xn0TsKWNZpyGZspTGZEhndqf52AzUq_NLel79LZDsV6aEa4aDVwbrEVVXU4ufe_J2prts1M1xhndIhTaM6ggpL1hwbtU4lOSu5YAtKB2EJGOnuVETHTw3EVjltFtHdwp_TDa3imtTMmIGcY88W75KUXpIhkvg=s16000.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1987 cast: Charles Bronson, Kay Lenz, Dana Barron, John P. Ryan rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It makes perfect bloody sense that <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/charles%20bronson">Charles Bronson’s</a> iconic vigilante Paul Kersey, who works as an architect by day and takes care of <i>business</i> by night, would become a bonafide hit man: After three entire films he’s gotten so good at killing criminals, he's hired by a mysterious "millionaire" (John P. Ryan) to infiltrate a rival gang by any means possible...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>For those new to the DEATH WISH franchise, Kersey’s wife was murdered in the first movie, his daughter raped – then in part two his daughter's killed and now (after protecting an entire slum building in the third) he’s up against the mafia after girlfriend Kay Lenz's teenage daughter overdoses...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, body count, cannon, charles bronson, crime, dana barron, death wish, drugs, eighties, franchise, j. lee thompson, john p. ryan, kay lenz, mob, perry lopez, revenge, sequel

CHARLES BRONSON AVENGING DANA BARRON IN 'DEATH WISH IV'

year: 1987 cast: Charles Bronson, Kay Lenz, Dana Barron, John P. Ryan rating: ***1/2 It makes perfect bloody sense that Charles Bronson’s i...

QUICK REVIEW & YAPHET KOTTO REFLECTION OF 'BLUE COLLAR'

<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/AVvXsEgxVVTpzZPrz1-cr8um7NmJTRQuBUucWJqChXsWD75S1Dro07mqXYr5Klxlz--hRO3MF9LkcrqglUfJQT-ACYgUodFHZpBb3OLmGmszsyJ5s52aBZnutI6uXxko20TZ8TCSVFlq_H_jbi-zLv2c5r6Edd3nvXP-w9ycmofnHARKiwAy6FZMOGOxZJmg0w/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202020-06-04%20at%2010.23.22%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVVTpzZPrz1-cr8um7NmJTRQuBUucWJqChXsWD75S1Dro07mqXYr5Klxlz--hRO3MF9LkcrqglUfJQT-ACYgUodFHZpBb3OLmGmszsyJ5s52aBZnutI6uXxko20TZ8TCSVFlq_H_jbi-zLv2c5r6Edd3nvXP-w9ycmofnHARKiwAy6FZMOGOxZJmg0w/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202020-06-04%20at%2010.23.22%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Yaphet Kotto with Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel in Paul Schrader's BLUE COLLAR Year: 1978 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table>"The whole thing," shares iconic black actor Yaphet Kotto of BLUE COLLAR, "had become one improvisation after another... But if my memory serves me correct, director Paul Schrader told me, Harvey Keitel and Richard Pryor to improvise because he said we were 'Director Proof' actors and to 'improvise when you feel it’s necessary'; yet when we did as directed, I’m told he was annoyed — but he was lucky to have had us: The movie is a classic."<br> <br> And after writing Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER, it's Paul Schrader's directorial debut: An underrated gem caught between the end of blaxploitation and the beginning of the end for the drug culture during the gloriously gritty 1970's: also the "Renaissance Period" of directors having complete control — and yet <i>the lack of</i> control is what really works...<br>

caper, cliff deyoung, dark comedy, drama, drugs, ed begley jr., harry bellaver, harry northup, harvey keitel, heist, interview, paul schrader, richard pryor, seventies, union, yaphet kotto

QUICK REVIEW & YAPHET KOTTO REFLECTION OF 'BLUE COLLAR'

Yaphet Kotto with Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel in Paul Schrader's BLUE COLLAR Year: 1978 Rating: **** "The whole thing," s...

MIMSY FARMER 'HOT RODS TO HELL' TO 'RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP'

<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/AVvXsEhvzqy5AY5bbjYeNIfdXAVzRLBz5Zw-3qhzhh06qLa4c_JO1qu8DoLUoQFKz3K0rufTQJNOToNkdvvsMOlmR4eVkwCHAevgot2oAQC3b6n0sGS80XY68tXE2U1QvPnd72jnQCnPfUK64vt8/s1600/2.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="890" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzqy5AY5bbjYeNIfdXAVzRLBz5Zw-3qhzhh06qLa4c_JO1qu8DoLUoQFKz3K0rufTQJNOToNkdvvsMOlmR4eVkwCHAevgot2oAQC3b6n0sGS80XY68tXE2U1QvPnd72jnQCnPfUK64vt8/s400/2.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>from Hot Rods from Hell review of Riot on Sunset Strip both 1967</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In HOT RODS FROM HELL, the headliners are Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain as two marrieds with a small boy and a teenage girl who get harassed by young punks in a speedster, and the daughter's played by brunette actress Laurie Mock while the bad girl holding onto the roll-bar is blonde cult starlet Mimsy Farmer...<br> <br> The same year, 1967, in RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP, Farmer is the good girl, and like Laurie Mock has a veteran actor as a dad (Andrews), Farmer has Aldo Ray. But let's not forget Gene Kirkwood, the future ROCKY producer who was Mimsy Farmer's third-wheel buddy in HOT RODS and is Laurie Mock's pal in RIOT. Basically, the teenage girls are in reverse. Add to that Mickey Rooney's son, Tim, rounding out the rebellious teens while in HOT RODS, Mickey Rooney Jr.'s band plays in the third act...<br>

aldo ray, counter-culture, drama, drive-in, drug culture, drugs, exploitation, gene kirkwood, laurie mock, melodrama, mimsy farmer, music, pat renella, sixties

MIMSY FARMER 'HOT RODS TO HELL' TO 'RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP'

from Hot Rods from Hell review of Riot on Sunset Strip both 1967 In HOT RODS FROM HELL, the headliners are Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain...

CLINT EASTWOOD STARRING IN 'THE MULE' W/ BRADLEY COOPER

<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/AVvXsEgnCyJGNS9ff2UtGF4BjvNJk7qW7Eyml3ANTvUmPAoapovfM61HV0zMqYSf5GlpTcOTWZ6LoQoXRaFi8l-F616KE1kbKtJW9TruI5qLzeM_nzZRoE7anv3ZRqIYqjkPBrhvkAYYuDoJ7jje/s1600/Mule-2.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="599" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCyJGNS9ff2UtGF4BjvNJk7qW7Eyml3ANTvUmPAoapovfM61HV0zMqYSf5GlpTcOTWZ6LoQoXRaFi8l-F616KE1kbKtJW9TruI5qLzeM_nzZRoE7anv3ZRqIYqjkPBrhvkAYYuDoJ7jje/s400/Mule-2.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release and Capture: 2018</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Actor/director Clint Eastwood, using very little action and suspense for a supposed crime thriller, is otherwise fun to watch as a 90-year-old makeshift and initially oblivious drug runner both underrated and untouchable like when, in one scene, a traffic cop with a sniffer dog appears out of nowhere, and another while crossing paths with Clint's AMERICAN SNIPER star, Bradley Cooper...<br> <br> But Cooper's mellow DEA agent... puzzled by this mystery driver's successful operation... could have been played by anyone... Same with his partner, ANT-MAN comic relief Michael Pena... Both led by Laurence Fishburne as their passive chief, sitting around within a quiet, practically vacant office building. Everything's so breezy in this lawmen's b-story, not much really matters. But the cops <i>are</i> a necessary distraction from Earl's annoying and cliché, semi-estranged, constantly whining family similar to (the far superior) GRAN TORINO, only without a house to inherit, or muscle car...<br>

2018, bradley cooper, clint eastwood, crime, drama, drugs, laurence fishburne, michael peña, new

CLINT EASTWOOD STARRING IN 'THE MULE' W/ BRADLEY COOPER

Year of Release and Capture: 2018 Actor/director Clint Eastwood, using very little action and suspense for a supposed crime thriller, is...

VANESSA FERLITO ENHANCES QT'S EXPLOITATION 'DEATH PROOF'

<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/AVvXsEgMXHXcfU5uKD0YaydRAz7aoyqt69WU4zNmEDur4X0Ze-wf9ma8MXeSQKphXTcjc7xnyFguSgEpK7KZplfY-ma3hQt-lgRLdWA2-KMP_ZcC670CgQPuJmzRpnbTtAIOs5ED2Yw76_SGizhV/s1600/Screen%25252BShot%25252B2018-11-28%25252Bat%25252B6.42.21%25252BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXHXcfU5uKD0YaydRAz7aoyqt69WU4zNmEDur4X0Ze-wf9ma8MXeSQKphXTcjc7xnyFguSgEpK7KZplfY-ma3hQt-lgRLdWA2-KMP_ZcC670CgQPuJmzRpnbTtAIOs5ED2Yw76_SGizhV/s1600/Screen%25252BShot%25252B2018-11-28%25252Bat%25252B6.42.21%25252BPM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Foreboding perspective of Tarantino's DEATH PROOF Year: 2005</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Like there are two movies in GRINDHOUSE, there are also two in the second feature, written, directed and photographed by Quentin Tarantino titled DEATH PROOF: story one is eerie, torturous, dark, bizarre, perverse, shoddy and dodgy-looking while the second <i>looks</i> far more professionally filmed but is overall, unbearably awful... <br> <br> The device of DEATH PROOF and Robert Rodriquez's co-feature, PLANET TERROR, are an abundance of deliberate aesthetic flaws: a tribute to b-movies that played so many times in low-rent "grindhouse" theaters, they wound up tarnished and with entire reels missing. In the two-parts of DEATH PROOF it's one man, Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike, who connects each...<br>

action, body count, cult, drive-in, drugs, exploitation, hangout, killer car, marley shelton, quentin tarantino, rosario dawson, rose mcgowen, sydney poitier, thriller, vanessa ferlito, zeroes, zoë bell

VANESSA FERLITO ENHANCES QT'S EXPLOITATION 'DEATH PROOF'

Foreboding perspective of Tarantino's DEATH PROOF Year: 2005 Like there are two movies in GRINDHOUSE, there are also two in the seco...

JUXTAPOSED CINEMA PHOTOBREAK: NEEDLE IN THE GRADUATE

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEj3dXFIySKIR8FEPqxxI_jpdUKKR39sNEYpUU6ddLfHV62cGWVjmXMnBV7I-cUT2pkx9qQ6T4GmyCQbuSVrnSXFUoS9pwUR_nWZMv7FZ9m3sh6X5ZI50J-rpeiDv8VLMFvCBkfO3LCqpYQ/s1600/ThePanicInNeedlePark_BD_HighRes__73942.1463624074.1280.1280.png" 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/AVvXsEj3dXFIySKIR8FEPqxxI_jpdUKKR39sNEYpUU6ddLfHV62cGWVjmXMnBV7I-cUT2pkx9qQ6T4GmyCQbuSVrnSXFUoS9pwUR_nWZMv7FZ9m3sh6X5ZI50J-rpeiDv8VLMFvCBkfO3LCqpYQ/s400/ThePanicInNeedlePark_BD_HighRes__73942.1463624074.1280.1280.png" width="316"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Twilight Time Blu Ray</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> A little of what we call a PHOTOBREAK from the routine of reviews, interviews and essays, here are two pictures, below this writeup, one from the famous cult film, THE GRADUATE, the other from the not so famous but pretty well known, in more obscure cult circles, THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK...<br> <br> Both have several things in common. For starters, two short, swarthy, energetic and iconic character-actors who quickly became leading men got their start with each project: DUSTIN HOFFMAN as THE GRADUATE, who, at the very end, sitting in the back of a bus after winning over his woman the hard way by, with the help of Paul Simon's acoustic guitar, driving across California to crash a wedding and... well, you know the scene. Meanwhile, the end of PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK is far more ambiguous and, being about two junkies as opposed to high class college students, downright depressing... But not really. Because no matter what Kitty Winn did to make Al Pacino angry – which shouldn't be spoiled here or in the upcoming review – was surely something pretty low... But like Dustin and Katharine, both are heading towards an unseen, unknown future and yet, these futures are obviously shared by each couple, together, for better (GRADUATE) or <i>most likely</i> worse (PARK). And last and certainly not least, both couples wind up staring off in opposite directions, right at the last moment, and yet are completely connected... This must have been homage by NEEDLE director Jerry Schatzberg to Mike Nichols' iconic GRADUATE ending or else just a wonderful coincidence. Either way, there it is!<br>

al pacino, counter-culture, drugs, kitty winn, photobreak, raul julia, richard bright, seventies

JUXTAPOSED CINEMA PHOTOBREAK: NEEDLE IN THE GRADUATE

Twilight Time Blu Ray A little of what we call a PHOTOBREAK from the routine of reviews, interviews and essays, here are two pictu...

MICHAEL DOUGLAS & MATT DAMON GO 'BEHIND THE CANDELABRA'

<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/AVvXsEjlV86w0T4aSSbRLTXx_1i11PPjRpMotVSu2fYKHCaC_ZgZH4MwAo7LfUovwbPwa3jEF8Z4ELTjCw8WSR6lSFs7HhBR-OVtMX8lxfzB1PAM-udvhUCzKtYgf0RU8hYdTY3xWnXIi3VQ08T3/s1600/1.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="616" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlV86w0T4aSSbRLTXx_1i11PPjRpMotVSu2fYKHCaC_ZgZH4MwAo7LfUovwbPwa3jEF8Z4ELTjCw8WSR6lSFs7HhBR-OVtMX8lxfzB1PAM-udvhUCzKtYgf0RU8hYdTY3xWnXIi3VQ08T3/s400/1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in Behind The Candelabra 2013</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> At one point, Michael Douglas, after enough time channeling the ultra-effeminate, Las Vegas piano playing virtuoso, Liberace, gets a surge of Alpha Male via Gordon Gekko from WALL STREET when Matt Damon, as the glittery star's boyfriend for around five years, Scott Thorson, defends himself in a Charlie Sheen/Bud Fox put-upon whine when their relationship is compared to a classic sit-com...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrfDJ2Z0Dnpd3EVK3YXDyMoHNKi3VmDSDnWl11j7pqi8YjhYMCwykF9333fddh3biXxcpxUcE9qfhgPdkWb0DIk4_nzvWiO_f5mholbGENvhXigQYjHrUGvuByftTuPlwUlgk185a0TIw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+6.48.38+PM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrfDJ2Z0Dnpd3EVK3YXDyMoHNKi3VmDSDnWl11j7pqi8YjhYMCwykF9333fddh3biXxcpxUcE9qfhgPdkWb0DIk4_nzvWiO_f5mholbGENvhXigQYjHrUGvuByftTuPlwUlgk185a0TIw/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+6.48.38+PM.jpeg" width="135" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Caught in Lib's Web</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> "Why am I the 'Lucy'?" Scott complains. "Because," says Douglas's Liberace with blunt finality, "I've got the Nightclub Act!" And Michael doesn't hold back in Steven Soderbergh's HBO original BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, centering on Liberace just as he's nearing has-been status: but only outside the perpetual gleam of Las Vegas, where he reigns with enough glitter and gold to make Fort Knox blush... <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEj0vigtHS2IeGiIvBbq4Cr9fMTnjMp_gQ0JfCgaea5s5fTmW7XpOS4RHc2y0ZPdPBoIG-YBRVZoD58xtvzycDJyKx9HVHGxBWJDeQfk61vmmp147DjstNMfFHw9_oqtIfu8RB3oYdv4hZNj/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+7.11.59+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="1370" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vigtHS2IeGiIvBbq4Cr9fMTnjMp_gQ0JfCgaea5s5fTmW7XpOS4RHc2y0ZPdPBoIG-YBRVZoD58xtvzycDJyKx9HVHGxBWJDeQfk61vmmp147DjstNMfFHw9_oqtIfu8RB3oYdv4hZNj/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+7.11.59+PM.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dan Aykroyd's Seymour Heller's ongoing damage control</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> With a stubborn and blunt Jewish agent Seymour Heller (Dan Aykroyd resembling Andy Kaufman's bogus lounge singer Tony Clifton) making him the hardest-working act in Sin City, we're able to experience not only what's BEHIND all the sparkle, but random performances on stage to make our centerpiece seem talented enough to base a movie on... Which of course he was, but as an actor persuading a movie or TV audience, imitating a musician (one of the best in the world) isn't always easy, or realistic... And according to both Thorson and Liberace's buddy (Scott Bakula playing a sort of White Rabbit character that doesn't mean much beyond introducing the couple), Mr. Entertainment's audience supposedly had no idea he was a homosexual, and, well, let's be honest here: most people <i>must have</i> known, deep down, but just didn't dwell on it: enjoying his immense talent in a sort of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Care" before "coming out" meant (and still means) more than having the talent to make it matter in the first place: gay first, celebrity second seems to be the new politically-correct standard, but at one time, from the likes of Montgomery Clift to Paul Lynde, talent meant everything.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEgS71smQu2eXppHBnDkd6BLO_wARzRsSiLFxrUbWgDHMuv1hyphenhyphene5RMjV3K8Z1V_lyVKds5bdknTymPn8brisoCa4dl61_Rp8smZZBffPPeFwO9jlSU7p9dGyviER6ediA4EROkigLFJqFTcY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+6.43.02+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="453" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS71smQu2eXppHBnDkd6BLO_wARzRsSiLFxrUbWgDHMuv1hyphenhyphene5RMjV3K8Z1V_lyVKds5bdknTymPn8brisoCa4dl61_Rp8smZZBffPPeFwO9jlSU7p9dGyviER6ediA4EROkigLFJqFTcY/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+6.43.02+PM.jpeg" width="140" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Soakin' in Libbie's Lair</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Beyond his big secret, Liberace's life was a non-stop work ethic that, according to him, didn't derive from his mother, played by an accented Debbie Reynolds in a tour de force fashion... and taking this reviewer a few seconds to realize it's her... or his long dead, deadbeat musician father... But his source was from God Himself... A proud Catholic! <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/AVvXsEhw_Xs57HzQFu7nSqQIW0CAFmYjIrjanpInaC6wA6WjmIM83R7rVsCqt1eqCYhL75BVdzzxPtgPs4WupuR2AGnaDx0cEH1ogZFdgjk72X_86ID7_1R2Eg4v7UZaUC8VenTtFU-WwEW1a7x6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-28+at+6.24.47+PM.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/AVvXsEhw_Xs57HzQFu7nSqQIW0CAFmYjIrjanpInaC6wA6WjmIM83R7rVsCqt1eqCYhL75BVdzzxPtgPs4WupuR2AGnaDx0cEH1ogZFdgjk72X_86ID7_1R2Eg4v7UZaUC8VenTtFU-WwEW1a7x6/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-28+at+6.24.47+PM.png" width="301" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Debbie Reynolds vanishes in the role as Lee's mother</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> And perhaps even a Republican as, in one extremely ironic scene, as the outspoken liberal Damon is seen in the foreground, we see and hear Liberace complaining about how Jane Fonda and Ed Asner put politics above being entertainers... And there's a fine line with what Liberace was hiding from the press to what he was open about in the presence of hired help within the multi-million dollar mansion, and was no stranger to secret spots around Vegas where gay sex wasn't being practiced in the safest manner. Yet most of the film occurs during the pre-AIDS era, following the loose disco decade and rolling into the "Conservative 1980's" (which, with the number of raunchy sex comedies, and tons of movies and music videos against President Reagan, it really wasn't... at least not the media) wherein a licorice curving font, beginning in 1977, displays sporadic years, and 1985 flashes on the screen right after a magazine ad about a dying Rock Hudson is shown...<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/AVvXsEjtbOyv6fY0wZmU_5KhOUCpxwKNNZq_uOjArSVPIlspHkeomg-B8JGqlwyBbpHRLtrvdjjdplJlMRVOszTZxzqXANw3_qIgAp8gsM_KhJ55NylYF85SUeqn7T8z6325JRM0tGCBouXMrDk9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+6.36.00+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1369" data-original-width="749" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbOyv6fY0wZmU_5KhOUCpxwKNNZq_uOjArSVPIlspHkeomg-B8JGqlwyBbpHRLtrvdjjdplJlMRVOszTZxzqXANw3_qIgAp8gsM_KhJ55NylYF85SUeqn7T8z6325JRM0tGCBouXMrDk9/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+6.36.00+PM.jpeg" width="217" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Damon's glam rockstar look</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> At this point, after the media-blitzed breakup, it's pretty much a downhill Disease of the Week that does, in fact, resemble a TV movie (let's call it an After-College Special)... despite cable being the new cinema nowadays... Thus the most risque scenes occur right before their love story becomes truly bizarre and morbid... Liberace passively ordering Thorson to go under the knife to surgically resemble his, Liberace's, younger self, which is the epitome of fact being stranger than fiction. Although, Damon still looks pretty much the same: like Matt Damon. But some of the best use of computerized-cleansing occurs in the beginning, as the still semi lucrative box-office actor is made to look even younger than when his fame ignited in GOOD WILL HUNTING...<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/AVvXsEiOtTFzqQaTBq7NP1f-mul5CObofQ9-LPMUykhye79N5jqmxRNcTg3DCUDqXScKFlWrnVkauTtiylRm5adiUBv9AW07Xh8FAM6lB3uoRTXtI9WQ4RWaeT5otTuXvxe2QQbIUEyC2O_SUTI/s1600/4.jpg" 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/AVvXsEiOtTFzqQaTBq7NP1f-mul5CObofQ9-LPMUykhye79N5jqmxRNcTg3DCUDqXScKFlWrnVkauTtiylRm5adiUBv9AW07Xh8FAM6lB3uoRTXtI9WQ4RWaeT5otTuXvxe2QQbIUEyC2O_SUTI/s320/4.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The bad doctor</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Eventually, Scott turns into a boy-toy primadonna, and it's fun seeing Liberace's futzy partners and/or young stud "assistants" being literally shoved out the door (with a check handed to them by Aykroyd's Heller)... And so, when Scott eventually realizes he could be next on the list, that Disease melodrama becomes a sort of mundane Anti-Drug programmer... yet more realistic and intense than most. In one scene, Thorson and Nicky Katt's coke/speed dealing Mr. Y are sitting around, moaning to themselves while rocking back and forth: which is actually what intense "tweeking" really looks like...<br /> <br /> Although originally, Thorson didn't need a secret source when scene-stealing Rob Lowe, playing plastic surgeon Dr. Jack Startz (resembling a cross between Michael Jackson and something out of THE DARK CRYSTAL... which is what Jackson resembled as well), follows Liberace's orders to not only alter the aging kid's mug, but to make him skinny again with an endless prescription of speed pills leading to Thorson's eventual drug-riddled downfall, which is probably why he wrote the book that inspired this movie in the first place: he didn't get much of a payoff since, during the 1980's, exposing a beloved cash cow (especially in Vegas) wasn't the wisest choice. Plus he had to admit that Liberace wasn't only his lover, but an adopted father. Strange days indeed!<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/AVvXsEjkdQXezCkBk7_tpGRooWZALnRVsKAoyUJ36UJHn8baK3XSSLu2u-ZJoi2PfeCyMJmdgGK_fiCcfNg-Dn5HdX0aD_-aAWRShElwZbkoK1FhV2rlIJwLyLLAAgpHSc4O1gfkv5qOE_VMRfbU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+7.06.33+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="1222" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdQXezCkBk7_tpGRooWZALnRVsKAoyUJ36UJHn8baK3XSSLu2u-ZJoi2PfeCyMJmdgGK_fiCcfNg-Dn5HdX0aD_-aAWRShElwZbkoK1FhV2rlIJwLyLLAAgpHSc4O1gfkv5qOE_VMRfbU/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-12-16+at+7.06.33+PM.jpeg" width="357" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Scott gets a Rolls Royce for Christmas BTC RATES: ****</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Thorson's denial of his own sexuality is as intriguing as Liberace's stubborn drive to remain not only straight in the eyes of his die-hard old-time fans, but to keep any rumor out of the papers, ultimately Thorson's ace in the hole that, like everything else, unfolds...<br /> <br /> And with a BOOGIE NIGHTS vibe propelling two straight actors not exactly taking a risk in a politically-correct era, but truly stretching beyond their usual mainstream characteristics, on cable providing more than a glimpse into where motion pictures won't go...<br /> <br /> The only really noticeable, distracting downside is that, at times, this BEHIND <i>feels</i> a bit too much like Thorson's own one-sided propaganda piece. For example, on their first "date" as he's looking bashful and shocked, reluctant, vulnerable and apprehensive sitting in Liberace's hot tub (did he really not know what would happen next after bathing naked with the Gayest man on Earth?). For the most part, Thorson's portrayed as an oblivious babe-in-the-woods under the predatory eyes of the famous pianist, who becomes somewhat infamous here, at times bordering on DADDY DEAREST... and he's interesting too. Or is that Douglas's doing? Sometimes it's tough to tell good from bad, right from wrong, real from fake, what or who's going or has already gone too far. And yet, CANDELABRA is a ultra-entertaining biopic either way. Let's the viewer be the judge, but not without the jury being swayed. 

2013, biopic, cable, dan aykroyd, drugs, matt damon, melodrama, michael douglas, music, scott bakula

MICHAEL DOUGLAS & MATT DAMON GO 'BEHIND THE CANDELABRA'

Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in Behind The Candelabra 2013 At one point, Michael Douglas, after enough time channeling the ultra-effem...

REVIEW OF SICARIO

<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/AVvXsEi-dVSNO5AWM5Qc1EUpseZx3d5JhzCAxxEZIlGjzU5fPu-kCQnJ-3aC-OFQUM5x72XYYyYaDLRzBdlHgdsGHKtED2jYC2ft98RBQpxTveIaUI-sJkcuhOSukpj-clQtdbP5lw_69OyYJi0/s1600/sicaro.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/AVvXsEi-dVSNO5AWM5Qc1EUpseZx3d5JhzCAxxEZIlGjzU5fPu-kCQnJ-3aC-OFQUM5x72XYYyYaDLRzBdlHgdsGHKtED2jYC2ft98RBQpxTveIaUI-sJkcuhOSukpj-clQtdbP5lw_69OyYJi0/s200/sicaro.png" width="143" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015</td></tr> </tbody></table> Like any film centering on the "truth" being covered up during an undercover operation having to do with the usually crooked and nefarious American government, SICARIO, which means, basically, Hitman, could have gone a lot of ways, and we've seen this kind of vehicle many times before, again and again, usually with the same template and turnout...<br /> <br /> But here the sole perspective remains on one solitary character tightly enough to where Emily Blunt's FBI agent Kate Macer doesn't know a thing about what's going on after being hired to help two agents... a dry Josh Brolin as Matt Graver and a mysterious Benicio Del Toro as some kind of freelance rogue named Alejandro... take down the Mexican drug cartel. Blunt's Kate is merely along for the ride, and there are plenty of blind spots wherein most of the suspense occurs.<br /> <br /> The script is lean and tight while the direction is both intense and fitfully, surprisingly underwhelming since everything is perfectly clear with an exception of our in-the-dark ingenue, who never gets preachy or overly-idealistic upon figuring things out. And that's when SICARIO morphs from a slowburn Neo Noir political thriller into modern Spaghetti Western territory that, by the end, is more of a mesmerizing visual experience than a motion picture – finally worth paying for.<br /> <br /> RATING: ****

2015, benicio del toro, drugs, emily blunt, FBI, josh brolin, thriller

REVIEW OF SICARIO

year: 2015 Like any film centering on the "truth" being covered up during an undercover operation having to do with the usuall...

BRADLEY COOPER & ROBERT DENIRO IN THE PILL THRILLER 'LIMITLESS'

<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/AVvXsEj_Q0DKZ5PNqT1CEMZTe5ymlWG8JeEDyz5KPzxy-5d994BIPWghFI8TAq1qoYn5jlSPr9iqCk3AWAINhPxK-HP5zjKq8uraBS5TKnI814ldBAo21j2dMOzSOpuUMjClIEFmw5P4VM911qLtCSi4VcN56kCqwcYSXOAPIdUQ7h1wfJr1dXGnF8MOoBEAycBf/s1644/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.22.47%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1644" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Q0DKZ5PNqT1CEMZTe5ymlWG8JeEDyz5KPzxy-5d994BIPWghFI8TAq1qoYn5jlSPr9iqCk3AWAINhPxK-HP5zjKq8uraBS5TKnI814ldBAo21j2dMOzSOpuUMjClIEFmw5P4VM911qLtCSi4VcN56kCqwcYSXOAPIdUQ7h1wfJr1dXGnF8MOoBEAycBf/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.22.47%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bradley Cooper in LIMITLESS Year: 2011 Rating: ***1/2</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A brainy thriller somewhat reminiscent of THE GAME, but in this case the main character – a scruffy writer living a pointless existence – is aware of everything. Thanks to a wonder drug offered by his ex brother in law... a super secret pill that hasn't hit the market... Bradley Cooper can use 100% of his brain, making him a hopped-up genius who can figure out anything around him...</p><p>But the drug only works for 24 hours... and as some violent <span style="font-style: italic;">luck </span>would have it, he gets his hands on a whole bunch. He writes a few books and then ventures into big business. Here's where the drug's inevitable side-effects (including blackouts) not only cause problems to our protagonist, but snags the film's energetic pace...</p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhgUR5RZLLOu5N25IqZZKzG9DYgpETrwnxgyRqbPqul_LaOzm7LR8x73MJfR_ojtZPntD1mFWfzSULveOX6QaBfpqJfyoVxXtVSem7NJZbGIbDBzxe8qWiSpP5t3JfYmHpsCrf30EJrwe7Rmz5dkYY9WIQSj7htu8Pgx5NWsehgCn_Dqa6RjJ_uQxYO73cV/s1618/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.24.53%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="1618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUR5RZLLOu5N25IqZZKzG9DYgpETrwnxgyRqbPqul_LaOzm7LR8x73MJfR_ojtZPntD1mFWfzSULveOX6QaBfpqJfyoVxXtVSem7NJZbGIbDBzxe8qWiSpP5t3JfYmHpsCrf30EJrwe7Rmz5dkYY9WIQSj7htu8Pgx5NWsehgCn_Dqa6RjJ_uQxYO73cV/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.24.53%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert DeNiro in LIMITLESS</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Although Robert DeNiro, as a sly mogul not completely enthralled by the protege's wisdom, keeps things on track; one lecture in particular, explaining the difference between flash and substance, proves the icon hasn't lost his touch...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Only it's Bradley Cooper's film and he makes a terrific pawn whose only control occurs under the drug's influence, which soon winds up in the wrong hands: turning the cerebral odyssey into an action-packed ride. And it all works despite some flaws, including the very last minute: meant as a witty twist but feeling more like a dull hiss at the end of a sparkling fuse.</p><p></p><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/AVvXsEgqavzWqamhCYngGGc66TahorY2wSqGLCQRJar5oRoRZdrs-2h0apzU4jyZ6mIHjXKfFlAINUsnf-Ewbf70szAqFpViUe2xShyphenhyphenQtxxm1l6ueXAMwibn0OQmZ1ZR47BD_vrKbpIrW9WJLJtUnld5yHiD7Rv1gdof5x6GIfkmEgIXgSCtpN9EtXQhjAV2Ji5x/s1648/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.27.03%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1648" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqavzWqamhCYngGGc66TahorY2wSqGLCQRJar5oRoRZdrs-2h0apzU4jyZ6mIHjXKfFlAINUsnf-Ewbf70szAqFpViUe2xShyphenhyphenQtxxm1l6ueXAMwibn0OQmZ1ZR47BD_vrKbpIrW9WJLJtUnld5yHiD7Rv1gdof5x6GIfkmEgIXgSCtpN9EtXQhjAV2Ji5x/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.27.03%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bradley Cooper in LIMITLESS</u></td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEgJbeRPWN5Z_VuxhaLnHUNTMvwLJ7YfsK9sj58-LuCGadKLrot7H07mGDjhVMDZ9Mxk2D1zfVcqk9WGSzfPD_Y_HyzYZq5YDeO55ylgTGg5Gc3gKxYwJhvX-2yZdo_bNJoIFwrINjbK95ZZFfEjoVpWtxGQaINvJlSBMCFaerYFfgixSdRqvpN4oAFPf0Lu/s1700/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.29.55%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbeRPWN5Z_VuxhaLnHUNTMvwLJ7YfsK9sj58-LuCGadKLrot7H07mGDjhVMDZ9Mxk2D1zfVcqk9WGSzfPD_Y_HyzYZq5YDeO55ylgTGg5Gc3gKxYwJhvX-2yZdo_bNJoIFwrINjbK95ZZFfEjoVpWtxGQaINvJlSBMCFaerYFfgixSdRqvpN4oAFPf0Lu/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%2012.29.55%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bradley Cooper in LIMITLESS</u></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

action, bradley cooper, drugs, robert deniro, suspense, tens, thriller

BRADLEY COOPER & ROBERT DENIRO IN THE PILL THRILLER 'LIMITLESS'

Bradley Cooper in LIMITLESS Year: 2011 Rating: ***1/2 A brainy thriller somewhat reminiscent of THE GAME, but in this case the main characte...

THE LINEUP

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFZicQU4W_YlrYAV2p5Xx0muYLoi8ApzaYGjle9vLvmHmHZeDOSYf23iKAoA3xW01orOEDhkbZ1YNHzF7NwcIn-MrPy3FciPR8z7vCEoF6949n2XMRc3pJrGblstAwfirIB2MzFvbx0sv/s1544/Screen+Shot+2020-10-25+at+8.14.25+PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="1544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFZicQU4W_YlrYAV2p5Xx0muYLoi8ApzaYGjle9vLvmHmHZeDOSYf23iKAoA3xW01orOEDhkbZ1YNHzF7NwcIn-MrPy3FciPR8z7vCEoF6949n2XMRc3pJrGblstAwfirIB2MzFvbx0sv/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-10-25+at+8.14.25+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/10/LINEUP.html">THIS REVIEW HAS MOVED HERE: CLICK FOR THE NEW IMPROVED LINEUP REVIEW</a><br />

action, body count, crime, don siegel, drugs, eli wallach, fifties, film noir or melodrama, richard jaekal, robert keith, TV adaptation

THE LINEUP

THIS REVIEW HAS MOVED HERE: CLICK FOR THE NEW IMPROVED LINEUP REVIEW