cult film freak: susan sarandon

Showing posts with label susan sarandon. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 7/07/2023 / No comments / dark comedy , drama , eighties , gena rowlands , john cassavetes , molly ringwald , paul mazursky , paul stewart , raul julia , sam robards , shakespeare , susan sarandon

JOHN CASSAVETES, SUSAN SARANDON & MOLLY RINGWALD 'TEMPEST'

dark comedy, drama, eighties, gena rowlands, john cassavetes, molly ringwald, paul mazursky, paul stewart, raul julia, sam robards, shakespeare, susan sarandon

JOHN CASSAVETES, SUSAN SARANDON & MOLLY RINGWALD 'TEMPEST'

Title: TEMPEST Year: 1981 Rating: ***1/2 “Show me,” says John Cassavete’s intensely desperate character each time a tempest brews: once in N...

DAVID BOWIE DOESN'T SUCK IN TONY SCOTT'S 'THE HUNGER'

<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/AVvXsEhmlcFu56TX9Fn83Cy66xKHW9hMHFpiPiQbui-NjZ0bYj847aDi7N3je3510p5lfassDKVG0Lgg5r-zeAdk6TuUAw5GVmY1sKzDQJX2e3jQ9K84Da43JhiF148UHDNdKty83gLp3p_u9W4e/s1600/MV5BMTYyMTkwNzc1N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTg5NTUyNTM%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C1482%252C1000_AL_.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1387" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlcFu56TX9Fn83Cy66xKHW9hMHFpiPiQbui-NjZ0bYj847aDi7N3je3510p5lfassDKVG0Lgg5r-zeAdk6TuUAw5GVmY1sKzDQJX2e3jQ9K84Da43JhiF148UHDNdKty83gLp3p_u9W4e/s400/MV5BMTYyMTkwNzc1N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTg5NTUyNTM%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C1482%252C1000_AL_.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>David Bowie with Catherine Deneuve in THE HUNGER Year: 1983</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With quick editing and plenty of steamy close-ups, Tony Scott's movies often felt like music videos – yet this, unlike several of his other (more commercial) projects, is a really good video.<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Centering on Catherine Deneuve’s Miriam Blaylock, a gorgeous vampire holed up in a dark mansion with her husband of two thousand years, John, played with a subtle intensity by musician David Bowie, one of the few actors that could act and, halfway through, providing a surprise attack that truly underlines the pinnacle of the film's suspense, and who our dark anti-heroine promised “eternal life" to, which turned out being a gift with a price: After enough time, her lover’s begin aging rapidly: in the course of twenty-four they’re coffin-bound, for keeps. Which is John's dilemna, who tries seeking help a scientist bent on curing the fatal disease where teenagers can die of old age... <br>

beth ehlers, catherine deneuve, cliff deyoung, david bowie, eighties, gothic, lesbian, neo noir, susan sarandon, suspense, thriller, tony scott, vampire, willem defoe

DAVID BOWIE DOESN'T SUCK IN TONY SCOTT'S 'THE HUNGER'

David Bowie with Catherine Deneuve in THE HUNGER Year: 1983 With quick editing and plenty of steamy close-ups, Tony Scott's movies o...

MELISSA MCCARTHY AS TAMMY WITH SUSAN SARANDON

<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/AVvXsEgVtZSTORfTm70v-hKMp1rj6hwIjyZWl_rtjePYcWzSr_18z9GeE08usDbcrYc0Rr4vqsoVKbtB8SgvXYHGCB_zeNNKem6rROEyoYZq9cK_CTtEMEVdSTvFVdyaol7P6zLg7qdDF8AbDpk/s1600/tammyposterlarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtZSTORfTm70v-hKMp1rj6hwIjyZWl_rtjePYcWzSr_18z9GeE08usDbcrYc0Rr4vqsoVKbtB8SgvXYHGCB_zeNNKem6rROEyoYZq9cK_CTtEMEVdSTvFVdyaol7P6zLg7qdDF8AbDpk/s400/tammyposterlarge.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A movie with the title of the main character usually means that person is kind of… you know… unique and, um... special: And in a matter of speaking, the latter fits TAMMY since it’s a "Labor of Love" by star Melissa McCarthy, serving as a producer and co-writer along with her husband <i>and</i> the film's director, Ben Falcone.<br />
<br />
We begin with Tammy hitting a deer, the first similarity to Chris Farley’s TOMMY BOY, and not the last: Both centering on a self-evasive, overweight slacker with a heart of gold, our husky heroine, TAMMY, revels in her problems, including a wrecked car, lost job, cheating husband and a comparably raw and restless grandmother…<br />
<br />
Enter Susan Sarandon, the reason TAMMY is being compared to the iconic feminist cult flick, THELMA & LOUISE... But be warned: this is <i>not</i>  a Road Movie. After a quick highway montage, promising themselves an adventure full of cathartic mileage, Tammy and Sarandon's bluntly honest Pearl hit a snag after one night of drinking. At this point the movie repeats itself with saucy conversations about how Tammy needs a point in life, and Pearl needs less men, pills, alcohol. And so, as a loose cannon, Sarandon doesn't provide very much input or purpose. For an actress with her talent and long-lasting career, she never becomes the character. With the exception of a gray mop of a phony looking wig... she's simply being Susan Sarandon. And McCarthy has little to offer as well, having, along with her husband, written a story so self-absorbed, it hardly seems catered to an audience at all.

2014, comedy, dan aykroyd, melissa mccarthy, susan sarandon, team-up

MELISSA MCCARTHY AS TAMMY WITH SUSAN SARANDON

year: 2014 rating: ** A movie with the title of the main character usually means that person is kind of… you know… unique and, um... spe...

Written by James M. Tate / 4/28/2013 / No comments / 2013 , diane keaton , katherine heigl , robert deniro , robin williams , romantic comedy , susan sarandon

THE BIG WEDDING

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qqfrBPWrXK3KWwdBuEJxc07oDmSZUZOkRl2rS2guZ-LQP94L4bhChFXoqZibHElUwbfJ7DY7bwr9IUNmQPQFdB1MxOZEE8tEbMN2YarZxtjM3fJghW4NfgVzmONlvXC2kFSDAytri3MD/s1600/The-Big-Wedding-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qqfrBPWrXK3KWwdBuEJxc07oDmSZUZOkRl2rS2guZ-LQP94L4bhChFXoqZibHElUwbfJ7DY7bwr9IUNmQPQFdB1MxOZEE8tEbMN2YarZxtjM3fJghW4NfgVzmONlvXC2kFSDAytri3MD/s640/The-Big-Wedding-04.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year: </b>2013 <b>cast:</b> Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams<b> rating:</b> *</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Robert De Niro’s character Don, whose son is about to get married, has a pretty good line in the beginning of THE BIG WEDDING, something having to do with marriage being liken to a phone call at night… First the ring, and then you wake up. Well here we have more of a message – an extremely familiar one at that –  spoken on a broken down answering machine.<br />
<br />
After about twenty frantic minutes of all the characters... including sons, daughters and girlfriends... bitching at each other incessantly, an actual "plot" surfaces: Don and his ex-wife Ellie, played by Diane Keaton, has to pretend to be married (BIRDCAGE, anyone?) in order to please their adopted son’s uptight catholic mother, who frowns on divorce. The first of many problems is simply: Who the heck cares about this woman anyway?<br />
<br />
Robert De Niro, relating back to that initial joke, phones in a lazy performance but his beard fits him well – you can say he looks better now, at the beginning of being legitimately old, than he did ten years ago as an aged version of his younger self.<br />
<br />
But his character's crass humor is more fitting to the young. Spouting Judd Apatow style sexual jokes is awkward and unfunny throughout this muddled mess of a romantic comedy, leading to that big wedding only lasting ten minutes before the film ends quickly.<br />
<br />
Well that was one prayer answered…

2013, diane keaton, katherine heigl, robert deniro, robin williams, romantic comedy, susan sarandon

THE BIG WEDDING

year: 2013 cast: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams rating: * Robert De Niro’s character Don, whose son is ...

Written by James M. Tate / 4/06/2013 / No comments / annette o'toole , brooke shields , danielle brisebois , eric roberts , judd hirsch , matthew labyorteaux , seventies , sterling hayden , susan sarandon

ERIC ROBERTS & STERLING HAYDEN IN 'KING OF THE GYPSIES'

<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/AVvXsEhfpyge_cIlggA1neRAjhNDXRkoNUCCMF17dEMrL2fuCX4XQL9xc7fa24Gfh34XbYM96o3ey5joRG0K3eaxxWiNONewaTv-x1pPBCZ_SGVKBtheEWAe4Hql4OYEB0krPYEGHnaUZNQCgGk2vFywE7MxU_BQFernjhV_2G5EZCj092vX2QTjtb8aP-orXo8x/s1844/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-18%20at%201.58.53%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1844" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpyge_cIlggA1neRAjhNDXRkoNUCCMF17dEMrL2fuCX4XQL9xc7fa24Gfh34XbYM96o3ey5joRG0K3eaxxWiNONewaTv-x1pPBCZ_SGVKBtheEWAe4Hql4OYEB0krPYEGHnaUZNQCgGk2vFywE7MxU_BQFernjhV_2G5EZCj092vX2QTjtb8aP-orXo8x/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-18%20at%201.58.53%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1978 cast: Eric Roberts, Sterling Hayden, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>
Writer/director Frank Pierson attempts a time period drama ala Francis Ford Coppola in the GODFATHER-inspired KING OF THE GYPSIES, centering on those infamously resilient scarf-waring vagabonds. The first act introduces the self titled leader of con-artist nomads played by Sterling Hayden, whose energetic performance makes up for the fact we get little backstory to how his character, Zharko Stepanowicz, rose to prominence in the first place.<br />
<br />
We begin in the past: an abduction of a rival's daughter during a gypsy family party. Zharko wanted this girl for his spoiled son, Groffo, who will later grow up to be a slightly miscast Judd Hirsch, over-reaching the antagonist role with stage play gusto. He's married to a perfectly cast Susan Sarandon as Rose, the true working class hero of the Gypsy family...<br />
<br />
Reading fortunes and using her young son to steal diamonds, Rose is the breadwinner of the mobile clan. Unfortunately, her only paychecks are the random beatings from her abusive, no-good husband.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIKB9WuWiuCoQ6Y6PwGh7F9dUV-VIzvPjH-ZmJJbFRB0vANkr1AI4Dwfh4zWlS52udYXYb8voO5KohtjAHIzCyzKHuf-ZJQ-51ianYcpEI6p6TvT3bze5z3Rgd0YpJOj-5oX0w6l5Nuw/s1600/kinggypsy2.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIKB9WuWiuCoQ6Y6PwGh7F9dUV-VIzvPjH-ZmJJbFRB0vANkr1AI4Dwfh4zWlS52udYXYb8voO5KohtjAHIzCyzKHuf-ZJQ-51ianYcpEI6p6TvT3bze5z3Rgd0YpJOj-5oX0w6l5Nuw/s640/kinggypsy2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matthew Labyorteaux as a young Dave driving Judd Hirsch's Groffo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Throughout the narration by Eric Roberts playing Dave, the King’s grandson and Rose’s firstborn, are involving scenes with the young Dave (Matthew Labyorteaux) wreaking havoc around town, turning into dad's getaway driver and eventually becoming a thieving street urchin on his own. When he grows into Eric Roberts he’s completely separate from the Gypsy life: an estranged prodigal grandson until Zharko takes him back into the fold.<br />
<br />
Eric Roberts, in his first theatrical role, is both intense and vulnerable as an aimless young man who is eventually, on his grandfather’s deathbed, given the “King” moniker, thus becoming a target from his jealous dad. Groffo eventually plans to sell his daughter/Dave’s sister (Brooke Shields) to another family, and for mother Rose, this is the last straw. She talks Dave into setting things right and the real excitement begins. <br />
<br />
Never quite sure if it’s a time period melodrama or a violent exploitation style thriller, GYPSIES is always intriguing, especially as Dave, bearing the weight of his new title, has to fight his way out of a cursed life: surviving intense chases on foot or in speeding cars.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPI7UVM9HE_ptXyPJvJ49bc8NCEgyxVCeUD3-1X4gAtdJrSkRsSI5lvt4bOBdNqE3P69U8BQyrAiw24YT49_RIM5SSg3W53iagJqbxIODzrRzrt-8-CUERAVQuooqAq7wGyxdEIaA2ag/s1600/kinggypsy3.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPI7UVM9HE_ptXyPJvJ49bc8NCEgyxVCeUD3-1X4gAtdJrSkRsSI5lvt4bOBdNqE3P69U8BQyrAiw24YT49_RIM5SSg3W53iagJqbxIODzrRzrt-8-CUERAVQuooqAq7wGyxdEIaA2ag/s640/kinggypsy3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric Roberts as Dave</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4Y6FoZJrVputSzQjru0RF1fUS7zgVoKEqhhpGgpkHWkC00U4YKj33S26zaXvDCHkwNrDVxTTb3wc-BIt6TYYXVtOxoDUCu5XJEYsaJYz4yeOC_Ub7Xw74CUfgC0t7VvtD80Q5wtlpsU/s1600/kinggypsy5.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4Y6FoZJrVputSzQjru0RF1fUS7zgVoKEqhhpGgpkHWkC00U4YKj33S26zaXvDCHkwNrDVxTTb3wc-BIt6TYYXVtOxoDUCu5XJEYsaJYz4yeOC_Ub7Xw74CUfgC0t7VvtD80Q5wtlpsU/s640/kinggypsy5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brooke Shields as Tita</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUQz-RC6lbUuKRapiu7lIQRLmyXzGQ4PE37W8w1W3jyML4C-PfqilvF6S9c0ynJEDsSGJOb9jwno8LO1O6FKfhPDgZ76ucVWRRyGWG-EnisG-o9ZHDD4oX0kZMBpR32XW3gxvSeENuZI/s1600/kinggypsy7.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUQz-RC6lbUuKRapiu7lIQRLmyXzGQ4PE37W8w1W3jyML4C-PfqilvF6S9c0ynJEDsSGJOb9jwno8LO1O6FKfhPDgZ76ucVWRRyGWG-EnisG-o9ZHDD4oX0kZMBpR32XW3gxvSeENuZI/s640/kinggypsy7.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric Roberts and Brooke Shields</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tm0GXEuwgnnEEnbUYeDQae9qCYfi0MNUEYxfZZNZ6RkFLZyy6Kqr_gdwqGqKMJZ9Ucz95rsYo3n2ZVeO-FyHPx0cGjQoZBXoDMdpZBFA7rOPlllYZtobGE3QnjDxHA6O-mPJzxQXMMI/s1600/kinggypsy8.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tm0GXEuwgnnEEnbUYeDQae9qCYfi0MNUEYxfZZNZ6RkFLZyy6Kqr_gdwqGqKMJZ9Ucz95rsYo3n2ZVeO-FyHPx0cGjQoZBXoDMdpZBFA7rOPlllYZtobGE3QnjDxHA6O-mPJzxQXMMI/s640/kinggypsy8.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A brooding Eric Roberts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNqTZT758XM_oK7w0A7xQbRMkC2v1MH1fEhheXygS_dHhUrYxFn0y9Qutcxa8VfXyNTwGesTAltowypGH4BlK0OAOaA9As6vp7bKH8-eSdaEM6XVeRgcAFCk3aURL0K9QoRGJIWO9Wvs/s1600/kinggypsy1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNqTZT758XM_oK7w0A7xQbRMkC2v1MH1fEhheXygS_dHhUrYxFn0y9Qutcxa8VfXyNTwGesTAltowypGH4BlK0OAOaA9As6vp7bKH8-eSdaEM6XVeRgcAFCk3aURL0K9QoRGJIWO9Wvs/s640/kinggypsy1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sterling Hayden with Eric Roberts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>

annette o'toole, brooke shields, danielle brisebois, eric roberts, judd hirsch, matthew labyorteaux, seventies, sterling hayden, susan sarandon

ERIC ROBERTS & STERLING HAYDEN IN 'KING OF THE GYPSIES'

year: 1978 cast: Eric Roberts, Sterling Hayden, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields rating: ***1/2 Writer/director Frank Pierson attempts a time...

Written by James M. Tate / 3/13/2013 / No comments / 2013 , action , barry pepper , drug culture , dwayne johnson , jon bernthal , susan sarandon

SNITCH

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGl9lxYdaU_OwLSaD8SssxaW2_ejLm1rvPK8Fnb3YLTjJWZA_0MRgnr-t-NeqXW_88m1GE4rFaoKdyAtnw0ekl5zWd0jf0gbAOLiQ2fQQBObTKvBFTw7H2Dvdz19w_rh4Ol6pV-lzut0/s1600/snitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGl9lxYdaU_OwLSaD8SssxaW2_ejLm1rvPK8Fnb3YLTjJWZA_0MRgnr-t-NeqXW_88m1GE4rFaoKdyAtnw0ekl5zWd0jf0gbAOLiQ2fQQBObTKvBFTw7H2Dvdz19w_rh4Ol6pV-lzut0/s640/snitch.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year: </b>2013 <b>cast: </b>Dwayne Johnson, Jon Bernthal, Barry Pepper <b>rating:</b> ***</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since Dwayne Johnson’s John Matthews is the type of boss who can and 
will, if need be, jump out of his expensive all-terrain vehicle and help
 a struggling blue collar employee load bags of cement, it’s no surprise
 he’s the kind of father who, once his estranged son is sent to prison 
for allowing marijuana to be shipped to his mom’s house and given a 
ten-year sentence, to do anything possible to help the kid out, 
including risking his own life. <br />
<br />
Matthews owns a 
trucking company and has the means to haul just about anything. With the
 help of a hardened Drug Enforcement Officer (Barry Pepper) and a shifty
 politician (Susan Sarandon), he’s given a task… his own idea, actually…
 to help bust important drug dealers to get his son a lighter sentence. 
In other words, he’d be a snitch.<br />
<br />
His real partner is 
the same guy he’d helped load those cement bags, an ex convict named Daniel, 
played by Jon Bernthal, whose character also has a son influenced by the
 drug culture, so he’s no fan of dealers.<br />
<br />
Daniel’s 
character trumps John in many ways. He’s more nitty-gritty and, being
 closer to the action and with connections to boot, he’s the guy who 
brings his boss into the world of drug trafficking, first through a 
relatively small time player which progresses into the Mexican cartel.<br />
<br />
The
 coolest action scene occurs after John and Daniel drive to a rural 
junkyard where a seemingly simple deal turns into a modern day Wild West
 shootout. There’s a decent amount of suspense added since this is John's first score. After a truck-crashing escape with guns blasting 
everywhere, Dan proves his worth as an intrepid driver and becomes the 
Cartel’s prime choice for a big cash exchange in Mexico, which sadly 
never occurs.<br />
<br />
Although the finale, involving John's 
truck being chased by armed thugs on a freeway, is somewhat intense and looks fantastic, that initial Mexico 
plan, that sounded like an intense nail-biting caper, would have been a 
much better climax… Why did they have to tease us so?

2013, action, barry pepper, drug culture, dwayne johnson, jon bernthal, susan sarandon

SNITCH

year: 2013 cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jon Bernthal, Barry Pepper rating: *** Since Dwayne Johnson’s John Matthews is the type of boss who ca...

Written by James M. Tate / 9/24/2012 / No comments / 2012 , comedy , frank langella , science-fiction , susan sarandon

ROBOT & FRANK

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bKPp9MKvuOHDTQs8z2AYpY0y74LibxfkZr2_75RaxIfbElKhlwgBq8_Dth2mpA7yNppu6Muy4A06vnKaOe5Jg6FIH9WgK5i069l6l4DC4yaY1Ag6m_SQd1zQCFPNL-EBo5YMSB047xPu/s1600/120817_MOV_robotandfrankEX.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bKPp9MKvuOHDTQs8z2AYpY0y74LibxfkZr2_75RaxIfbElKhlwgBq8_Dth2mpA7yNppu6Muy4A06vnKaOe5Jg6FIH9WgK5i069l6l4DC4yaY1Ag6m_SQd1zQCFPNL-EBo5YMSB047xPu/s640/120817_MOV_robotandfrankEX.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2012 <b>cast:</b> Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon <b>rating:</b> ***1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
People can communicate on computer big screens instead of telephones, libraries have turned into posh clubhouses, and robots can help with just about everything: Welcome to the "near future" of ROBOT & FRANK, a subtle heartwarming science-fiction comedy starring Frank Langella as Frank, an old man losing his memory and he, living alone in the country, wants nothing to do with anyone or anything: including his own health and safety.<br />
<br />
Frank’s son provides dad with a robot specializing in care-taking. They make for an odd couple – Frank prefers sitting around while Robot recommends a daily regiment of health foods and gardening.<br />
<br />
During a trip into town, Frank learns his cohort has a special gift of... playing with the truth. And for an ex jewel thief, this works just fine. Soon Robot becomes Frank’s partner in crime.<br />
<br />
The best moments occur between man and machine: casing a yuppie’s house or stealing an obsolete library book. The capers occur quickly and without much suspense. It’s the relationship between Frank and his new best friend that really counts. Especially when outside elements, like Frank’s daughter and the local police, put that relationship at risk.<br />
<br />
Peter Sarsgaard provides the Robot's mellow voice, sounding like a cross between Kevin Spacey and Hal 9000. And Susan Sarandon plays a love interest who doesn't get in the way of the important stuff, although she's a lot more important than you'll realize.

2012, comedy, frank langella, science-fiction, susan sarandon

ROBOT & FRANK

year: 2012 cast: Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon rating: ***1/2 People can communicate on computer big screens instead of telephones, ...

Written by James M. Tate / 1/11/2011 / No comments / al pacino , biopic , john goodman , susan sarandon , tens

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55K8WqXuCXnQNdPotwZQu-cQhKBxKvzLAvpBmguzVRASZBH_ASI_NXYWPrB0VylBp2OR7Tr0I5IDCb6QU9OQ1Xg20EG4azNo6uvvRFHlfCTaB4OWiyiruumI_gnCaBRmEx0HvOk7Vt0A/s1600/al_pacino_you_don__t_know_jack_by_donvito62-d2zaarc.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561201030563832418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55K8WqXuCXnQNdPotwZQu-cQhKBxKvzLAvpBmguzVRASZBH_ASI_NXYWPrB0VylBp2OR7Tr0I5IDCb6QU9OQ1Xg20EG4azNo6uvvRFHlfCTaB4OWiyiruumI_gnCaBRmEx0HvOk7Vt0A/s200/al_pacino_you_don__t_know_jack_by_donvito62-d2zaarc.png" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 183px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">title: </span>YOU DON'T KNOW JACK<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year:</span> 2010<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">cast: </span>Al Pacino, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Brenda Vaccaro<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">rating: </span>**<br /><br />Although parts of this biopic of Jack Kevorkian are interesting, it's as dull as any propaganda can be. Al Pacino looks, and sounds, the part: but in playing a famous (or infamous) person the director's obviously praising, it's more a one-note impersonation than reality. The good guys, including Jack and his cohorts, are proud, enlightened and flawless; while the bad guys <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">aren't</span> the big stalking media who named him "Doctor Death," but a small fraction of over-the-top Christians. The direction by Barry Levinson flows decently enough, but the story of a man this controversial needs balance to work.

al pacino, biopic, john goodman, susan sarandon, tens