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- DirectorLes BlankMaureen GoslingStarsAlphonse ArdoinGustave ArdoinMorris ArdoinA portrait of black Creole life in the Louisiana Delta, accompanied by the hot sounds of Zydeco music.seen 7/30/15. shoddy cable reception, on dvr from tcm. fascinating doc from Les Blank
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsToni ColletteRachel GriffithsBill HunterA young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.with fiancee. dvr from tcm. fantastic movie. 7/29/15
- DirectorRobert ClouseStarsJim KellyGloria HendryScatman CrothersA Mafia buy out of Papa Byrd's karate school downtown ends in his death. Byrd's daughter, Sydney, refuses to sell, and wants revenge. Byrd's students call the Black Belt Jones for help. Jones reluctantly teams with Sydney in many battles.ok if goofy actioner with a thoroughly repellent heroine (yes)
- DirectorRichard RushStarsAlan ArkinJames CaanLoretta SwitSan Francisco police detectives Freebie and Bean are determined to bust local crime boss Red Meyers at any cost, even if this means destroying the whole city in the process.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsClyde TurnerCarlton MossWilliam BroadusDocumentary focusing on the contributions to the American war effort of African-American soldiers.9/4/15
Propaganda film from Capra, mawkish and disingenuous. William Wyler was hired to do this, and initially threw himself into the project, only to become deeply disillusioned when he found a deeply entrenched racism in military life, and he quit in disgust. - DirectorJulian JarroldStarsChiwetel EjioforJoel EdgertonSarah-Jane PottsA drag queen comes to the rescue of a man who, after inheriting his father's shoe factory, needs to diversify his product if he wants to keep the business afloat.circa 11/15, disc from nflix
Rather conventional. I feel that Ejiofor's character deserved the spotlight more than Edgerton's. Instead, he plays a supporting fairy-godmother role in a square tale. - DirectorDale StellyStarsMarc 7AjmalKizzy AmosTaking its cue from the successful American Pie franchise, Dale Steely's sex comedy Sweet Potato Pie follows the exploits of three friends named Chuck, Perry, and Trey. The threesome set out on a road trip in order to try and shed their pesky virginity, and end up involved with a sexually seasoned woman named Anaconda, a horny and very overweight neighbor, and the title food.circa 11/23
a regrettable rental stemming from prurient interests. cheap "American Pie" ripoff has none of the sweetness or relatability that might be ascribed to the original. three virgins contrive to pass themselves off as porn actors in order to get laid. they encounter and recoil from a couple of mincing gay stereotypes. but don't worry. eventually (SPOILERS) they find three willing young women who are given little characterization, and all's well that ends well, or that ends, anyway. - DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsFleaKeith MorrisEyeballThe Decline of Western Civilization III is a 1998 documentary film that follows the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers.11/24
Harrowing look into the lives of LA punks. Many of those interviewed were kids who ran away from home to escape abuse, and are living on the street or squatting in abandoned buildings. Many are alcoholics, who start detoxing if they don't start getting drunk shortly after waking up in the morning. Just achingly sad stuff. "Where do you see yourself in five years?" asks Spheeris of many of the kids. "Dead," is the usual answer, given with hardly a trace of regret. - DirectorTim BurtonStarsShelley DuvallDaniel SternBarret OliverA young boy sets out to revive his dead pet using the monstrous power of science.11/26 w/ fiancee
Burton and Disney's creative impulses mesh beautifully (at least for once) in this sweet story of a suburban boy who brings his beloved pooch back to life after an untimely death. - DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.12/2/15 disc from nflix, rented 7/17/15 and put aside over 4 months (!)
A charming romance with effervescent leads in Grant and Hepburn. - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.12/13/15
the better half has not seen these movies, and so we are rectifying the error. Naturally, the original film as it played in '77 is not available, so (OBNOXIOUS NERD COMPLAINTS FORTHCOMING) we had to watch the Special Edition that Lucas added a bunch of crappy digital effects to. So now a lot of Mos Eisley looks like a chintzy video game. Jabba the Hutt shows up to menace Han Solo, and serves only to appear ineffectual, slow down the action, and showcase the awfulness of 90's cgi.
Largely the film's charms survive. But really, Georgie. You lost your touch. - DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.circa 12/17/15
The Masters hamhanded tinkering is a little less obvious here, with a bit of new cgi here or a different background there. Kershner is a flat-out better director, and the story is better paced, with a better performance from Hamill particularly and the other principles as well. - DirectorPeter ChungStarsVin DieselRhiana GriffithKeith DavidActing as a bridgepoint between "Pitch Black (2000)" and "The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)", this short film explains why Riddick decides to go into hiding and deliver Jack and Imam Abu al-Walid to New Mecca.12/22/15
rudimentary cgi creature effects and backgrounds blend poorly with Chung's stylized animation. the story clumsily bridges the ending of "Pitch Black" with the events of "Chronicles". all in all, kind of a bust - DirectorMel BrooksStarsCary ElwesRichard LewisRoger ReesA spoof of Robin Hood in general, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) in particular.1/5/16
Latter day Brooks serves, unfortunately, as the model for the modern spoof movie. I can remember exactly one good laugh, from the scene in Tracy Ullman's lair where a cardboard cutout of the Sheriff of Nottingham changes expressions between shots. Otherwise... - DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.1/8/16 dvd rental
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.1/16/16
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsJake GyllenhaalMélanie LaurentSarah GadonA man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.3/18/16 nflix dvd that we rented november last year. interesting psychodrama from director of "prisoners" and "sicario"
- DirectorJohn Patrick ShanleyStarsTom HanksMeg RyanLloyd BridgesWhen a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.3/18/16 HBO streaming, wonderful unerappreciated fantasia
- DirectorRudolf IsingVernon StallingsStarsPinto ColvigMarcellite GarnerBeatrice HagenAdorable redheaded 'merbabies' materialize out of the crashing surf and proceed to the sea floor where they conduct a circus along with a variety of sea creatures.3/2016 from TCM
This "Silly Symphony" about a school of tiny mermaids hosting an undersea circus is chock full of amusing sight gags. - DirectorDavid HandDick HuemerStarsPinto ColvigWalt DisneyRichard EdwardsMickey, Donald, and Goofy are crewing a whaling ship. Their mishaps include Donald fighting off some hungry birds, Mickey and a bucket of water that keeps doing a boomerang impression, and Goofy firing the cannon and getting stuck high in the air, and ultimately inside a whale. And when he lands the whale well, let's just say they're gonna need a bigger boat...3/2016 from TCM
This Disney short harkens from a time when there was seemingly no incongruity in watching Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Goofy set off to murder a whale and render its fat into valuable oil. Of course, their ineptitude spares us from the sight of that. - DirectorDick LundyStarsClarence NashDonald is an admiral on a seagoing voyage with his nephews in which they encounter a ravenous shark.3/2016 from TCM
Donald Duck, still braving the high seas after his misadventures in "The Whalers", brings his nephews on a nautical outing, thereby setting off a chain of events that nearly leads to his demise. - DirectorDavid YatesStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintWith their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.3/2016 dvd
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintAs Harry Potter begins his sixth year at Hogwarts, he discovers an old book marked as "the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.3.2016 dvd
- 1954–19971hNot Rated8.0 (56)TV EpisodeDirectorWinston HiblerHamilton LuskeStarsWalt DisneyWinston HiblerKirk DouglasWalt Disney tells the history of the exploration of the sea.4/2/16 off tcm
A glorified making-off feature for Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" has an amusing animated sequence on the history of undersea diving. Technical details regarding the film, which features sequences shot under water of a greater length and complexity than any previously attempted, are fascinating, though the blithely recounted mistreatment of sea life is a bit galling. Were there no Humane Society guidelines for filmmakers at the time? - DirectorMartin RosenJohn HubleyStarsJohn HurtRichard BriersRalph RichardsonHoping to escape destruction by human developers and save their community, a colony of rabbits, led by Hazel and Fiver, seek out a safe place to set up a new warren.4/3/16
A much condensed screen version of the Richard Adams book certainly preserves the strangeness of the novel. What stands out most is a certain nightmarish quality, seen in the hallucinatory sequence of the destruction of the warren and in the grotesque character of General Woundwort, and a lot of the charm is lost.