When the Mexican drug cartels begin helping terrorists across the border, the Defense Department hires Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to stage a kidnapping in order to start a war among the cartels… A stand-alone sequel to Sicario (2015) that tries hard to copy the intense style of that film. The results are worth a look, … Continue reading Sicario: Day of the Soldado
You might say R. Lee Ermey became the very symbol of military shock and awe. In the History Channel interview above from 2001, the soldier-cum-actor talks about his experiences as a career officer in the marine corps and how he came up with the character of Hartman in Full Metal Jacket (1987). He died yesterday at the … Continue reading Goodbye, Gunny
NO WAY OUT. NO WAY UP. NO CHANCE IN HELL. While on holiday in Mexico, two American friends (Mandy Moore, Claire Holt) go out on a boat to watch great whites from a cage… but when they’re in the water, an accident happens. A thriller that came in the wake of The Shallows (2016) and … Continue reading 47 Meters Down
CAN THE MOST FAMOUS FILM STAR IN THE WORLD FALL FOR JUST AN ORDINARY GUY? The most popular movie star in Hollywood (Julia Roberts) meets a London book-store owner (Hugh Grant) and they fall in love… but can a romance like that work out? Writer Richard Curtis reunited with his Four Weddings and a Funeral … Continue reading Notting Hill
BORN TO KILL. In 1967, a group of young men arrive at Parris Island, South Carolina for basic training, among them James Davis (Matthew Modine) who quickly gets a nickname, “Joker”… Stanley Kubrick’s first project in seven years is an antiwar movie, which he has done (even better) before. This one is divided into two … Continue reading Full Metal Jacket
A FIRE WILL RISE. On the night of this film’s intensely anticipated premiere, a 24-year-old man attacked a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado and murdered 12 people. The horrendous act caused the studio to remove ads for the The Dark Knight Rises and director Christopher Nolan released a statement where he called the movie theater … Continue reading Dark Knight Rises: The Bat vs. Bane
MAIN STREET TOOK THE FALL. WALL STREET GOT THE CHECK. August 2008; when the Lehman Brothers CEO (James Woods) fails to come up with a deal to save the bank, it is up to the Treasury Secretary (William Hurt) to make the private sector swallow a bitter pill or two. Director Curtis Hanson’s first TV … Continue reading Too Big to Fail
THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS IS BACK IN THE GAME. Frank Martin (Jason Statham) has a new job driving the six-year-old son of a wealthy couple between home and school; when the boy is kidnapped, Frank does everything in his power to rescue him. Director Louis Leterriere has publicly apologized for making this sequel, but there’s … Continue reading Transporter 2
A THREAT NO ONE DARED FACE. A WORD NO ONE WANTED TO SPEAK. A FIGHT FOR MANY, FOUGHT BY FEW. In 1981, epidemiologist Don Francis (Matthew Modine) joins a team of researchers at the CDC who are trying to figure out the causes of a very deadly disease among gay men. Randy Shilts wrote an … Continue reading And the Band Played On
LIFE IS A CONTACT SPORT. PLAY. OR BE PLAYED. As veteran football coach Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) is struggling to maintain his grip on the team, his star player (Dennis Quaid) is injured. A really good sports movie knows how to make the most of the game, how to show the kind of commitment that … Continue reading Any Given Sunday
