February 6th, 2010
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At the time of its release, Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia was the first big-budget Hollywood film to tackle the medical, political, and social issues of AIDS.
Tom Hanks, in his first Academy Award-winning performance, plays Andrew Beckett, a talented lawyer at a stodgy Philadelphia law firm.
The homosexual Andrew has contracted AIDS but fears informing his firm about the disease.
The firm’s senior partner, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), assigns Andrew a case involving their most important client.
Andrew begins diligently working on the case, but soon the lesions associated with AIDS are visible on his face.
Wheeler abruptly removes Andrew from the case and fires him from the firm.
Andrew believes he has been fired because of his illness and plans to fight the firm in court.
But because of the firm’s reputation, no lawyer in Philadelphia will risk handling his case.
In desperation, Andrew hires Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), a black lawyer who advertises on television, mainly handling personal injury cases.
Miller dislikes homosexuals but agrees to take the case for the money and exposure.
As Miller prepares for the courtroom battle against one of the law firm’s key litigators, Belinda Conine (Mary Steenburgen), Miller begins to realize the discrimination practiced against Andrew is no different from the discrimination Miller himself has to battle against.
The cast also includes Antonio Banderas as Andrew’s partner, Joanne Woodward as Andrew’s mother, and Stephanie Roth as Joe’s wife. |
| Also Known As: |
Philadelphia |
| Genres: |
Drama, Courtroom Drama, Message Movie, Gay & Lesbian Films, Medical Drama, |
| Running Time: |
125:00 |
| Actor List: |
Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Jr., Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, Ron Vawter, Charles Napier, Joanne Woodward, Andre B. Blake, Robert W. Castle, Daniel Chapman, Roger Corman, Ann Dowd, David Drake, Charles Glenn, Paul Lazar, John Bedford Lloyd, Roberta Maxwell, Warren Miller, Joey Perillo, Lauren Roselli, Anna Deavere Smith, Daniel Von Bargen, Tracey Walter, Bradley Whitford, Kathryn Witt, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Obba Babatunde, Gene Borkan, Jordan Cael, Dodie Demme, Howard Feuer, Randy Aaron Fink, Tony Fitzpatrick, Ira Flitter, Gary Goetzman, Donna Hamilton, James B. Howard, Buzz Kilman, Adam Le Fevre, Paul Moore, Jane Moore, Harry Northrup, Lucas Platt, Robert Ridgely, Jim Roche, Stephanie Roth, Lisa Summerour, Kenneth Utt, Steve Vignari, Lewis Walker, Lawrence T. Wrentz, |
Posted in Courtroom Drama, Drama, Message Movie | No Comments »
January 30th, 2010
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Two guys find out the hard way that sneaking into the wrong party can cause serious problems in this comedy.
Jeremy Klein (Vince Vaughn) and John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) are a pair of longtime friends who work for a law firm, helping contentious couples mediate their divorces.
Their job has given them a cynical attitude about marriage, and as a hobby each weekend the two make a point of crashing weddings reception, where they load up on free food and booze and try their luck at seducing the bridesmaids.
When William Cleary (Christopher Walken), the nation’s Secretary of the Treasury and a possible candidate for the Presidency, announces his daughter is to wed, the nuptials are billed as the social event of the year, and Jeremy and John decide they must attend the reception.
However, John makes the mistake of falling head over heels for Claire (Rachel McAdams), the bride’s sister, while Jeremy attracts the attentions of a woman he’d prefer not to be involved with, and soon their romantic peccadilloes get them in very hot water. |
| Also Known As: |
Wedding Crashers |
| Genres: |
Comedy, Sex Comedy, Farce, |
| Running Time: |
119:00 |
| Actor List: |
Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Jane Seymour, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper, Will Ferrell, Ron Canada, Ellen Albertini Dow, Henry Gibson, John McCain, Keir O’Donnell, |
Posted in Comedy, Farce, Sex Comedy | No Comments »
January 25th, 2010
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A writer renowned for debunking infamous paranormal events is confronted by a force that he cannot explain upon checking into room 1408 of the notoriously haunted Dolphin Hotel.
Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is an author who specializes in horror, but who only believes in what he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands.
Having constructed an entire career on his ability to dispel superstitious “haunted house” rumors, Mike is convinced that the afterlife is a manmade construct designed to offer false comfort to the weak minded.
Mike’s latest project is a book entitled “Ten Nights in Haunted Hotel Rooms,” and it seems that in room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel, this skeptical scribe may finally find proof of the supernatural.
Implored by the hotel manager (Samuel L.
Jackson) not to enter room 1408, Mike defiantly procures the key and prepares to dispel yet another spectral sham.
Now, as is the case with many of life’s most profound epiphanies, the writer who thought he knew it all is caught entirely off guard at the precise moment he least expected it.
Subsequently faced with undeniable proof of an afterlife, Mike may have a best-seller on his hands if he can simply survive until sunrise.
Mary McCormack and Jasmine Jessica Anthony co-star in director Mikael Hfstrm’s (Derailed) adaptation of an original short story by horror icon Stephen King. |
Posted in Horror, Supernatural Horror | No Comments »
January 21st, 2010
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Just when audiences thought they’d heard the last of the demented killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), here comes Saw IV, continuing his trap-filled legacy — this time, targeting the last remaining officer who has touched the case, SWAT Commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent).
As FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) begin to dig through the remains of Jigsaw’s crime-scene hideout, a new puzzle presents itself, with Rigg as the pawn in another deadly game filled with moral quandaries and torture-filled traps.
At stake is the life of his superior officer Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) as well as his friend and fellow cop Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), whose abduction by a now-dead Jigsaw triggers an obsession in Rigg that will haunt him til the grisly end.
Director Darren Lynn Bousman returns to the series after helming both Saw II and III, with a script penned by Feast writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. |
| Also Known As: |
Saw IV |
| Genres: |
Horror, |
| Running Time: |
92:00 |
| Actor List: |
Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Lyriq Bent, Athena Karkanis, Justin Louis, Simon Reynolds, Donnie Wahlberg, Angus MacFayden, Shawnee Smith, Bahar Soomekh, Dina Meyer, Mike Realba, Marty Adams, Sarain Boylan, Billy Otis, James Van Patten, David Boyce, Kevin Rushton, Julian Richings, Kelly Jones, Ingrid Hart, Niamh Wilson, Janet Land, Ron Lea, Joanne Boland, Zoe Heath, Bill Vibert, Eric Gores, Devon Bostick, Tony Nappo, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Noam Jenkins, Mike Butters, J. Larose, Oren Koules, Alison Luther, Kim Roberts, David Webster, Sandra Manson, Shauna Black, Darrell Dennis, Tracey Frerencz, Catherine Fitch, Chris Marren, Christopher Morris, Geoffrey Pounsett, |
Posted in Horror | No Comments »
January 14th, 2010
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Legendary martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li come together onscreen for the first time ever in director Rob Minkoff’s time-traveling take on the Monkey King fable that finds an American teen transported back to ancient China after wandering into a pawn shop and discovering the king’s fighting stick.
Once there, the adventurous teen joins an army of fierce warriors who have sworn to free their imprisoned king at all costs.
In addition to appearing as the mythical Monkey King, Li assumes the role of a silent monk, and Chan appears in the role of kung fu master Lu Yan.
Famed action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping presides over the fight sequences. |
| Also Known As: |
The Forbidden Kingdom |
| Genres: |
Action, Martial Arts, Fantasy Adventure, Period Film, |
| Running Time: |
105:00 |
| Actor List: |
Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Collin Chou, Liu Yifei, Li Bingbing, Michael Angarano, Morgan Benoit, |
Posted in Action, Fantasy Adventure, Martial Arts, Period Film | No Comments »
January 13th, 2010
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A psychopath consumed by a twisted love sets out to find the perfect girl, piece by bloody piece, in director Matt Zittell’s unrelenting psychological horror film.
Herman is a serial killer whose fixation on finding the woman of his dreams has turned deadly, and Rudy is the girl who just might fit the bill.
When Herman locks Rudy in a cramped wooden box deep in his cellar, the only way for the frightened prisoner to escape is to match wits with her captor by entering into a morbid series of mind games.
Should she fail, she will most certainly die, but even if she lives she will likely never be the same again. |
Posted in Horror | No Comments »
January 11th, 2010
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Richard Brooks wrote and directed this stark black-and-white (with brilliantly evocative cinematography by Conrad Hall) study of two drifters who murder a family, based on Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.
The film takes place in Holcomb, Kansas, where four members of the Herbert Clutter family are roused from their sleep and brutally murdered.
The killers, Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson), are two ex-cons who plan to rob the Clutters of $10,000 kept in a safe in their home.
But Dick and Perry find no safe and no $10,000 and end up leaving the murder scene with only $43.
The police, led by Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, try to track down the killers.
Meanwhile, Dick and Perry take off to Mexico, where Perry has fantasies of prospecting for gold.
But when his dreams of prospecting come to naught, Dick insists that they return to the United States.
Confident that they have left no clues, they cash bad checks, and the police track them down in Las Vegas.
During questioning, their alibis are broken when they are separated and tell conflicting stories. |
| Also Known As: |
In Cold Blood |
| Genres: |
Crime, Crime Drama, Docudrama, |
| Running Time: |
133:00 |
| Actor List: |
Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart, Gerald O’Loughlin, Jeff Corey, John Gallaudet, James Flavin, Charles McGraw, James Lantz, John McLiam, Ruth Storey, Vaughan Taylor, Duke Hobbie, Sheldon Allman, Ted Eccles, Raymond Hatton, Mary Linda Rapelye, Ronda Fultz, Al Christy, Stan Levitt, Brenda Currin, Will Geer, |
Posted in Crime, Crime Drama, Docudrama | No Comments »
January 11th, 2010
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Leonard Maltin wasn’t alone when he noticed similarities between Goonies and the 1934 Our Gang comedy Mama’s Little Pirate.
Adapted by Chris Columbus from a story by Steven Spielberg, the film follows a group of misfit kids (including such second-generation Hollywoodites as Josh Brolin and Sean Astin) as they search for buried treasure in a subterranean cavern.
Here they cross the path of lady criminal Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) and her outlaw brood.
Fortunately, the kids manage to befriend Fratelli’s hideously deformed (but soft-hearted) son (John Matuszak), who comes to their rescue.
The Spielberg influence is most pronounced in the film’s prologue and epilogue, when the viewer is advised that the film’s real villains are a group of “Evil Land Developers.
” The musical score makes excellent use of Max Steiner’s main theme from The Adventures of Don Juan, not to mention contributions by the likes of Richard Marx and Cyndi Lauper. |
| Also Known As: |
The Goonies |
| Genres: |
Adventure, Family-Oriented Adventure, Adventure Comedy, Family-Oriented Comedy, |
| Running Time: |
114:00 |
| Actor List: |
Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, John Matuszak, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey, Jeb Stuart Adams, Steve Antin, Newt Arnold, Bill Bradley, Patrick Cameron, Michael Paul Chan, Jeff B. Cohen, Jane Feinberg, Mike Fenton, Ted Grossman, Curtis Hanson, Orwin Harvey, Charles McDaniel, George Nicholas McLean, Elaine Cohen McMahon, Jack O’Leary, Lupe Ontiveros, Jonathan Ke Quan, George Robotham, Gene Ross, Max Segar, Judy Taylor, Mary Ellen Trainor, Paul Tuerp, Keith Walker, Eric Briant Wells, |
Posted in Adventure, Adventure Comedy, Family-Oriented Adventure, Family-Oriented Comedy | No Comments »
January 11th, 2010
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An action drama centering on the media circus, 15 Minutes focuses on a New York homicide detective named Eddie Flemming (Robert De Niro), a famous figure known for his heroic on-the-job manner.
A tabloid news anchor (Kelsey Grammer) attempts to get the scoop on Flemming’s latest beat when a pair of Eastern European criminals (Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov) find a way to manipulate the media by filming their exploits, which they believe they can sell to bloodthirsty journalists and make themselves rich.
In the wake of a double murder, Flemming teams up with Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns), an arson investigator assigned to help locate the murderous pair.
Meanwhile, Flemming must contend with his news reporter girlfriend Nicolette (Melina Kanakaredes) as he and Jordy find themselves enveloped in a lurid series of events that threatens to jeopardize their safety.
Kim Cattrall, Avery Brooks, and Vera Farmiga are also featured in the cast. |
| Also Known As: |
15 Minutes |
| Genres: |
Crime, Thriller, Crime Thriller, Police Detective Film, Media Satire, |
| Running Time: |
120:00 |
| Actor List: |
Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks, Melina Kanakaredes, Karel Roden, Oleg Taktarov, Vera Farmiga, John DiResta, James Handy, Darius McCrary, Bruce Cutler, Charlize Theron, Kim Cattrall, David Alan Grier, Gabriel Casseus, Vladimir Mashkov, Anton Yelchin, |
Posted in Crime, Crime Thriller, Media Satire, Police Detective Film, Thriller | No Comments »
January 9th, 2010
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Hollywood success d’estimes Maria Bello (Payback, Duets) and Sean Bean (Troy) team up for the 2006 direct-to-video horror opus The Dark - a gothic tale of supernatural terror with echoes of Orpheus and Eurydice.
When Manhattanite divorcee Adelle (Bello) and her young daughter, Sarah (Sophie Stuckey) sojourn to a farm newly purchased by Sarah’s dad, James (Bean) on the Welsh coast, an unspeakable tragedy befalls everyone: Sarah drowns.
Or, so it appears.
For soon, Adelle uncovers a strange history behind the property, entrenched in Welsh mythology.
A half-century prior, a gaggle of schoolgirls committed mass hara-kiri on the Welsh cliff behind the farm.
One of the victims, Ebril (Abigail Stone) makes a startling reappearance and warns Adelle that Sarah has been abducted and dragged to Annwyn, the Welsh Hades.
Now, Adelle and James must team up to rescue the young girl - before she is completely extinguished.
John Fawcett (Ginger Snaps) directs. |
Posted in Horror, Supernatural Horror | No Comments »
