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Angels with Dirty Faces - Unrated
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One of the best if not the best gangster films of it's era. James Cagney is brilliant as ex-con gangster Rocky Sullivan who returns to his boyhood neighborhood to look up his best friend Jerry (O'Brien) who years later is now a priest who helps boys on the wrong path. The Dead End Kids play the youth who once looked up to Jerry but now idolize the charismatic Rocky who doesnt take long to revert to his old ways especially when it comes to going head to head with his double crossing lawyer played by Humphrey Bogart. A great all-star cast and a powerful ending make this a timeless classic.
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December 3, 2009
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N/A
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Irish Luck - Unrated
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Enjoyable comedy that launched the Monogram Pictures teaming of Frankie Darro & Mantan Moreland. Buzzy O'Brien is a hotel bellhop who fancies himself as an detective and is always getting himself into trouble by getting into jams with murderering & thieving gangsters usually dragging his friend into trouble with him much to the chagrin of his cop father's police buddy.
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December 3, 2009
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N/A
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Gabriel Iglesias: Hot and Fluffy - Unrated
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Very funny standup comedy film by Gabriel Iglesias who returns home to Bakersfield to tape his first ever comedy special which in my opinion is brilliant considering most comedians make three or four of these specials before they really hit their stride. Thumbs up big time on this one.
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December 3, 2009
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N/A
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Land of the Lost - PG-13
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Being a huge fan of the television show when I was a kid growing up, I was seriously disappointed with Will Ferrell's attempt to rework a classic that should have not been remade even with the Krofft seal of approval. Ferrell & Friel were wooden in their performances. The only reason this turkey of a flop got two stars from me was Danny McBride whose brilliant in just about everything he appears in, cameo by Matt Lauer, and Ronnie from "Role Models" who asks Will Ferrell if dinosaurs have boobies? lmao
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December 3, 2009
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N/A
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Jennifer's Body - R
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This is supposed to be a horror comedy but it fails to meet the requirements of either genre. Megan Fox plays Jennifer, a beautiful high school cheerleader who one night after a close encounter with an evil band becomes a succubus and starts knocking off her horny male classmates in fits of passion. The story is weak and the acting flat. "Mean Girls" Amanda Seyfried does deliver a nice performance as Jennifer's nerdy best friend.
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November 10, 2009
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N/A
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Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways - Unrated
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I know most people wouldn't give this film five stars but I love The Runaways and am a huge fan of this labor of love documentary by band replacement bassist Vicky Tischler-Blue. This film chronicles the rise of the legendary 70's girl group, The Runaways. This film features interviews with band members Currie, Ford, West, Fox, and Blue. It features other perspectives as well like taskmaster manager Kim Fowley who brought the girls from very different backgrounds together that led to their success but whose differences ultimately led to their demise. Fowley took advantage of these girls, lied to their parents, and used a self described boot camp mentality to break the girls emotionally. A couple of the mothers of the girls gave their views on how they were duped by Fowley. This film is peppered with lots of live performance material and home videos. For unknown reasons Joan Jett chose not to participate in this film. My favorite Runaway was original bassist Jackie Fox who still looks beautiful today. Lita Ford who was sort of the unofficial alpha female of the group still comes off as being brash and full of herself but used The Runaways as a springboard to become a rock legend.
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October 9, 2009
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N/A
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Zombieland - R
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This movie was just plain awesome! Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee has to be one of the greatest action heroes of all time. Jesse Eisenberg who has made a career out of playing likeable tools plays one here too but adds alot of humor to the film as Columbus, a reclusive hypochondriac who has managed to survive a zombie onslaught by living by rules for avoiding and killing zombies. Emma Stone & Abigail Breslin round out the cast as a pair of streetwise sisters who kick zombie ass and use cons to outwit and survive. This film has alot of laughs as a horror comedy and the killer old school soundtrack has definitely made this an instant classic.
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October 9, 2009
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N/A
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Shutter Island - Unrated
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September 18, 2009
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N/A
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Loverboy - PG-13
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Patrick Dempsey ruled the 80's teen comedy and this was arguably his best. He stars as Randy, a college student who runs out of money and gets a job as a pizza delivery boy. Things get wild when he is mistaken for a gigolo and word gets out amongst the lonely rich middle aged housewives that he's the man to call when you want a little more than a pizza. Things really go South for Randy when his mom & the jealous husbands get thrown in the mixup. My favorite Angel Kate Jackson stars as Randy's mom and features an all star cast of lovelies such as Barbara Carrera, Kirstie Alley, Carrie Fisher, and Kim Miyori. I would love this film to one day get the special edition treatment.
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September 9, 2009
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N/A
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Beverly Hills Cop II - R
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I know just about everyone prefers the first Beverly Hills Cop but this is one of the rare occasions where I feel the sequel is superior to the original. Detroit cop Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to track down the ring of deadly bandits who shot his friend. Partnering with his B.H.cop buddies Taggert & Rosewood, he turns the city upside down to bring down the bad guys. Featuring an all star cast, a killer soundtrack, and Tony Scott directing, you have a winning combination for a great 80's action comedy. How can you beat Judge Reinhold & Eddie Murphy going on a high speed chase in a cement mixing truck through the streets of Beverly Hills with the Pointer Sisters kicked up in the background?
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September 9, 2009
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N/A
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Empire Records - PG-13
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This is a great underrated classic that unfortunately took a backseat to other contemporary Gen-X classics of the time such as "Reality Bites" & "Dazed & Confused". The movie centers around the day in the life of some young slackers who work at an independant record store whose jobs become threatened when a big chain music store plans a takeover of the hip trendy music shop. This film features great performances by a wonderful ensemble cast but Rory Cochrane from "Dazed & Confused" steals this movie as well playing the wiseass Lucas. Liv Tyler turns in a wonderful starmaking performance as smart beauty Corey and Ethan Embry is the likeable but extremely weird Mark. This movie features a great soundtrack as well.
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September 3, 2009
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N/A
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Charley Varrick - PG
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This is Walter Matthau in his prime and at his dramatic best. The usually comedic Matthau convincingly pulls off the Eastwood-ish leading man part in this Don Siegel heist classic. Matthau plays Charley Varrick, a crop dusting pilot turned small time bank robber. Things go south real quick for Varrick and his gang when they unexpectedly take alot more money than they planned on. The money turns out to be unlaundered mob money being funneled through the tiny desert bank that leads to the deaths of many around Varrick including his wife & untrusting overanxious partner. John Vernon plays Boyle, the mob banker sent in to investigate and Joe Don Baker is excellent as Molly, a well dressed southern hitman hot on Varrick's trail. One of the things Matthau brings to the character of Charley Varrick that makes him so appealing is his resourcefulness. The guy is always one step ahead of the cops and the crooks. This is one of my favorite Walter Matthau films and I would love for it one day to get the digitally remastered special edition treatment on Dvd. Look for William Schallert who played Matthau's milquetoast deputy in "Lonely Are The Brave"hamming it up with a promotion to typical 70's sheriff in this film.
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August 24, 2009
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N/A
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Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 - PG
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Can a documentary about a 40 year old college football game be that exciting? It can if it has an almost Hollywood ending and a cast of future politicians and actors whose paths crossed during a gridiron meeting of two ivy league powerhouses who both went undefeated. Yale dominated Harvard the first 80% of the game but then a miracle happened, Harvard came out of nowhere and nothing to tie the game, stunning everybody. Tommy Lee Jones played for Harvard, Al Gore was his roommate, Meryl Streep was dating a Yale player at the time, and future President of the U.S., George W. Bush was a student at Yale getting into college hijinks with his frat buddies. All these interesting stories told by Lee and the other players from both sides. A very interesting little film.
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August 23, 2009
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N/A
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The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - PG-13
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As a kid growing up, I played these video games when they were brand new and my fascination with these games have never ceased. This awesome documentary is a modern version of David vs. Goliath. David being avid Donkey Kong fanatic Steve Wiebe who is a family man that plays Donkey Kong religiously in his garage and wants nothing more than to become the world record holder on the game. Goliath is of course the original world record holder and the dominant force on the game since 1982, Billy Mitchell. Wiebe is a likeable middle class teacher and Mitchell is an arrogant and highly successful restaurant owner who could never be satisfied being number two at anything. Mitchell's arrogance and animousity toward's the humble Wiebe really made this film fun.
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August 22, 2009
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N/A
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The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg - PG
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Outstanding story of legendary Jewish slugger Hank Greenberg who excelled at the sport of baseball in a time when many people held his religion against him. The film features many interviews with prominent fans like Walter Matthau & Alan Dershowitz, as well as family, teammates, and Hammerin' Hank himself in archive footage interviews. Being from Michigan, it is also a nice historical look back at Detroit and it's professional ballclub.
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August 22, 2009
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N/A
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Repo! The Genetic Opera - R
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GeneCo is a company that provides organ donations for a price but if the client misses a payment, the evil corporation sends out a Repo man-a trained surgeon dressed in a menacing Marty McFly-like biohazard suit to collect payment on site. Payment being not money but the client's organs. The movie centers on the daughter of the Repo man who turns to the GeneCo founder to cure the rare blood disease that plagues her. The problem being her father and the man she is turning to for help are secretly bitter enemies who both shared love for the same woman, the girl's late mother. Great performances by Head, Vega, Sorvino, Moseley, Brightman, & yes even Paris Hilton. This film is a beautifullly shot gothic style nightmare and did I mention that the entire film is sang opera style?
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August 17, 2009
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N/A
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Chalkdust Memories - Unrated
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I watched this movie because I like all those corny outdated educational films they used to show you in school. The only reason this film doesnt get five stars is because some of the films were a tad too long. I was expecting a compilation of the ten minute hygiene, sex ed, and driver's ed films they used to show you in class but many of these films were the longer ones. Three of the best ones on this compilation was the classic 'Duck & Cover", "Red Nightmare" hosted by Jack Webb, and "LSD- Insight or Insanity' narrated by Sal Mineo
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August 9, 2009
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N/A
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The Trouble with Angels - PG
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This is by far my favorite Hayley Mills movie and the entire cast is outstanding. Hayley plays Mary who along with her friend Rachel constantly push the boundaries of an all girl Catholic school with their mischievous pranks. Rosalind Russell plays the strict but caring Reverend Mother who is constantly butting heads with the two girls trying to show them the error of their ways. This is an outstanding family friendly movie that is really underrated and definitely not shown as often as it should be.
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August 5, 2009
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N/A
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Porky's Revenge - R
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This was my second favorite Porky's film growing up.This time Porky now proprieter of a riverboat casino seeks revenge on the boys of Angel Beach by forcing them to throw their high school championship basketball game. Great side story with a budding romance between Meat and Porky's homely but well stacked daughter. Great end to the trilogy.
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July 26, 2009
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N/A
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Porky's II: The Next Day - R
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Not nearly as good as 1 and 3 but does have its funny moments. Pee Wee & Steve having the Graveyard Gloria prank backfire on them is the most hilarious scene in the movie.
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July 26, 2009
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N/A
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Porky's - R
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The holy grail of 80's teen sexploitation films. This is the one that started it all and is the best of them all. I was twelve when this movie first came out and I remember sneaking into the theatre with my friends to see this after paying to see some piece of crap being shown on another screen. This is the movie they didnt want you to see but you were going to see anyway because this movie didnt just have to be watched, it had to be ridden, man!
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July 26, 2009
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N/A
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Clay Pigeons - R
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Great retro-noir film starring Joaquin Phoenix as Clay Bidwell, an average guy whose life begins to unravel when his best friend commits suicide due to an affair Clay had with his wife. Things get even more complicated for Clay when Lester Long, a charming and overly friendly drifter played brilliantly by Vince Vaughn comes to town and befriends the troubled Clay. Bodies begin piling up and Clay gets caught up in a race against time to clear himself of any wrong doing and bring the killer to justice. An extremely well done and entertaining film.
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July 25, 2009
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N/A
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Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) - R
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This is the Mad Max movie to watch if you could only see one. It has Max, the Ford Falcon, the feral kid, the cattledog, the gyrocopter pilot, and the just plain sick guy in the hockey mask. Max returns to aid a fuel outpost in their battle with post nuclear weirdos. If you liked Miller's car stunts in the original, then you will love them in this film. Great flick!
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July 21, 2009
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N/A
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Mad Max - R
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One of the exceptions where the sequel is superior to the original. this post apocalyptic Australian action film made a legend of the title character and the star. Mad Max 2 a.k.a. The Road Warrior was a better film but this film pioneered the genre. Hugh Keays-Byrne makes a creepy and formidable villain.
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July 21, 2009
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N/A
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I Love You Beth Cooper - PG-13
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This movie tried too hard to be like a John Hughes movie of the eighties or a "Can't Hardly Wait" of the nineties. The script and storyline were flat from beginning to end and the plotline was completely unbelievable. In real life, the nerd would have humiliated Beth Cooper in front of the school and her roid raged R.O.T.C. boyfriend would have mopped the floor with him. Ten minutes and the movie's over. Paul Rust looked too old for his part and played the part getting very little sympathy from the audience. Hayden Panettiere is very cute and would be outstanding in a part like this if a better script came along. Save your money on this one
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July 20, 2009
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N/A
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292 ratings
234 reviews
