Regardless of whether it was “too early” in 2006 to dramatize the events of September 11th, 2001, World Trade Center succeeds as a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who served at “ground zero” in the wake of terrorist attacks on the WTC’s twin towers in New York City. Removed from the politics of war and terrorism (yet still, like all films, inherently political in expressing its point of view), Oliver Stone’s potent drama focuses on the nightmarish ordeal, and subsequent rescue, of Port Authority policemen John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Peña), who were buried deeply within the rubble of the WTC after the twin towers collapsed. Granted, it’s only the film’s historical context that distinguishes it from any other dramatic rescue story, but in focusing on the goodness of humanity in response to the evil of terrorists who remain unnamed and off-screen, Stone and first-time screenwriter Andrea Berloff create an emotional context as powerf (more…)

While setting a milestone in the progress of digital filmmaking, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow resurrects a nostalgic fantasy world derived from a wide variety of vintage inspirations. It’s a dazzling dream for anyone who appreciates the look and feel of golden-age sci-fi pulp magazines, drawing its unique, all-digital design from such diverse sources as Howard Hawks adventures, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Buck Rogers, Blackhawk comics, The Third Man, cliffhanger serials, and the action-packed Indiana Jones franchise. Writer-director Kerry Conran’s feature debut is also guaranteed to inspire digital dreamers everywhere, suggesting a paradigm shift in the way CGI-dominated movies are made. It’s a giddy adventure for the young and young-at-heart, in which ace pilot “Sky Captain” Joe Sullivan (Jude Law) and intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) must save the world from a mad scientist whose vision of the future has tragic implications for all humankind. Ange (more…)

Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 03/24/2009 Rating: Pg13 Read the rest of this entry

KELLYS HEROES They were goldbricks until they found out about the gold bricks a fortune in Nazi-confiscated bullion! Clint Eastwood reups with the director of his Where Eagles Dare for this alternately action-filled and tongue-in-cheek tale of GIs who decide to get something extra out of the war. Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and Don Rickles co-star. THE DIRTY DOZEN Lee Marvin portrays a tough-as-nails major volunteered in the Army way to command a squad of misfits on a suicide mission against Nazi brass. Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Trini Lopez, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and Clint Walker are among the 12 jailbirds who will earn their freedom if they survive. WHERE EAGLES DARE The mission is clear. Get in. Get the general. Get out. Commandos charged with freeing a U.S. general from an Alpine fortress should also be told to trust nothing including the search-and-rescue orders just issued. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are in command in this tw (more…)

This straight-to-video animated story is set in the Beast’s castle which, as viewers know from the original Beauty and the Beast film, is under a spell until the Beast can learn to love. Starting with this familiar premise, Belle’s Magical World plummets into three disjointed episodes surrounding Belle’s life as a captive in the castle. In “The Perfect World,” a misunderstanding of words erupts between Belle and Beast, made worse by a feigned apology. Fifi and Lumiere take the spotlight in “Fifi’s Folly,” when a romantic evening together becomes a chilling adventure inside a runaway sleigh. In “The Broken Wing,” Belle entreats the Beast to act kindly toward a tiny songbird. Each tale offers a diluted moral message, yet the entire effort feels contrived and confusing, a ploy by the folks at Disney to add cash to their coffers by exploiting the popularity of the original motion picture classic. (Ages 5 and older) –Lynn Gibson Read the rest of this entry

Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 03/24/2009 Read the rest of this entry