There are some classic movies you just have to see. Often they are popular because of the actors. Especially when they cast present-day stars early in their careers. In Taps, you get Timothy Hutton (fresh after winning an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ordinary People), Sean Penn in his first feature film and a testosterone-fuelled Tom Cruise.
Cadet Major Brian Moreland (Timothy Hutton) is a made man. He’s now a Major, the highest rank at Bunker Hill Military Academy. After dining with General Harlan Bache (George C. Scott), he’s on military-themed cloud 9. That is, until Bache makes a devastating announcement—that Bunker Hill Military Academy will be closing its doors. The historic buildings will be razed and condos will be built. This drives the boys mental. Following a devastating incident,
Director: Harold Becker
Country: USA
Genre: Drama
Run time: 129 minutes
Scale: 4
The Batman franchise has it’s own Bat Brand, which for some is a creative turn-off. Explosions get bigger, car chases and fight scenes get longer and the sitting time extends beyond two hours. As a kid, I loved the series starring Adam West. As an adult, I’m far from a Batman movie junkie. I don’t remember the early movies beyond knowing that Batman was played by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. I liked Batman Begins. It gave the Hollywood Batman a new edge and deeper history.
keep his snack bars operating, he must visit them daily and collect his cut. 
Bad Santa is twisted, raunchy and hilarious. Conman Willie (Billy Bob Thornton), a mall Santa partners with con elf Marcus (Tony Cox) to gain entry to stores and rob them. Problem is that Santa is a foul-mouthed alcoholic kid-hater who often wets himself in costume. Marcus is tiring of Willie’s misbehaving and jeopardizing their scheme.
them into a life away from the city, away from the seedy boss and his henchmen. The robbery doesn’t go as planned and Alex loses Tamara. Now, an investigation into Robert’s actions and judgment at the robbery are called into question. He pulls away from Susanne and their relationship strains further.
Malik is offered protection by the Corsican mafia who run a powerful prison faction but only in exchange for an extreme favor...a favor that will haunt Malik. While he receives protection, he is treated poorly for his Arab heritage by the Corsicans, but this doesn’t deter Malik. He forges alliances that guide him as well as put his good standing in the prison and the Corsicans in jeopardy. Yet these experiences shape his coming of age and rise to power within and outside prison. He takes advantage of school, begins associating with other Arabs and ascends to a position of trust with the Corsicans.
Turns out the small beast in the basket is Duane’s once conjoined twin, Belial. They two are in NYC to execute their revenge on the doctors that separated them years previous (at the request of their father). Duane has cared for Belial since the surgery (saving him from the garbage heap), but he can’t control his brother’s killing sprees. When Duane sneaks away on a date, Belial erupts into a murderous rage.
daughter’s costly wedding. To protect his ego and prevent his ex-wife’s rich husband, Roy (Jason Lee) from picking up the tab, he decides to sell a collectible baseball card that will fetch him close to 100K. With the earnings, he’ll have enough for the wedding and still have some leftover for himself.
When Corkey’s manager, Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith) expresses concern about Corkey’s mental health, Corkey ignores him and disappears for some R&R to the country getaway owned by his high school crush Peggy Ann (Ann Margret) and her husband, Duke (Ed Lauter). Corkey’s feelings, which haven’t faded, grow ardent. He confesses to Peggy Ann. Peggy Ann, in an admittedly unhappy marriage, starts falling for the old flame’s charm (she’s very amused by the creepy Fats). They reminisce and soon they are discussing running off together. As Corkey begins to display rage and erratic behavior, she goes with the flow. Seems Duke has his own issues with anger, so she might be accustomed to the behavior but as you watch, you want to yell at the TV for her to see the signs that this won’t end well. Instead, she uses phrases like “You bastard!” in a joking manner that are oddly amusing. Fats and Corkey are on a collision course with insanity and the climactic ending heightens to an almost unbearably suspenseful ending.
with serving up the food for the customers. Boss Ruza (Mirjana Karanovic) is a hard-nosed manager who runs a tight ship and has no tolerance for deviations or fun. When Ana takes a job there, she soon learns that her missteps toward lightness are quashed by Ruza. Until Ana throws her a birthday party and Ruza’s guard begins chipping away. Through Ana’s actions, Ruza begins to be a picture of her old self…the one that enjoyed herself and possessed hope. Mila has worked at the cafeteria with Ruza since the start, but Ruza makes it clear she’s merely hired help, not a friend. Mila’s husband is soon to retire and they want to build their dream home back in former Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia is what connects them—the three women are transplant from the former republic. Their similar struggles end up bringing them closer but in the end, their fears of letting people get too close prove too strong for change. Poignant.
Perhaps other folks in the audience were blown away but it was a sedate crowd. Did we (the crowd) let down the band…maybe the trio was waiting for the Seattle crowd to give them more, something with which to connect. Maybe I contributed to the problem, but I was waiting for the group to go first.
When Bella leaves sunny Arizona for wet Forks, Washington, to live with her dad, she undergoes an extremely welcoming and well adjusted high-school-transfer experience. The kids at her new school fawn over her and she quickly endears herself to them. She is intrigued by lab partner Edward, who can’t seem to stand her. After he saves her from a possibly fatal accident, their connection gets too strong. By then, smarty Bella has put it together—Edward’s pale-to-the-point-of-transparent skin, his ‘Flowers in the Attic’-like siblings, their sudden disappearance on sunny days—she’s like totally in love with a vampire.
In fact, the only ones who receive the kudos the clichéd, talentless. He struggles, talks to his professors, including self-indulgent blow-hard Professor Sandiford (John Malkovich), but still, he seems to be failing in his quest as a legitimate artist. He even changes his style to try to appeal to his class, but that leaves him worse off.
they could finally rest and not walk the earth in limbo. Problem is Pincus is a selfish creep who hates life, until Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), a tuxedoed ghost (what you die in becomes your uniform), asks for his help with his very living widow Gwen (Téa Leoni). Frank wants Pincus to interfere with Gwen and her fiancée, Richard (Bill Campbell), the lawyer with no sense of humor. Pincus refuses; helping or considering anyone else isn’t part of his sensibilities. After Frank’s strong-arming, he helps Gwen by performing a dental exam on one of her museum mummies. There, he has a moment of feeling. Will Pincus know what to do with these foreign feelings? Will he help the Verizon-network-like legion of ghosts tailing him? Will he stop wearing the dentist’s uniform outside his office?
Protagonist James (Jesse Eisenberg) is an Ivy-league hopeful who expects to enjoy Amsterdam’s finest the summer before he begins college. When the family suffers a financial setback, James has to …gasp…work the summer instead of party. The only job he can find is running games at the amusement park, Adventureland. There he meets an assortment of folks (reminiscent of the Breakfast Club variety), including his bosses Paulette (Kristen Wiig) and Bobby (Bill Hader) and his crush object Em (Kristen Stewart). He likes her; she seems to like him, but maybe not as much as she likes Mike (Ryan Reynolds), the Adventureland handyman who likes all the young girls, using his tall tale about how he jammed with Lou Reed to hook them. 
(Spoiler Alert: Read at Your Own Risk!)
Warren is an excellent and compassionate speaker. I should know this from his 
Lydia (Deidra Edwards) attends a fat acceptance group. When she dares start a walking group with some of the fat acceptance folks, she gets in big trouble from the group organizer. She’s accused of self-loathing and having a problem being fat. She should accept being big, she’s told. Lydia counters that everyone needs exercise. As the debate heats up, a skinny woman enters the room and sits down, as if to attend the meeting. Clearly, she must be in the wrong place. The organizer, frustrated with Lydia (and her valid points) asks the stranger if she can help her with something. Turns out skinny gal, Darcy (Staci Lawrence) is an anorexic in recovery; she sees herself as fat. She gets tossed out on her skinny butt for daring to join a group that won’t have her.
on medication or find him a new school. She yanks him out and moves on an idea sparked by her lover, Mac (Steve Zahn), Oscar’s father. A cop, he tells her that the folks who clean up bloody crime scenes (biohazard removal andcleaning) get paid very very well. Rose calls her new biz Sunshine Cleaning and recruits slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt). The women find they have a lot to learn in their new venture.
successful entrepreneur Steve (Brian Petersen) retires and realizes his comfortable life is boring. He’s in search of his next venture, but unable to find the right fit. His best pal, J (Brett Spackman) hasn’t accomplished much and looks bored with his day-to-day life, but seems resigned to it. When Steve’s fiancée Katie’s (Carley Adams) friend’s son is deported to Mexico after a traffic stop, Steve and J devise a plan to smuggle him back into the US where he’s lived most of his life. This success leads to an entrepreneurial opportunity as coyotes—people who get paid to sneak undocumented immigrants from Mexico into the United States.
(Ryan Reynolds) who has been suffering for “Satan’s mistress” for the last three years. Andrew is hoping that by paying his dues, he will someday get promoted to an editor position.
got acting chops. I’d been curious about this movie, but hadn’t gotten around to it, until I saw it at Michelle’s and she recommended it. From the start, you’re drawn in. The cast includes several well-known talents as well as brilliant not-so-well-knowns that add the right amount of je ne sais quoi.
Porter’s sits in disbelief in his tiny cell, apprehensive about his new life. Add to this the fact that he isn’t a big guy and knows no one on the inside. The terror of the door opening for Porter to join the other prisoners for outside time for the first time is scary but it’s quickly eclipsed when another prisoner follows him out and a brawl ensues. Turns out the prison guards have their own game.
