But how much more badass might she be if her stunts were rooted in reality? For example, Jackie Chan can do — or could do — most of the things we saw him do in his movies; the blooper-ridden end credits attest to that. But from the start, Jukkalan’s tricks are aided by, well, tricks […]
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Fred Won’t Move Out
That might sound like emotionally exhausting stuff, but this small indie has a surprisingly light touch. Writer-director Richard Ledes is more interested in capturing the stirring moments of family life than he is in heavy-handed exploration. The elderly couple at the center, Fred and Susan (Ruby Sparks’ Elliott Gould and Choke’s Judith Roberts), reside in […]
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Rolling Thunder
Now available in a Blu-ray from Shout! Factory that puts MGM’s 2011 burn-on-demand release to utter shame, the film stars William Devane (the POTUS of last summer’s The Dark Knight Rises) as Maj. Charles Rane. After spending a grueling seven years as a prisoner of war, he returns home to San Antonio, Texas, to a […]
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Sadako 3D
This time, that creepy, crawling girl with the stringy black hair known as Sadako (Ai Hashimoto) comes not through TV sets, but computer and smartphone screens. The cursed VHS tape is now a cursed video clip of a live suicide, and anyone who views it immediately kills himself or herself. Well, anyone except pretty, young […]
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Electra Glide in Blue
That Guercio never made another movie is a shame, because so much of Electra Glide in Blue — an opening shot of the highway cutting through the Arizona desert, the introduction of the motorcycle-cop protagonist in full uniform, the haunting final minutes — reveal a keen eye for composition. Two years away from TV’s Baretta, […]
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The Burning
(Granted, hearing future Seinfeld sidekick Alexander talk about spermicide is memorable, too. Seeing his bare behind on a high-definition Blu-ray, however, is something I’d like to forget.) In the prologue, Cropsy (Lou David, The Gumball Rally) is a caretaker at Camp Blackfoot. One night, a few kids have the bright idea to “scare the shit out […]
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At Any Price
Unfortunately, his latest effort is something of a stumble. At Any Price, which opens Friday exclusively at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial, marks an admirable departure from Bahrani’s comfort zone. In contrast to his previous works, which featured nonprofessional actors and John Cassavetes-styled improvisation, this offering boasts an accomplished cast (a couple […]
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Nightfall
But 2012 may prove to be a banner year for him, based upon the smash-hit ensemble The Thieves and now the crime thriller Nightfall. In the latter, he portrays police inspector George Lam, who hasn’t quite been the same since his wife committed suicide five years ago, so his work — however gruesome — provides a […]
Posted inMusic
Grand Duel
As Clayton, a former sheriff, Van Cleef traverses the desert by stagecoach, looking to score a $3,000 bounty for bringing in the bandit Wermeer (Peter O’Brien, né Alberto Dentice, who never acted before or since). Wermeer is wanted for murder by the three Saxon brothers who seek revenge for them killing their dad (Horst Frank, […]
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The Last Stand
In his first starring role in a decade, the former governor of California plays Sheriff Ray Owens, the lovable law enforcer of Sommerton, Ariz., where nothing ever happens except a parade — that is, until the FBI starts to transfer Mexican cartel boss Cortez (the Benicio Del Toro-esque Eduardo Noriega of Blackthorn) from Las Vegas […]