House of Games
August 17, 2007
By the time he wrote and directed his first film, House of Games (1987), David Mamet already had an illustrious career as an award-winning playwright and Hollywood screenwriter. Directing this movie would allow him the kind of creative control over his...
Taxi Driver: Collector’s Edition
August 15, 2007
Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) captures the sense of disillusionment that people felt towards the Vietnam War, racial hatred, and dishonest politicians like Richard Nixon in the 1970’s. His film is an emblematic document of its time and...
The Lookout
August 13, 2007
With his adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel, Out of Sight, Scott Frank demonstrated a knack for crime thrillers with plenty of plot twists and double crosses. Now, he’s finally gotten the chance to direct his own movie and the result is The Lookout...
The Muppet Show: Season 2
August 7, 2007
Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets are back for Season 2 with notable guest stars like Zero Mostel, Steve Martin, Elton John, Julie Andrews and many others. The show was now a proven success and the celebrity guest stars came flooding...
Disturbia
August 6, 2007
With a starring role in the new Transformers film (2007) and a significant role in the upcoming Indiana Jones installment, Shia LaBeouf is being groomed as the next big thing. He made Disturbia (2007) just before these blockbusters and this little thriller...
Ivan’s Childhood
August 2, 2007
Ivan’s Childhood (1962) was Andrei Tarkovsky’s first film and it is certainly an impressive debut. The script was based on a novella by Vladimir Bugomolov but when the novice director came on board he reworked it with his friend Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky....
Hard Boiled: Ultimate Edition
July 31, 2007
In retrospect, John Woo’s Hard Boiled (1992) can be seen as his audition reel for Hollywood. And what a helluva audition reel it was – a masterfully orchestrated magnum opus of mayhem. After its release, he moved to the United States and started over...
300
July 30, 2007
Capitalizing on the success of Sin City (2005) and some canny marketing (the screening of a trailer at the San Diego Comic Con was particularly effective), 300 (2006) became a surprise commercial hit despite mostly scathing reviews. Like Sin City and...
Kung Fu Hustle: Axe-Kickin’ Edition
July 27, 2007
Fresh from the worldwide triumph of Shaolin Soccer (2001), Stephen Chow surpassed its critical and commercial success with Kung Fu Hustle (2004). He took the winning formula he perfected with his previous film and elevated it to a more ambitious scale....
Cashback
July 26, 2007
Cashback (2006) started off as a short film that filmmaker Sean Ellis made in 2004 and that went on to be nominated for an Academy Award. Not doubt inspired by this brush with such a lofty accolade, he expanded it into a feature-length effort. Ben Willis...
