Living for the Cinema

Twenty years ago, Sir Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Napoleon, 1492, Black Hawk Down) directed yet another large-scale historical drama.....this time taking place during the Crusades as we watch war escalate between the Saracins and Christian armies sent over from Europe.  And apparently no one really cared. :( The film received middling reviews and box office upon release.  

However following in the tradition of another maligned, often misunderstood genre epic which he directed back in the 1980's - Blade Runner - Ridley Scott arranged to have HIS own personal extended director's cut released to DVD, including at least forty minutes of extra footage.  The reaction was not only universally postiive but THIS version (which Ridley insists is the COMPLETE version of the story he was trying to tell) is now looked upon by many as one of his masterpieces.  It also features a stacked international cast including Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, and Alexander Siddig.  Let's head back to the 12th Century Jerusalem to explore this epic tale!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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John McClane is Back!  After successfully defeating terrorists at Nakatomi Plaza in the first movie and Dulles Airport in the second movie, McClane (Bruce Willis) is once again working as a NYPD cop.  Hung over and once again on the outs with his wife, he has been called back into duty to track down a mysterious new threat who's not only planting explosives around the city but is specifically asking for HIM.  This threat is named Simon (Jeremy Irons) and he apparently wants to play games with McClaine while he terrorizes the public, even threatening to blow up a local school if our hero doesn't do what he wants on time.  And just as things are heating up, John gets mixed up with a local store owner named Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson) who not only saves his life but ends up being summoned to play these same games.  The two team up to save the city....but what are they saving it from exactly?  The plot just thickens from there as Die Hard director John McTiernan (The Thomas Crown Affair, The Hunt for Red October) returns to direct this well-liked and hugely popular third installment which came out thirty years ago this spring.  Yippee-Ki-Yay.....indeed! 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Out on her first night on the beat, rookie NYPD cop Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes upon a robbery in a grocery store and takes down the perpetrator.  However as soon as she takes him down, things take a strange turn as one witness flees the scene with that perp's weapon.  Soon after, Megan meets a mysterious commodies trader named Eugene played by Ron Silver (Timecop, Reversal of Fortune, The West Wing) and....things get even stranger from there. :o These events kick off a slick, violent action thriller directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Point Break, Zero Dark Thirty) relatively earlier in her career.  Back in the spring of 1990, this film underperformed but has since garnered a cult following....also included in the cast are Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Pena, Louise Fletcher, and Kevin Dunn. 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Welcome to the LIVING FOR THE BOYLE review series!  Daniel Francis Boyle originally hailed from Manchester, England and his filmmaking career took off thirty years ago in 1995 with the release of acclaimed cult thriller Shallow Grave.  And ever since then, Danny Boyle (as he’s officially known) has carved out a uniquely successful career not only achieving box office success several times but also winning a few Oscars along the way.  During this time period, he has also become one of MY personal favorite directors, having helmed excellent ORIGINAL stories spanning several genres including children’s fantasy, science fiction, crime drama, horror, and biopic.  Over the next few months, I will be reviewing some of my favorite entries from his filmography in the lead-up to the long-awaited sequel to one of his more successful films….28 Years Later which will be released in the U.S. on June 20!

Twenty-nine years ago, this raw, high-energy adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel about a group of young men in Edinburgh (Scotland) scoring heroin took the world by storm.  Of course, it was about more than just the drugs....it was a frenetic crime comedy/drama not only exploring addiction but youth.  It also featured a top-flight cast of up-and-coming UK actors along with an iconic soundtrack!  Starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kevin McKidd, and Kelly McDonald, it's time to find out about whether to....Choose Life.   

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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What's this?  Yet ANOTHER movie/series about a married couple who are also spies?!? :o Yes this thriller is about a couple of British spies who both work for the same intelligence agency and apparently there's a dangerous leak which has occurred at this agency.  One of them has been tasked with finding out who the leaker is while the OTHER might actually be the prime suspect....uh-oh, could be silly! :P

Or maybe not as it's written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Panic Room), directed by Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's 11), and features a top-flight cast of talent including two-time Oscar-nominee Michael Fassbender (Shame, Steve Jobs) and two-time Oscar Winner Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, Tar) as the married couple.  The cast also includes rising stars Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton) and Marisa Abela (Industry) along with two acclaimed alumni from the James Bond franchise, Pierce Brosnan and Naomi Harris.  Sounds intriguing....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Who doesn't love a movie focused on a party?? :) Well when they're done right at least....Animal House, Bachelor Party....and thirty-five years ago, director Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang) made his debut with one of the better ones.  It also starred a hip-hop duo no less, Kid & Play - Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin co-star as two high school friends who just want to rap, dance, and meet girls.  And that pretty much comprises the story of the movie......they just want to have fun along  the two young ladies they have their eyes on, Sydney (Tisha Campbell) and Sharane (AJ Johnson).  The cast also features several comedy legends including Martin Lawrence, John Witherspoon, and the late, great Robin Harris.  Also featuring great music from Full Force....who also co-star as the main villains!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host) returns from his Oscar triumph five years ago with his first directorial effort since his worldwide smash Parasite, which remains the ONLY foreign language film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture.  This time around, he's directing a high concept sci-fi comedy adventure taking place in the future focusing on Mickey (Robert Pattinson) who works as an "Expendable" for a growing organization looking to colonize a snowy desolate planet.  His job entails being used as a tester of various hostile environments, new viruses, potential vaccines, and any number of deadly situations which can occur on said planet.  The key to his survival is that he doesn't survive most of these ordeals....they have the technology to simply clone him again to restart the process. :o And hilarity ensues!  Also among this stacked cast are Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, and Steven Yuen.  For Mickey, it's time to find out if the 17th time's the Charm. ;) 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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With only their third feature film (following Blood Simple & Raising Arizona), The Coen Brothers (Joel & Ethan) delivered one of the most unique crime dramas of its era...or any era.  This neo-noir takes place during the Prohibition Era in an unidentified American city which is currently enmeshed in an ongoing war between two rival criminal organizations, one lead by Leo (Albert Finney) and the other lead by Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito).  Leo's main advisor and most trusted lieutenant is Tom (Gabriel Byrne) whose fears and machinations are at the core of this story.  And through Tom, we get to encounter a variety of colorful characters including Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), The Dane (JE Freeman), Bernie (John Turturro), Mink (Steve Buscemi) and so many others who are each on one side of this burgeoning conflict.  However the story is not what stands out most about this enduring cult classic....it's the inventive camerawork, bravura performances, gorgeous production design, and endlessly quotable dialogue!  So just in time for St. Patrick's Day, let's find out exactly what the rumpus is....  

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Thirty years ago this month, acclaimed director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm) gave us a terrifying viral thriller which at the time MIGHT have seemed like pure fiction....but WAS it? :o 

Well regardless it was a big hit and featured a stacked cast featuring Oscar-winners Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Cuba Gooding Jr plus Rene Russo and the late, great Donald Sutherland. (How did those last two never receive Oscar nominations??) A brand new deadly virus has travelled from overseas via an innocent monkey who stowed away on a shipping barge....and that monkey has landed in Southern California....and this virus has started to spread around one truly unfortunate isolated small town.  People are dying as the virus mutates and the only folks who can stop it are a team of Army doctors who have to figure out how to find a cure.  It's all very '90's though very scary nonetheless....and remember to wash your hands!    

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Six years before she would achieve success and acclaim with The Substance, recently Oscar-nominated French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat directed this nasty little grindhouse thriller.  It's a simple story about a young, aspiring actress/model named Jen (Matilda Lutz) who is staying with her wealthy MARRIED boyfriend Richard (Kevin Janssens) for the weekend at his remote vacation home out in the desert.....when company comes calling with Richard's two hunting buddies (Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchede).  While Richard steps away, one of them assaults her and sadly when he returns, things just get worse from there....as Jen is eventually left for dead, bleeding out in the middle of nowhere.  Once she wakes up though, she finds a way to heal herself in more ways than one and heads out to exact.....REVENGE....on the three men.  And what results is one truly BLOODY affair! 

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE PORTRAYED VIA MOVIE CLIPS

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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