Living for the Cinema

Thirty-five years ago, writer/director Oliver Stone released the follow-up to his searing Vietnam War drama Platoon which came out the previous year winning Best Picture among several other Oscars.....and this time, his focus was on stock brokers? :o Of course his late father had been a stock broker so this was a very personal subject for Stone and he even brought back the star from his previous film to star in this one....Charlie Sheen.  Sheen plays our main protagonist Bud Fox who's an aspiring young stock broker who idolizes one of the most exciting new titans of investment banking, Gordon Gekko who is played by Michael Douglas.  One day, he ingratiates himself into Gekko's world and ends up trading for him.....and what results is one of the most quoted and often imitated adult drama/thrillers of the 1980's.  Much of what makes it so iconic is the lead performance by Douglas who would win Best Actor at the Oscars.  It also stars Martin Sheen, Darryl Hannah, John C. McGinley, and the late great Hal Holbrook among several others.  Let's find out if Greed is STILL good!

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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The Holiday Movie Season continues.....and strangely enough, this one has quite the pedigree: it's directed by Renny Harlin who gave us the underrated Christmas actioner Die Hard 2: Die Harder and it's written by Shane Black who gave us the Christmas classic, Lethal Weapon.  Beyond that, it stars Oscar winner Geena Davis as Charli Baltimore, a former government assassin who contracted amnesia and is now mild-mannered midwestern school teacher with a young daughter.....until of course, former rivals come calling. :o Charli has also teamed up with Mitch Hennessy, a crafty private detective played by Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson.....and what results is a quippy, brutal, and entertaining Christmas actioner which more people should have seen while it was in theaters. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Twenty-five years ago, this biting satire loosely based upon Robert Heinlein's military science fiction novel of the same name was released - there was much fanfare as it was a very expensive production co-financed by two different studios and was directed by Paul Verhoeven who had recently given us Total Recall, Basic Instinct, and Robocop.   The problem was that most folks who initially saw it didn't seem to get the joke, not audiences nor critics.  Much of that was due to a cast of absurdly attractive actors playing absurdly written characters - it starred Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, and Neil Patrick Harris among several others.  Let's revisit this sci fi satire to see how it has held up....

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Our ongoing parade of holiday movies continues with likely one of the more beloved ones of the 21st Century with this charming tale of Buddy, the oversized Christmas Elf played by Will Ferrell back when he was still an active cast member of Saturday Night Live.  As Buddy is not always fitting in at the North Pole due to his unusual size for an elf, he decides to venture to New York City to seek out his REAL father whom he has been told lives there - the father is played by the late, great James Caan who is obviously taken by surprise meeting the son he never knew he had.

Jon Favreu directed this relatively early in his career, several years before he would both jumpstart the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man AND revitalize the Star Wars universe as show-runner of "The Mandalorian."  It was just simpler times back then as this film became a runaway phenomenon released amidst a slew of sequels to big-time franchises like Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.  It also co-stars Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, Mary Steenburgen, and the late great Ed Asner as Santa. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Based upon their Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation (and novelization) from just a few years ago, this docudrama tells the true story of New York Times' journalists Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zooey Kazan) in their exhaustive effort to get to the bottom of rampant sexual harassment and workplace abuse in Hollywood....mainly at Miramax Pictures under the thumb of Harvey Weinstein throughout the '90's and early '2000's.  This film was directed by Maria Schrader and also stars Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, and Samantha Morton among several others.  

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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'Tis the season for holiday movies!  And what better way to kick off this season than revisiting this Christmas-themed horror gem from the '80's directed by Joe Dante, starring Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates?  The REAL stars are actually the creatures of the title of course - they can start as cute, furry little things known as Mogwai.  But if you violate two of the three rules - don't let them get wet and don't feed them after midnight - then they can multiply and transform into much less pleasant scaly creatures who relish violence and mischief! :o What resulted was one of the bigger hits of the 1980's and just an endless parade of holiday nastiness....

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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It's time to return to the fictional African kingdom introduced to us in one of the strongest films from the Marvel franchise which was also the RARE superhero movie to receive significant awards attention.  Black Panther actually received seven Oscar nominations including for Best Picture and ended up winning three - not bad!

Ryan Coogler also returns to direct though unfortunately the star of that film (Chadwick Boseman) passed away premature a few years after its release, leaving a void as this time around, there is no titular Black Panther.  So for this installment, the focus shifts to a few different characters including his sister Shuri (Leticia Wright), his mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and a new character from Marvel lore who emerges as a potential new threat to the people of Wakanda.....that would be Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the leader of an underwater kingdom. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Thirty years ago, this small little UK thriller from writer/director Neil Jordan took the world by storm - it was a surprise hit at the box office, received near universal critical acclaim, and it also received seven Oscar nominations including for Best Picture.   What ended up being the main driver for much of this film's buzz and success was that it contained a "The Twist" which most audiences weren't expecting....and not just ANY twist either. ;) 

Besides that twist, the film features a stellar cast including Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Forest Whitaker, and Jaye Davidson who made QUITE the impression in only his first film role.  It's basically a romantic thriller focusing on a former IRA terrorist (Rea) who's on the run and tries to redeem himself by seeking out to protect the girlfriend of a man (Whitaker) who he held captive.  Let's find out if this '90's classic is more than JUST its twist.....

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
 Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Forty years ago before this film directed by Ted Kotcheff came out, star Sylvester Stallone was generally associated with the popular character of Rocky Balboa which was created by him six years prior.  Well all of that changed with the surprise success of this taut action thriller released in the fall of 1982  - this was the introduction to audiences of his OTHER beloved character, John Rambo.  Rambo is a veteran of the Vietnam War who is simply wandering into a small northwestern town when he starts to get harassed by the local Sheriff Teasle played by the late great Brian Dennehy.  

And he's not only harassed but arrested....and some of the local police holding him in custody make matters worse, things start to get violent and he escapes.  What results is an action-packed cat-and-mouse game between Rambo and Teasle....and one of the most influential action films of the 1980's.

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
 Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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True crime dramas have been all the rage on various streaming services and here's a new one on Netflix which is affecting and disturbing, but also a bit different in its approach.  Directed by Tobias Lindholm, we are told the true story of a Pennsylvania nurse who was suspected about twenty years of murdering dozens of his own patients in subtle ways at various local hospitals - his name is Charles and he's played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne.  However the story is mostly told through the point of view of the nurse who befriended him and eventually helped bring him to justice - her name is Amy and she's played by recent Oscar winner Jessica Chastain.    What results is a compelling docudrama which leaves its mark on you.....

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
 Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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