Hollywood Reviews and Movie Trivia

The Real Housewives of New York City sounds a little a tamer version of the Footballer's Wives. A spin-off of the Bravo series Real Housewives of Orange County, RHNYC tracks the lives of 5 women living in New York. Bethenny Frankel, LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Jill Zarin, and Alex McCord give us a sneak peek at the Bravo-ized version of their lives in the 23 minute Season Preview. Unlike The Real Housewives of Orange County, these 5 ladies seem to have much more hectic lives.

Bethenny Frankel is a health food chef with clients like Denis Leary and Susan Sarandon.

LuAnn de Lesseps is married to a French aristocrat, which helped her along in her budding TV career.

Alex McCord is a visual merchandiser for a major retailer.

Romona Singer buys leftover retail inventory, which she then resells to discount chains and boutiques in her "spare time".

Jill Zarin runs Zarin Fabrics and Home Furnishings on the lower East Side, which rounds out the list of "slacker moms". Zarin also has the distinction of being the primary talent scout who tracked down the other housewives on the list.

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Reviewed by Jake Ludington | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition has long been one of the brightest spots in the winter between the Super Bowl and the start of the baseball season. This year, you can download the entire hour long television show covering the 2008 shoot for free from AmazonUnbox. Go behind the scenes with host and model Brooklyn Decker as she takes you on a tour of the world with her swimsuit models Tori, Marisa, Oluchi, Daniella and many, many more! You'll see Bar in Israel, Irina in Russia and Selita in the Cayman Islands! And of course what SI Swimsuit show wouldn't be complete without body paint! Download the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Show for free today!

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Reviewed by Jake Ludington | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"The Protector", written, directed, and produced by Prachya Pinkaew is audaciously over the top, with bad dialoge, horrible dubbing, but a fun ride and scores a C...

With the opening title credit "Quentin Tarantino Presents" one can just about bet on a project being a bit off center. Previous 'presents' include: 2006's "Hostel", and "Hero" (2004). Both of which had their unique edge that did make one want to see how it ends. "The Protector" has dual moments. Some when the production techniques were simply amateurish, and surprisingly in contrast, production techniques that are amazing. I know that sounds like a negation but true! The redeeming factor is the superior athletic martial art skills of the star Tony Jaa. One is reminded of Jackie Chan in his younger days...

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"Hollywoodland", written by Paul Bernbaum and directed by Allen Coulter, captures the aura of the Hollywood of the 1950's, and a mysterious death and earns a B...

Actor George Reeves, who starred as Superman in the television series The Adventures of Superman (1952-58), died on June 16, 1959. His death was officially ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles Police Department. Reasons surfaced, and was said at the time, that he was very despondent, for quite some time, over his life as an actor. His time as Superman didn’t help. He felt, as some say, he wasn’t taken seriously during and after Superman. Its said that George Reeves’ mother, Helen Bessolo, emphatically insisted that she knew her son and that he would never, ever, commit suicide, no matter how he felt...

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"Factotum", written and directed by Bent Hamer, and Matt Dillon's tour-de-force performance as Henry Chinaski, scores a B...

As anyone who has pursued a career in any of the arts knows, it can and will be tough. The old saying that if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, certainly holds true. I was reminded of my aspirations and pursuit of a career in film production. If it wasn't for the fact that I was young and full of ambition and not knowing what I know now, I might have been detoured from the pursuit of a dream that seemed totally stacked against succeeding.

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"Crossover", written and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II, has its message aimed right at the pre-college age group and scores a B...

A key factor for a movie reviewer is to try one's best to view a movie through the eyes of the target audience. "Crossover", with its cache of cliché messages (and there's plenty!), is clearly not aimed at adults! I'm reminded of a scene when one of the two friends realizes that the relationship he's in, is not what it seems, or, he hopes it is. I saw it coming. The young audience at the screening didn't, as evidenced by the groans of surprise. But I'm getting ahead of myself. With its music video style editing and pacing, suffice it to say that if a movie seems simplistic or heavy message handed to the adult viewers, it could be right on target for the intended audience. Such is the case with "Crossover"...

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"The Quiet", written by Micah Schraft & Abdi Nazemian and directed by Jamie Babbit, has all the ingredients to tell a number of compelling stories but looses fluidity in tying the stories together and only earns a C-...

The age-old production question comes to mind. It's said that a good film starts with the words on the page. The question becomes, if the words on the page have the basics of a good story, is it the director's skill that turns it into a viable presentation? In "The Quiet", the lines are so trite at times that a serious moment that should have had dramatic impact, comes across with humorous edge to it. Working in production and being on a lot of sets the past 22 years, I've observed that quite often a veteran cast will interpret a scene and be allowed to play the scene with "natural dialogue" and the scene works.

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"Lassie", written and directed by Charles Sturridge, takes us back to the original story of the love between a young boy and his dog, and scores a C+...

Most Americans remember the 1943 MGM movie titled "Lassie Come Home" starring Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor. Following in the 50's is the TV series "Lassie" (1954-74) starring Tommy Retting (played Jeff Miller) and June Lockhart. In syndication such titles appeared as "Jeff's Collie" and "Timmy & Lassie". When Tommy Retting died, he was replaced by Jon Provost (who played Timmy) in 1957, with 591, 30-minute episodes being filmed between the two stars.

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"Invincible", takes us back to that magical moment in history, in 1976, when the recession was on, the nation needed a hero, and one man rises to the challenge and scores a B...

In 1976 I was 30 years old, times where tight because of the recession, and those of us who were, and still are, into sports, remember that time when a winning college coach took his first job coaching in the NFL (National Football League) and the one in a million chance that one man had to go after a dream.

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)

"Idlewild", with its prohibition era period look of the American south, dazzling song and dance numbers, and enough drama to go around, earns a B...

One of the hardest films to direct is the musical/drama movie. In modern times the multiple Oscar winner "Chicago" (2002) starring Richard Gere and Renee Zellwegger made it work. The challenge with "Idlewild" is to bring what's commonly referred to as "old school" style music of the past, and merge with the "Gen X'ers of today. Bryan Barber, the writer and director, is OutKast's music video director and has a good eye for interesting visuals, creating a stylish film that seamlessly mixes live action with animation, including the way he brings old photographs to life for the opening titles, and weaving the nicely staged musical numbers to tell his story. "Idlewild" is not going to win any Oscars. It is a fun ride with music, drama, and a lot of heart.

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Reviewed by Stan Robinson | Rate this Movie | TrackBacks (0)