Rogue's Gallery

Decent, underrated crime thriller
Relatively obscure but fun crime film from producer A. C. Lyles (known for his westerns of the period). Fun to watch with good performances. Catch if you get the chance.





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Empire State (2013)

WHERE'S THE MONEY?
Chris Potamitis (Liam Hemsworth) is a young man living in NYC in the late 70's. He manages to get a job as a security guard which involves large amounts of money, little security, and over whelming temptation. He lives in a neighborhood of Greeks, along with his loud mouth, foul mouth friend Eddie (Michael Angarano). He is the classic idiot side kick who messes everything up.

Eddie has big dreams for the money that Chris guards and desires to be a big shot, even though no one can stand him. Dwayne Johnson plays the investigating officer and comes in about half way through. His name as well as Emma Roberts are over billed for their roles. The film is based on an actual robbery, and like real crime, it is more akin to "dumb crook news" than a master criminal.

The film makes for an entertaining action drama.

Parental Guidance: Plenty of F-bombs. No sex or nudity.

It was ok
It was ok I just love Dwayne Johnson but it was a good movie just didn't like how it all ended

What can you do with so little to go?
Saw this movie and in my opinion just wait untill it come out on cable. Not terrible, is like watching an old movie on TBS or AMC, I think the acting was good, no big action sequences because none really happen and is base on real events of a big rovery heist.

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MAROC 7

Great Crime Drama!!!
This is a great crime drama about a top lady in the fashion industry doubling as a jewel thief.It's a must see and should be on DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Excellent movie
This is one of my favorite movies from the sixties and I had not seen it for many years until ordering this DVD. It's a nifty little cat and mouse movie and features an incredibly beautiful Alexandra Stewart. Gene Barry gives another very good performance. While the listing says it's a Region 2 DVD, mine was a Region 0, playable on all machines. The label says "Region Alle" (all regions). Very stylish and recommended.

Nothing to write a postcard home about, but a diverting enough excursion
Maroc 7 is a decent crime caper from 1967 that sees Gene Barry's insurance investigator masquerading as a thief conning his way into accompany Cyd Charisse and photographer Leslie Phillips on their latest photo-shoot in Morocco, which they in turn are using as cover for their latest theft. Along the way he gets to romance Elsa Martinelli, brush off Denholm Elliott's suspicious local policeman (not one of Denholm's better days) and dodge death in some gorgeously photographed locations where Kenneth Talbot's vividly colourful Scope photography goes a long way to hiding the low budget. Phillips co-produced the film as a stepladder to a directorial career that never materialised, and while the film is pretty typical 60s British production fare - imported but affordable American stars who've seen better days, exotic but not-too-expensive locations, plenty of pretty girls to get some tabloid coverage and the kind of standard-issue plot that a major studio could have polished into a...

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Extracted

Almost great...
The premise of this film is good, being in the same neighborhood of ideas as Inception. Unfortunately, the writing isn't up to par and it all adds up to a so so ending. If you are a fan of the genre, you'll probably enjoy it but wishing there was more to it.

Coulda Been a COntendor
Somewhere between "Inception" and "Dreamscape" Lies this film "Extraction." As good as some of it might be, the bad drags down the good.

Here's the scoop. Tom (Sasha Roiz) has invented a gadget that can help relieve troubled people such as war vets, abused children, etc by extracting the bad stuff from their brains. Tom's agent is having a hard time selling it because it's merely a 'do good' device. But when the Department of Corrections wants to know if they can reverse the machine's operation to go into a person's head to determine his guilt he might have a sale and get rich from it. The first test goes horribly wrong with bad news for Tom.

There is a lot to like about this movie. Much of the idea surrounding the machine and the subsequent tech-talk dialogue is spot on. It sounds amazingly authentic. Tom's reluctance, on moral grounds, for going into someone's head and digging around, is also good. It's a mix of how people's brains work,...

Yawn
This is one boring movie with a twisted, not well thought out plot involving some guy getting stuck in another guys head. Actually, this movie is so boring, you are going to need an energy drink to stay awake!

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Hop [HD]

Finally, a good animation/live action movie
With films like Yogi Bear, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Scooby Doo, Marmaduke and worst of all Garfield littering the cinescape with dreadful dreck involving live action people and computer animated cartoon animals, I wasn't exactly jumping for joy when I saw the trailers for Hop. In place of a nonsensical farce filled with more rubbish than a fleet of garbage trucks, in Hop we are treated to a whimsical tale with positive messages and loads of good old fashioned fantasy style fun. Anyone who grew up watching Rankin Bass holiday specials on TV will appreciate the classic themes beautifully updated for the modern day in Hop. Usually it works to advantage, occasionally it falls short.

The visual landscape and the animation of the characters is startlingly realitic and very quickly has you feeling you're just watching a regular movie where animals really do talk and there really is a secret lair of the easter bunny.

Like some other reviewers noted, there is a definite...

FUN MOVIE...
Fun movie. Certainly for kids. It's not in the category of "Despicle me" or "Toy Story-3" (or 1, or 2) but still lots of fun. In the beginning it has a bit of Willy Wonka feel to it, while more to the end, it leans more to Santa. But it's all Easter-bunny power (sorry for the chicks). I liked it better at the beginning, and the middle. Quite some surprise-jokes there. But somewhere before the end, I get the feeling, the makers suddenly realize they need to bring to movie to an end. From that point on everything gets very rushed and quick-paced and to me the movie looses some of it's magic at that point. But still we had lots of fun. Definitely a movie to watch with the (young) kids.

Awesome Family Fun!!!
This movie was a lot better than I was expecting. It was heart-warming, and had the right amount of comedy suitable for any age. E.B. was adorable and hilarious. Russell Brand was the perfect choice. E.B.'s dad is retiring and wants his son to continue on and become the new Easter Bunny, but E.B. doesn't want that life. He runs away to Hollywood to start a new life, but is almost run over by a slacker named Fred O'Hare. Fred is having trouble with his family as well. While Fred is house sitting, E.B. decides to crash with him. Back at Easter Island, a chick named Carlos plots to take over the Easter holiday, unless Fred and E.B. can stop him. I highly recommend HOP!!!

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Scoop [HD]

I was surprised by how charming I found this story to be
Frankly, for me Woody Allen had become as pleasure long past his sell by date. However, I happened to catch this movie when flipping around and watched the rest of it and then caught the whole film at a later viewing. I liked it! No, it isn't a great film, but it is a delightful light entertainment.

Scarlett Johansson plays Sondra Pransky, a young, somewhat ditzy but earnest reporter for her college newspaper. She is in London visiting a wealth upper crust friend and staying with her family. We also learn that she has (as Woody Allen's character notes later) a problem with promiscuity. For example, when trying to get an interview with a big time movie producer who has no intention of telling her anything, all she comes away with is a hangover and an embarrassing story of being outwitted.

We also get to see a barge load of souls headed to the land of the departed engaging in the kind of idle conversation you might expect from the newly dead. A secretary...

One of the best comedies of the year.
Sondra Prensky (Scarlett Johansson), a college journalist, encounters big-time journalist Joe Strombel's (Ian McShane) spirit. He proceeds to giving her information that could mean the biggest scoop of his life, pertaining to aristocrat Peter Lyman(Hugh Jackman) and the Tarot Card murders. With his advice, and the help of magician Sid Waterman (Woody Allen), she starts the investigation against Peter, but (predictably) falls in love with him. Is he the Tarot-card killer? Is she in any mortal danger?

I've always been a huge fan of Woody Allen, even though he's been in a little bit of a slump lately which he seems to have gotten out of since Match Point, so this might be biased.
This does resemble some of his earlier work, such as Manhattan Murder Mystery, so it might not seem very original. But they were done so long ago that putting a modern spin to his genre works.

With that in mind, I absolutely LOVED Scoop. I'd say it was one of the best adult, smart,...

A very entertaining, very funny, and very fun film
Woody Allen seemed to be losing it at the start of the twenty-first century. The films he released around that time (THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, SMALL TIME CROOKS, etc.) failed to make a lasting (or for that matter positive) impression on audiences. In 2004 he enjoyed something of a comeback with MELINDA AND MELINDA before bursting back on the scene with his thrilling masterwork MATCH POINT. Now he's back to whip up another slice of cinema greatness, and this is a slice considerably sweeter than (though not as classy as) MATCH POINT. This is SCOOP, one of the most delightful romantic comedies of the year.

SCOOP revolves around Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), an American college student eyeing a career in journalism. While vacationing in England with a friend, she visits a magic show run by the timid Sid Waterman (Woody Allen). Sid decides to use Sondra in a magic trick involving a box from which Sondra will supposedly disappear. Instead of disappearing,...

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Peeples [HD]

PEANUTS, PEANUTS, PEANUTS!
Wade Walker (Craig Robinson) lives with Grace Peeples (Kerry Washington). He relates to children through music and wants to be a counselor. She is a lawyer at the UN and her family is referred to as the "chocolate Kennedys." Wade's plans to propose to Grace are interrupted by her desire to spend the weekend with her family, who he has never met. Urged by a friend (Malcolm Barrett), Wade crashes the family get together with formulaic results.

As it turns out the family has all sorts of issues and secrets which they hide from their father, Judge Virgil Peeples (David Alan Grier). Wade spends his time having an uncomfortable weekend filled with faux paus as he tries to help. The film includes Peeple/people and cheap Moby Dick humor.

For those who like Tyler Perry type comedies, this one fits the bill, but comes off a little stale. It does have some good scenes which made me smile. The film needed to have one more episode to develop Wade's character before he meets...

Not written by Tyler Perry
Just for clarification---this movie was not written by Tyler Perry; he just presented the person who wrote it to allow the movie to get attention.

Funny movie.
A guy visits his girlfriend's family, for the purpose of proposing marriage. He finds that he has trouble fitting in, and has a particular problem receiving the blessing of the father. The situations he finds himself in are at times funny, with the family members, who all have their idiosyncrasies, proving to be fodder for laughs. This is not the cleverest movie of the year, but it does have its moments. It is certainly not Bridesmaids, but Peeples does have some good comedy in it, maybe just enough to get a slight recommendation.

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