Library

Total Number of Movies in Joel’s Collection: 1,338

Page Number: 8 / 27

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Director: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Ray Park, Joseph Mazzello, Arnold Vosloo, Walton Goggins, Élodie Yung, Jonathan Pryce, D.J. Cotrona, RZA, Brittney Alger, Annie May Gay, Lee Byung-Hun
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Studio: Paramount Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 6.0 (52,319 votes)
Release: Mar 2013

Summary: Framed for crimes against the country, the G.I. Joe team is terminated by the President's order, and the surviving team members face off against Zartan, his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influence.

Galaxy Quest

Director: Dean Parisot
Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman
Genre: Thrillers
Studio: Dreamworks Video

My Rating:

Rated: PG
Release: May 2000

Summary: You don't have to be a "Star Trek" fan to enjoy "Galaxy Quest", but it certainly helps. A knowingly affectionate tribute to "Trek" and any other science fiction TV series of the 1960s and beyond, this crowd-pleasing comedy offers in-jokes at warp speed, hitting the bull's-eye for anyone who knows that (1) the starship captain always removes his shirt to display his manly physique; (2) any crew member not in the regular cast is dead meat; and (3) the heroes always stop the doomsday clock with one second to spare. So it is with Commander Taggart (Tim Allen) and the stalwart crew of the NSEA "Protector", whose intergalactic exploits on TV have now been reduced to a dreary cycle of fan conventions and promotional appearances. That's when the Thermians arrive, begging to be saved from Sarris, the reptilian villain who threatens to destroy their home planet.
Can actors rise to the challenge and play their roles for real? The Thermians are counting on it, having studied the "historical documents" of the "Galaxy Quest" TV show, and their hero worship (not to mention their taste for Monte Cristo sandwiches) is ultimately proven worthy, with the help of some "Galaxy" geeks on planet Earth. And while "Galaxy Quest" serves up great special effects and impressive Stan Winston creatures, director Dean Parisot ("Home Fries") is never condescending, lending warm acceptance to this gentle send-up of sci-fi TV and the phenomenon of fandom. Best of all is the splendid cast, including Sigourney Weaver as buxom blonde Gwen DeMarco; Alan Rickman as frustrated thespian Alexander Dane; Tony Shalhoub as dimwit Fred Kwan; Daryl Mitchell as former child-star Tommy Webber; and Enrico Colantoni as Thermian leader Mathesar, whose sing-song voice is a comedic coup de grâce. "--Jeff Shannon"

Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season

Director: D.B. Weiss, David Benioff
Starring: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Television
Studio: HBO

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 7.6 (10 votes)
Release: Mar 2010

Summary: Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Political and sexual intrigue is pervasive. Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros, asks his old friend Eddard, Lord Stark, to serve as Hand of the King, or highest official. Secretly warned that the previous Hand was assassinated, Eddard accepts in order to investigate further. Meanwhile the Queen's family, the Lannisters, may be hatching a plot to take power. Across the sea, the last members of the previous and deposed ruling family, the Targaryens, are also scheming to regain the throne. The friction between the houses Stark, Lannister and Baratheon, and with the remaining great houses Greyjoy, Tully, Arryn, and Tyrell, leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war and political confusion, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.

Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season

Director: D.B. Weiss, David Benioff
Starring: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Television
Studio: HBO

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Release: Feb 2013

Summary: The epic scope of the grand television fantasy series "Game of Thrones" is matched by the extraordinary wealth of extras found in its sophomore-season set. Based on "A Clash of Kings", the second novel in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, season two of "Game of Thrones" admirably encapsulates the sprawling War of the Five Kings, which pits the malevolent Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) against a host of contenders for the throne of the late King Robert (Mark Addy), including his brothers Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Renly (Gethin Anthony). Further complicating matters is the appointment of Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) as Hand of the King to Joffrey, which sets off an intense behind-the-scenes power struggle with his siblings, Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who carry on an incestuous affair. Meanwhile, there's also the issue of Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and her three dragons; Daenerys spends much of season two making her way across the Red Waste in order to launch her own plan of conquest. These central conflicts are supported by a host of secondary storylines, including Alfie Allen's Theon Greyjoy, who is faced with dreadful choices in his own quest to prove his worth, and new cast member Carice van Houten as Melisandre, a priestess who uses a variety of wiles, including sex, to spur Stannis's assault against Joffrey's forces in the series' showstopping set piece, the Battle of Blackwater Bay. That "Game of Thrones" manages to not only weave together all of these myriad threads but also make them compelling and fully realized is among the keys to the show's astonishing popularity, as are the performances, which, along with the direction and writing, help to make the series the best costume fantasy drama ever produced on television. Its blend of historically inspired intrigue and supernatural elements keeps it far afield of camp territory, where most TV fantasy has bogged down in the past, while the cast, led by the extraordinary Peter Dinklage as the wily Tyrion, rivals any modern day/dress series. Of course, the show's copious violence and sexuality (the latter of which borders on excessive this season) are also key factors, but the visceral nature of these parts mesh well with the show's overall theme of a medieval land gripped by extraordinary bloodshed.
The five-disc DVD set of "Game of Thrones"' second season provides an exceptional amount of supplemental material on the show's production, primarily through 12 commentary tracks, including multiple tracks on single episodes. Among the participants are the main cast, including Dinklage, Headey, and Coster-Waldau, as well as series cocreators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; director Neil Marshall ("The Descent"), who helmed "Blackwater"; and Martin himself, who explains many of the differences between his source novel and the program. The Battle of Blackwater Bay gets its own half-hour making-of featurette, while a quintet of the actors, including Headey and Clarke, participate in an informative roundtable discussion about their characters and the show's locations. Martin also returns for a brief conversation about the various religions of his fictional world along with Benioff and Weiss. Both die-hard fans and first-time viewers will appreciate the length and depth of the extra material included in the set, which expands greatly on the already massive world of "Game of Thrones". "--Paul Gaita"

Game of Thrones: The Complete Third Season

Director: Daniel Minahan
Starring: Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Rose Leslie, Natalia Tena, Sibel Kekilli, Jerome Flynn, Conleth Hill, Richard Madden, Maisie Williams, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Alfie Allen, Aidan Gillen, Michelle Fairley, Oona Chaplin, Charles Dance, Julian Glover, Joe Dempsie, Finn Jones, Kristian Nairn, Donald Sumpter, John Bradley, Esmé Bianco, Gethin Anthony, Natalie Dormer, Gwendoline Christie, Liam Cunningham, Carice van Houten, Stephen Dillane, Sophie Turner, Rory McCann, Mark Addy, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Jason Momoa, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sean Bean, Hannah Murray, Amrita Acharia, Aimee Richardson, Eugene Simon, Joseph Mawle, Ron Donachie, Lino Facioli, Elyes Gabel, Nonso Anozie, Kate Dickie, Peter Vaughan, Patrick Malahide, Tom Wlaschiha, Gemma Whelan, Harry Lloyd
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Television
Studio: HBO

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Release: Mar 2013

Gamer

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Starring: Gerard Butler, Amber Valetta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Alison Lohman
Genre: Thrillers
Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 5.7 (75,503 votes)
Release: Sep 2009

Summary: Frenzied and relentlessly aggressive, "Gamer" seeks to translate the sensory barrage of violent video games into movie form--and does a pretty successful job. In a dystopic future, prisoners on death row are given a slim chance of survival as flesh-and-blood avatars for shoot-'em-up game players who control their very brains. The mastermind behind this game (played by Michael C. Hall, "Dexter") has secret ambitions worthy of a James Bond villain, but his schemes are threatened by John Tillman (Gerard Butler, "300"), the only living avatar who's survived more than a few games--so Tillman's already dangerous life turns even more deadly. "Gamer" revels in overkill: visual tricks abound as the action speeds up or slows down, skittering to and fro with jump cuts and flashes of light. The dialogue is a catalog of macho posturing or melodramatic exposition. The performances--from a surprising cast that includes Alison Lohman ("Drag Me to Hell"), Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer"), Chris "Ludacris" Bridges ("Crash"), and supermodel Amber Valletta--play cartoonish characters with exuberant gusto and commitment. By conventional standards, "Gamer" is a terrible movie… but the movie's creators don't care, because they aspire to step beyond conventional standards. As with their previous adrenaline-driven flick "Crank", the writer-director team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor want viewers to plug in, turn off their rational minds, and immerse themselves in sheer sensation. "--Bret Fetzer"

Gangs of New York

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly
Genre: Crime, Drama, History
Studio: Miramax Lionsgate

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.5 (200,174 votes)
Release: Dec 2002

Summary: "Gangs of New York" may achieve greatness with the passage of time. Mixed reviews were inevitable for a production this grand (and this troubled behind the scenes), but it's as distinguished as any of director Martin Scorsese's more celebrated New York stories. From its astonishing 1846 prologue to the city's infernal draft riots of 1863, the film aspires to erase the decorum of textbooks and chronicle 19th-century New York as a cauldron of street warfare. The hostility is embodied in a tale of primal vengeance between Irish American son Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his father's ruthless killer and "Nativist" gang leader Bill "the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis, brutally inspired), so named for his lethal talent with knives. Vallon's vengeance is only marginally compelling; DiCaprio is arguably miscast, and Cameron Diaz (as Vallon's pickpocket lover) is adrift in a film with little use for women. Despite these weaknesses, Scorsese's mastery blossoms in his expert melding of personal and political trajectories; this is American history written in blood, unflinching, authentic, and utterly spectacular. "--Jeff Shannon"

Garden State

Director: Zach Braff
Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm, Kenneth Graymez, George C. Wolfe, Austin Lysy, Gary Gilbert, Ron Leibman, Trisha LaFache, Jim Parsons, Geoffrey Arend, Jean Smart, Ato Essandoh, Method Man, Jackie Hoffman, Alex Burns
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Studio: 20th Century Fox

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7
Release: Jan 2004

Summary: Andrew returns to his hometown for the funeral of his mother, a journey that reconnects him with past friends. The trip coincides with his decision to stop taking his powerful antidepressants. A chance meeting with Sam - a girl also suffering from various maladies - opens up the possibility of rekindling emotional attachments, confronting his psychologist father, and perhaps beginning a new life.

GasLand

Director: Josh Fox
Starring: Josh Fox, Dick Cheney
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Docurama

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 7.7 (5,909 votes)
Release: Jan 2010

Summary: It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas." Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground-a hydraulic drilling process called "fracking"-and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.

The Gatekeepers

Director: Dror Moreh
Starring: Ami Ayalon, Avraham Shalom, Yaakov Peri, Carmi Gillon, Avi Dichter, Yuval Diskin
Genre: Documentary, Action
Studio: Mac Guff Ligne

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Release: Feb 2012

Summary: In an unprecedented and candid series of interviews, six former heads of the Shin Bet — Israel's intelligence and security agency — speak about their role in Israel's decades-long counterterrorism campaign, discussing their controversial methods and whether the ends ultimately justify the means. (TIFF)

Get Him to the Greek

Director: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Sean Combs
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Universal Studios

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6.4 (105,020 votes)
Release: Sep 2010

Summary: ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Get Low

Director: Aaron Schneider
Starring: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 7.0 (13,287 votes)
Release: Oct 2010

Summary: Comedies about death aren't exactly a novel proposition, but "Get Low", which draws from a real 1930s incident, leaves the gallows humor behind for a lighter touch. After losing the love of his life 40 year before, Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) has lived like a hermit ever since. With death on the horizon and guilt weighing him down, the "crazy ol' nutter" decides to go out with a party. As he tells funeral director Frank Quinn (Bill Murray in top form), "Time for me to get low." Frank and his assistant, Buddy (Duvall's "Sling Blade" costar Lucas Black), find the request bizarre--since Felix plans to attend--but they can't afford to turn him down. Quips Quinn, "One thing about Chicago, people know how to die. People are dying in bunches, but not around here." So, they fit Felix for a suit, post invitations up around Caleb County, and set up a land raffle to encourage everyone to show. Before he leaves this mortal coil, Felix longs to hear the tall tales the town folk have been spreading about him. While preparing for the big day, he reconnects with Charlie (Bill Cobbs), a preacher, and Mattie (Sissy Spacek), an old flame who returned to the county after her husband's death. Their encounters, which have a gentle sweetness, encourage Felix to share the truth he's kept bottled up inside for decades. After that big buildup, his confession feels a little anticlimactic, but cinematographer-turned-director Aaron Schneider's affection for his characters always shines through. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Get the Gringo

Director: Adrian Grunberg
Starring: Mel Gibson, Peter Stormare, Dean Norris, Bob Gunton, Kevin Hernandez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Jesús Ochoa, Dolores Heredia, Peter Gerety, Roberto Sosa, Mario Zaragoza, Gerardo Taracena, Tenoch Huerta, Fernando Becerril, Scott Cohen
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Airborne Productions

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6
Release: May 2012

Summary: Apprehended by the Mexican authorities, Driver is sent to a hardcore prison where he enters the strange and dangerous world of 'El Pueblito'. Not an easy place for an outsider, unless it's with the help of someone who knows the ropes - a 10-year-old kid.

The Ghost and the Darkness

Director: Stephen Hopkins
Starring: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill
Genre: Action, Adventure
Studio: Paramount

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6.7 (32,067 votes)
Release: Dec 1998

Summary: Val Kilmer stars as Lt. Col. John Patterson, a 19th-century Irish engineer drafted by Britain's railroad bosses to build a trestle bridge over an African river, thus expanding the empire a tiny bit more. In Tsavo, Patterson is instantly hailed for killing a man-eating lion that had been making life hell for native workers. But morale sinks when a pair of unstoppable big cats devour more men and destroy the project. Along comes an Ahab-like, expatriate American hunter (Michael Douglas) to help Patterson face the almost preternatural powers of the two killers. The script by William Goldman ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid") is based on fact, though the film owes more to Spielberg (specifically to "Jaws") than history. There are also suggestive echoes of Kipling and Conrad in the material and characters, and there are hints of emotional complexity and psychological nuance that make one wish this could have been a great film instead of a merely fun one. "--Tom Keogh"

Ghost in the Shell

Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Richard Epcar, Akio Ohtsuka, Tamio Ôki
Genre: Anime & Manga
Studio: Palm Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Release: Mar 1998

Summary: The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe "Ghost" suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centerfold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."
Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn "Ghost in the Shell" at least a PG rating. "--Charles Solomon"

Ghost In The Shell - Solid State Society

Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Osamu Saka, Akio Ohtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano
Genre: Anime & Manga
Studio: Manga Video

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 7.7 (2,375 votes)
Release: Jul 2007

Summary: The television movie "Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society" (2006) continues the adventures of the cast of "Stand Alone Complex", the TV series based on Mamoru Oshii's watershed feature. It's been two years since Major Kusanagi left Public Security Section 9 and struck out on her own. Batou pursues only investigations that interest him. Togusa is in charge of the Section, largely by default. All three characters, plus Chief Aramaki and the Tachikoma robots, join in the investigation of a string of suicides by agents of a foreign general. The trail leads them to a terrorist plot involving micro-machines created to release a deadly virus, and to the master-hacker known as the Puppeteer. The depiction of a corrupt politician using resources earmarked for the care of an aging population for his own ends reflects recent scandals in Japan. But "Solid State Society" feels derivative. The plot borrows heavily from the "Laughing Man" storyline, and the general lack of inspiration is evident in the failure to resolve the mystery satisfactorily. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) "--Charles Solomon"

Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence

Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Akio Ohtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Tamio Ôki, Kôichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano
Genre: Anime & Manga
Studio: Dreamworks Video

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 7.5 (17,536 votes)
Release: Dec 2004

Summary: Mamoru Oshii's landmark "Ghost in the Shell" (1995) largely defined the cyberpunk genre and influenced the "Matrix" films in the U.S. The long-awaited sequel continues the adventures of Batou, Major Kusanagi's former assistant, who was left behind when she disappeared into the cyber-realm of the Net. With his new human partner, Togusa, Batou investigates a series of bloody murders involving "gynoids", robots with sexual functions. The case leads them to the headquarters of the Locus Solus company, where Batou uncovers the evil secret behind the creation of the "gynoids". "Innocence" includes some staggeringly beautiful CG images, especially a parade depicting characters from Chinese mythology. Oshii contrasts this glittering beauty with a "Blade Runner"-esque dystopia. But even his skill as a director can't disguise the fact that the underdeveloped story and flat characters are far less interesting than the opulent visuals. (Rated PG-13: graphic violence, violence against women, brief nudity, profanity, alcohol and tobacco use.) "--Charles Solomon"

Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. - 2nd Gig

Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Osamu Saka, Akio Ohtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano
Genre: Anime & Manga
Studio: Manga Video

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 7.0 (318 votes)
Release: Nov 2007

Summary: Major Kusanagi and the rest of Public Security Section 9 hit the ground running as the second season of "Stand Alone Complex" (2004) begins: Their new adventure centers on a complex mystery even more dangerous than the case of the Laughing Man. Terrorist incidents linked to the mistreatment of Asian refugees after World War IV threaten to ignite a powder keg in Japan. Kusanagi, Batou, and even Chief Aramaki chafe when they're drafted to protect Prime Minister Kayabuki from would-be assassins. But the threats to the government are linked to the Individual Eleven, a cell that recalls the May 15th Incident. (On May 15, 1932, a group of junior naval officers and army cadets assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, ensuring that power would remain in the hands of the militarists.) The members of the Individual Eleven--except for Hideo Kuze, their charismatic leader--commit mass suicide in a bloody spectacle that recalls the theatrical death in 1970 of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. Kuze's campaign to win political freedom for the refugees grows increasingly violent, involving suicide bombers, Russian mobsters selling stolen plutonium, and strained relations between Japan and an Imperial America that is trying to reassert its military dominance in the face of economic weakness. And what role does the devious, hideously scarred intelligence officer Kazundo Gohda play in these actions? The Tachikoma robots speculate that as they are abandoning collective consciousness and developing individuality, a dependence on the Net is leading humans in the opposite direction. That trend makes people more vulnerable to cyber-viruses involved in the plot--unless Section 9 acts in time. Most of the adventures take place in bleak, gray and brown settings, which contrast effectively with the bright, colorful cyberworld the Major and the Tachikomas visit. "S.A.C.--2nd Gig" continues the tight plotting, dynamic action sequences, and interesting character relationships that made the series a hit. (Rated 13 and older: violence, violence against women, brief nudity, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use) "--Charles Solomon"

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Director: Kevin Costner
Starring: Ryûji Saikachi, Natsuo Tokuhiro, Shiro Saito, Daisuke Egawa, Hikari Yono
Genre: Anime & Manga
Studio: Manga Video

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 8.0 (120,536 votes)
Release: Oct 2006

Summary: The 2002 broadcast series based on Mamoru Oshii's landmark film "Ghost in the Shell" (1995) takes place in a parallel world, where Major Motoko Kusanagi didn't vanish into The Net. Although its production values are lower, and director Kenji Kamiyama never matches Oshii's inspired camerawork, "Stand Alone Complex" does an impressive job of recreating the setting and characters. With the help of the other officers from Public Security Section 9, Kusanagi moves through a deadly city of "mecha", cyborgs, humans, and human-prosthetic hybrids. Batou emerges as a more complex and compelling character in the TV series than he was in "Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence": He engages the other characters, instead of endlessly quoting philosophers.
Politics and cyber-espionage collide in a somewhat tangled plot that centers on the pursuit of The Laughing Man, an über-hacker whose pseudonym is linked to J.D. Salinger's 1949 story of the same name. The master cyber-criminal leads Kusanagi and Batou into a web of murder and deceit involving bogus cures for "cyberbrain sclerosis" and corrupt government ministers. In the secondary story, the Tachikomas, crab-like robots used by Section 9, develop personalities and an awareness of their existence. The Tachikomas recognize some of the implications of their growing consciousness, but their childish voices--modeled after the performance of Japanese actress Akiko Tamagawa--sound odd discussing philosophical questions. Not surprisingly, the story ends with Kusanagi, Batou, et al. tackling a new case that leads into the "2nd Gig". (Rated 13 and older: considerable violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) "--Charles Solomon"

Ginger & Rosa

Director: Sally Potter
Starring: Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Christina Hendricks, Alessandro Nivola, Timothy Spall, Annette Bening, Jodhi May, Oliver Platt, Oliver Milburn, Gregory Bennett, Andrew Hawley, Richard Strange, Marcus Shakesheff, Matt Hookings, Philip Harvey, Andy Joy, Robin Harvey
Genre: Drama
Studio: Adventure Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 6.0 (3,202 votes)
Release: Feb 2013

Summary: London, 1962. Two teenage girls - Ginger and Rosa -- are inseparable; they play truant together, discuss religion, politics and hairstyles, and dream of lives bigger than their mothers' frustrated domesticity. But, as the Cold War meets the sexual revolution, and the threat of nuclear holocaust escalates, the lifelong friendship of the two girls is shattered - by the clash of desire and the determination to survive.

The Girl in the Cafe

Director: David Yates
Starring: Bill Nighy, Kelly Macdonald, Meneka Das, Anton Lesser, Paul Ritter
Genre: Drama, Romance
Studio: Hbo Home Video

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 7.5 (5,545 votes)
Release: Sep 2005

Summary: Written by Richard Curtis ("Notting Hill"), the offbeat political-romance concerns Lawrence (Bill Nighy), a 57-year-old Londoner with a successful governmental career and nonexistent social life. One day he stops in a café and meets the mysterious, considerably younger Gina (Kelly Macdonald, "Trainspotting"). To their mutual amazement, they hit it off and agree to meet again (and yet again). Then he invites her to accompany him to the G8 Summit in Reykjavík, where she upends his carefully ordered world in ways both wonderful and terrible. Suddenly this "man who has nothing in his life but his work" must find a way to make room for something "tender and true." With Corin Redgrave as the Prime Minister. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Girl Most Likely

Director: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Matt Dillon, Natasha Lyonne, Annette Bening, Darren Criss, June Diane Raphael, Michelle Hurd, Nate Corddry, Peter Austin Noto, Ronald Guttman, Brian Petsos, Murray Bartlett, Nicole Patrick, Mickey Sumner
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Maven Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Release: Sep 2012

Summary: Kristen Wiig stars as Imogene, a failed New York playwright awkwardly navigating the transition from Next Big Thing to Last Year's News. After both her career and relationship hit the skids, she's forced to make the humiliating move back home to New Jersey with her eccentric mother and younger brother (Annette Bening and Christopher Fitzgerald). Adding further insult to injury, there's a strange man sleeping in her old bedroom (Darren Criss) and an even stranger man sleeping in her mother's bed (Matt Dillon). Through it all, Imogene eventually realizes that as part of her rebuilding process she must finally come to love and accept both her family and her Jersey roots if she's ever going to be stable enough to get the hell away from them.

The Girl Next Door

Director: Gregory Wilson
Starring: William Atherton, Blythe Auffarth, Blanche Baker, Kevin Chamberlin, Dean Faulkenberry
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Studio: Modernciné

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6.9 (7,999 votes)
Release: Oct 2008

Summary: Based on the Jack Ketchum novel of the same name, The Girl Next Door follows the unspeakable torture and abuses committed on a teenage girl in the care of her aunt...and the boys who witness and fail to report the crime.

The Girl Next Door

Director: Luke Greenfield
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Downs, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, James Remar
Genre: Comedy
Studio: 20th Century Fox

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6.8 (119,792 votes)
Release: Aug 2004

Summary: While it suffered a nearly unanimous beating from critics, "The Girl Next Door" attracted more than a few loyal defenders during its brief box-office lifespan. It pales when compared to its teen-comedy role model (the 1983 classic "Risky Business"), but you've got to admit that "any" movie about a teenager whose new next-door neighbor is a 19-year-old former porn star has bona fide cult-movie potential. To its credit, this rather schizoid blend of sleaze and comedy boasts an engaging pair of costars in Emile Hirsch (as the smitten, voyeuristic virgin) and "24"'s Elisha Cuthbert (as his sexy new house-sitting neighbor). And there are some good laughs in a script that takes unexpected turns when we learn that Cuthbert's character is trying to leave her porn-star past behind, to the chagrin of her pimp-like producer (Timothy Olyphant, in a scene-stealing role). Faring somewhat better than he did with the Rob Schneider non-comedy "The Animal", director Luke Greenfield clearly recalls the turbulence that goes hand-in-hand with being young, horny, and confused. There's honesty and even (dare we say it?) maturity to be found in this raging-hormone fantasy, even if it's partially buried in a convoluted plot that's appalling or appealing, depending on your tolerance for good-natured prurience. "--Jeff Shannon"

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

Director: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Noomi Rapace
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Music Box Films Home Entertainment

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.0 (14,964 votes)
Release: Jan 2011

Summary: It takes a while, but the saga of one of the more fascinating characters put on the page or the screen in recent years comes to a satisfying conclusion with "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest", the last installment of the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson's so-called Millennium Trilogy. That character is Lisbeth Salander, the computer-hacking, Goth-loving, dark angel of revenge, played by Noomi Rapace with the same black stare and taciturn charisma that were so riveting in the first two films ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Girl Who Played with Fire", both also released in 2010). When we last saw her, Lisbeth was trying to kill her father, a Russian defector and abusive monster; in the process, the girl was seriously wounded by her half-brother, a hulking freak with a strange condition that renders him impervious to physical pain. As the new film opens, all three are still alive, and she's being taken to a hospital to recover while waiting to stand trial for attempted murder. Meanwhile, her champion and erstwhile lover, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), sets about uncovering the full extent of the conspiracy responsible for (among other crimes) Lisbeth's being sent to an asylum at age 12 while her father was protected by evil forces within the government. This investigation, which puts not only Lisbeth but also Blomkvist and his colleagues in considerable danger, leads to "the Section," a thoroughly repellent bunch of aging liars, killers, thieves, and perverts with a great many secrets they'd like to keep (the oily Dr. Peter Teleborian, who was responsible for Lisbeth's "treatment" as a child, emerges as the most vile antagonist since the guardian who brutally assaulted her in the first film). Although much of the exhaustive detail about these and other matters has been eliminated by director Daniel Alfredson (who also helmed "The Girl Who Played with Fire") and screenwriters Jonas Frykberg and Ulf Ryberg for the purpose of adapting the novel to the screen, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is still quite long (148 minutes), and less kinetic and violent than the earlier films; there are some exciting sequences, but Lisbeth, previously an unlikely but magnetic action heroine, is seen mostly on a hospital bed or in a courtroom, and much of the film is spent on procedural matters. Still, the fact that the loose ends are wrapped up in fairly conventional fashion doesn't make the conclusion any less satisfying. In fact, the only real letdown comes from knowing that we won't get to see Noomi Rapace play Lisbeth Salander again. "--Sam Graham"

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Director: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Music Box Films Home Entertainment

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6.9 (22,447 votes)
Release: Oct 2010

Summary: The toughest chick in Sweden returns to action in "The Girl Who Played with Fire", the second film adaptation of the late author Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy novels. That would be Lisbeth Salander, once again played with quiet, feral intensity by Noomi Rapace. As Larsson's readers and anyone who saw the first film ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", also released in 2010) knows, Lisbeth is small in stature but big trouble for any man who crosses her--after all, this is the woman who set her father on fire after he abused her mother and later, after being released from a mental institution, took extreme revenge on her legal guardian after he brutally assaulted her (those scenes are briefly revisited for the enlightenment of those who missed the earlier film). Also back is investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), Lisbeth's erstwhile lover and partner in solving the "Dragon Tattoo" mystery. When two of his young colleagues are killed while at work on a story about sex trafficking, followed shortly by the murder of the aforementioned guardian, Salander is the prime suspect. But Mikael is sure of her innocence; in fact, he's convinced she's the next victim, leading to a tangled tale in which Lisbeth learns more about her family and its very dark secrets than she ever wanted to know. The story is compelling, if a bit slow to take shape, and director Daniel Alfredson, taking over for Niels Arden Oplev, skillfully sustains the mystery and tension (there are also doses of nudity and violence, the latter much more graphic than the former). But Lisbeth isn't on screen nearly as much this time, and her relationship with Blomkvist, so central to "Dragon Tattoo", is almost an afterthought. Still, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" will certainly whet fans' appetites for the next installment, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"; and considering the overall class and quality of these Swedish productions, one shudders to think how they'll turn out in the inevitable American versions, the first of which is due in 2011, with Daniel Craig as Blomkvist. "--Sam Graham"

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Director: David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Studio: Columbia Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 8.2 (38,145 votes)
Release: Dec 2011

Summary: This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Music Box Films Home Entertainment

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.7 (53,599 votes)
Release: Jul 2010

Summary: Fans of Stieg Larsson's "Men Who Hate Women" may have been concerned about how the Swedish author's novel would translate to the screen, but they needn't have worried. Significant changes to the source material have been made, but director Niels Arden Opley's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", as it's now called, is mostly riveting. As the story begins, middle-aged investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has just been convicted of a bogus charge of libel against a rich and corrupt corporate hotshot when he's unexpectedly offered a most unusual gig. An aging captain of industry named Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube) wants Blomkvist to figure out what happened to Vanger's niece, who disappeared more than 40 years earlier; not only is the old man convinced that she was murdered, but he suspects that another member of his large and rather disagreeable family (which includes several former Nazis) is the culprit. Blomkvist takes the job, which includes spending at least six months on Vanger's isolated island in the middle of winter. But what he doesn't know is that he's being spied on by twentysomething Lisbeth Salander (brilliantly played by Noomi Rapace in a career-making performance), the titular Girl and the possessor of remarkable skills as a sleuth and computer hacker. With her gothlike piercings and all-black clothes, Lisbeth is a vivid character, to say the least. While we don't exactly know the details of her dark past, it's obviously still with her; indeed, she's just been assigned a new "guardian" (like a parole officer) to look after her finances and other matters. We also know that she is not someone to mess with; when the guardian turns out to be a thoroughly vile monster, Lisbeth gets back at him in one of the more satisfying revenge sequences in recent memory. That Lisbeth and Mikael should end up working together, and more, isn't especially surprising. But the horrifying details and depths of depravity they uncover while working on the case (parallels to "The Silence of the Lambs" are facile but appropriate) definitely are, and Opley does a nice job of keeping it all straight. At more than two and a half hours, the film is long, with its share of grim, graphic, and scary moments, but "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is a winner. "--Sam Graham"

Girls Against Boys

Director: Austin Chick
Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Nicole LaLiberte, Liam Aiken
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 4.5 (1,002 votes)
Release: Feb 2013

Summary: Girls Against Boys centers around two female bartenders who go on a brutal and twisted killing spree to exact revenge against the men who wronged them. But will they cross the line and lose themselves to the thrill and power of violence in this captivating and psychologically terrifying horror film.

Gladiator

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris
Genre: Action, Adventure
Studio: Dreamworks Video

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 8.5 (540,566 votes)
Release: Nov 2000

Summary: A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood predecessors, Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" is a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. While not as fluid as the computer work done for, say, "Titanic", it's an impressive achievement that will leave you marveling at the glory that was Rome, when you're not marveling at the glory that is Russell Crowe. Starring as the heroic general Maximus, Crowe firmly cements his star status both in terms of screen presence and acting chops, carrying the film on his decidedly non-computer-generated shoulders as he goes from brave general to wounded fugitive to stoic slave to gladiator hero. "Gladiator"'s plot is a whirlwind of faux-Shakespearean machinations of death, betrayal, power plays, and secret identities (with lots of faux-Shakespearean dialogue ladled on to keep the proceedings appropriately "classical"), but it's all briskly shot, edited, and paced with a contemporary sensibility. Even the action scenes, somewhat muted but graphic in terms of implied violence and liberal bloodletting, are shot with a veracity that brings to mind--believe it or not--"Saving Private Ryan", even if everyone is wearing a toga. As Crowe's nemesis, the evil emperor Commodus, Joaquin Phoenix chews scenery with authority, whether he's damning Maximus's popularity with the Roman mobs or lusting after his sister Lucilla (beautiful but distant Connie Nielsen); Oliver Reed, in his last role, hits the perfect notes of camp and "gravitas" as the slave owner who rescues Maximus from death and turns him into a coliseum star. Director Scott's visual flair is abundantly in evidence, with breathtaking shots and beautiful (albeit digital) landscapes, but it's Crowe's star power that will keep you in thrall--he's a true gladiator, worthy of his legendary status. Hail the conquering hero! "--Mark Englehart"

Glengarry Glen Ross

Director: James Foley
Starring: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris
Genre: Drama
Studio: Lions Gate

My Rating:

Rated: R
Release: Nov 2002

Summary: Like moths to a flame, great actors gravitate to the singular genius of playwright-screenwriter David Mamet, who updated his Pulitzer Prize-winning play for this all-star screen adaptation. The material is not inherently cinematic, so the movie's greatest asset is Mamet's peerless dialogue and the assembly of a once-in-a-lifetime cast led by Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin (the last in a role Mamet created especially for the film). Often regarded as a critique of the Reagan administration's impact on the American economy, the play and film focus on a competitive group of real estate salesmen who've gone from feast to famine in a market gone cold. When an executive "motivator" (Alec Baldwin) demands a sales contest among the agents in the cramped office, the stakes are critically high: any agent who fails to meet his quota of sales "leads" (i.e., potential buyers) will lose his job. This intense ultimatum is a boon for the office superstar (Pacino), but a once-successful salesman (Lemmon) now finds himself clinging nervously to faded glory. Political and personal rivalries erupt under pressure when the other agents (Alan Arkin, Ed Harris) suspect the office manager (Kevin Spacey) of foul play. This cauldron of anxiety, tension, and sheer desperation provides fertile soil for Mamet's scathingly rich dialogue, which is like rocket fuel for some of the greatest actors of our time. Pacino won an Oscar nomination for his volatile performance, but it's Lemmon who's the standout, doing some of the best work of his distinguished career. Director James Foley shapes Mamet's play into a stylish, intensely focused film that will stand for decades as a testament to its brilliant writer and cast. "--Jeff Shannon"

God Bless America

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Mackenzie Brooke Smith
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Studio: Darko Entertainment

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.2 (39,194 votes)
Release: May 2011

Summary: Loveless, jobless, possibly terminally ill, Frank has had enough of the downward spiral of America. With nothing left to lose, Frank takes his gun and offs the stupidest, cruelest, and most repellent members of society. He finds an unusual accomplice: 16-year-old Roxy, who shares his sense of rage and disenfranchisement.

The Godfather DVD Collection

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Paramount

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 5.7 (90 votes)
Release: Oct 2001

Summary: Throughout his long, wandering, often distinguished career Francis Ford Coppola has made many films that are good and fine, many more that are flawed but undeniably interesting, and a handful of duds that are worth viewing if only because his personality is so flagrantly absent. Yet he is and always shall be known as the man who directed the "Godfather" films, a series that has dominated and defined their creator in a way perhaps no other director can understand. Coppola has never been able to leave them alone, whether returning after 15 years to make a trilogy of the diptych, or re-editing the first two films into chronological order for a separate video release as "The Godfather Saga". The films are our very own Shakespearean cycle: they tell a tale of a vicious mobster and his extended personal and professional families (once the stuff of righteous moral comeuppance), and they dared to present themselves with an epic sweep and an unapologetically tragic tone. Murder, it turned out, was a serious business. The first film remains a towering achievement, brilliantly cast and conceived. The entry of Michael Corleone into the family business, the transition of power from his father, the ruthless dispatch of his enemies--all this is told with an assurance that is breathtaking to behold. And it turned out to be merely prologue; two years later "The Godfather, Part II" balanced Michael's ever-greater acquisition of power and influence during the fall of Cuba with the story of his father's own youthful rise from immigrant slums. The stakes were higher, the story's construction more elaborate, and the isolated despair at the end wholly earned. (Has there ever been a cinematic performance greater than Al Pacino's Michael, so smart and ambitious, marching through the years into what he knows is his own doom with eyes open and hungry?) "The Godfather, Part III" was mostly written off as an attempted cash-in, but it is a wholly worthy conclusion, less slow than autumnally patient and almost merciless in the way it brings Michael's past sins crashing down around him even as he tries to redeem himself. "--Bruce Reid"

Gomorra

Director: Matteo Garrone
Starring: Salvatore Abruzzese, Simone Sacchettino, Salvatore Ruocco, Vincenzo Fabricino, Gianfelice Imparato, Maria Nazionale, Salvatore Striano, Toni Servillo, Carmine Paternoster, Alfonso Santagata, Salvatore Cantalupo, Gigio Morra, Ronghua Zhang, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone, Giovanni Venosa
Genre: Drama, Action, Thriller, Crime, Foreign
Studio: Image

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Release: May 2008

Summary: An inside look at Italy's modern-day crime families, the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. Based on a book by Roberto Saviano. Power, money and blood: these are the "values" that the residents of the Province of Naples and Caserta, have to face every day. They hardly ever have a choice, and are forced to obey the rules of the Camorra. Only a lucky few can even think of leading a normal live.

Gone Baby Gone

Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver, Michael K. Williams, Edi Gathegi, Mark Margolis, Madeline O'Brien
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Studio: Lionsgate

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.7 (123,573 votes)
Release: Oct 2007

Summary: When a 4-year-old girl goes missing in a rough neighborhood, two private investigators reluctantly agree to take the case. But the investigation proves more complex than they could have imagined.

A Good Day to Die Hard

Director: John Moore
Starring: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Aksel Hennie, Anne Vyalitsyna, Attila Árpa, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Yuliya Snigir, Zolee Ganxsta, Norbert Növényi, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sergey Kolesnikov
Genre: Action, Thriller
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

My Rating:

Rated: R
Release: Feb 2013

Summary: Iconoclastic, take-no-prisoners cop John McClane, for the first time, finds himself on foreign soil after traveling to Moscow to help his wayward son Jack - unaware that Jack is really a highly-trained CIA operative out to stop a nuclear weapons heist. With the Russian underworld in pursuit, and battling a countdown to war, the two McClanes discover that their opposing methods make them unstoppable heroes.

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

Director: Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Nick Kroll
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Fierce Entertainment

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6.1 (11,666 votes)
Release: Oct 2011

Summary: When his father opts to sell the family vacation house in the Hamptons, a sophomoric 30-year-old (Jason Sudeikis) realizes the home's tradition of summer parties will soon end. So he decides to go out with a bang -- with many bangs, actually -- by throwing an orgy. Enlisting the help of his best pals, he sets out to make the dream a reality in this rowdy comedy, also starring Will Forte, Lake Bell, Leslie Bibb and Michelle Borth.

Good Will Hunting

Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård, Minnie Driver
Genre: Drama
Studio: Miramax

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 8.2 (322,859 votes)
Release: Dec 1998

Summary: Robin Williams won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck nabbed one for Best Original Screenplay, but the feel-good hit "Good Will Hunting" triumphs because of its gifted director, Gus Van Sant. The unconventional director ("My Own Private Idaho", "Drugstore Cowboy") saves a script marred by vanity and clunky character development by yanking soulful, touching performances out of his entire cast (amazingly, even one by Williams that's relatively schtick-free). Van Sant pulls off the equivalent of what George Cukor accomplished for women's melodrama in the '30s and '40s: He's crafted an intelligent, unabashedly emotional male weepie about men trying to find inner-wisdom.
Matt Damon stars as Will Hunting, a closet math genius who ignores his gift in favor of nightly boozing and fighting with South Boston buddies (co-writer Ben Affleck among them). While working as a university janitor, he solves an impossible calculus problem scribbled on a hallway blackboard and reluctantly becomes the prodigy of an arrogant MIT professor (Stellan Skarsgård). Damon only avoids prison by agreeing to see psychiatrists, all of whom he mocks or psychologically destroys until he meets his match in the professor's former childhood friend, played by Williams. Both doctor and patient are haunted by the past, and as mutual respect develops, the healing process begins. The film's beauty lies not with grand climaxes, but with small, quiet moments. Scenes such as Affleck's clumsy pep talk to Damon while they drink beer after work, or any number of therapy session between Williams and Damon offer poignant looks at the awkward ways men show affection and feeling for one another. "--Dave McCoy"

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Director: Sergio Leone
Starring: Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Rada Rassimov, John Bartha, Livio Lorenzon, Antonio Casale, Angelo Novi, José Terrón, Enzo Petito, Claudio Scarchilli, Sandro Scarchilli, Benito Stefanelli, Antonio Casas, Aldo Sambrell, Al Mulock, Sergio Mendizábal, Antonio Molino Rojo, Lorenzo Robledo, Mario Brega
Genre: Adventure, Action, Western, Foreign
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 3.4 (55 votes)
Release: Dec 1967

Summary: While the Civil War rages between the Union and the Confederacy, three men -- a quiet loner, a ruthless hit man and a Mexican bandit -- comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.

GoodFellas

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro
Genre: Thrillers
Studio: Warner Home Video

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 8.8 (420,728 votes)
Release: Sep 1990

Summary: Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece "GoodFellas" immortalizes the hilarious, horrifying life of actual gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his teen years on the streets of New York to his anonymous exile under the Witness Protection Program. The director's kinetic style is perfect for recounting Hill's ruthless rise to power in the 1950s as well as his drugged-out fall in the late 1970s; in fact, no one has ever rendered the mental dislocation of cocaine better than Scorsese. Scorsese uses period music perfectly, not just to summon a particular time but to set a precise mood. "GoodFellas" is at least as good as "The Godfather" without being in the least derivative of it. Joe Pesci's psycho improvisation of Mobster Tommy DeVito ignited Pesci as a star, Lorraine Bracco scores the performance of her life as the love of Hill's life, and every supporting role, from Paul Sorvino to Robert De Niro, is a miracle.

Goon

Director: Michael Dowse
Starring: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy
Genre: Comedy, Sport
Studio: No Trace Camping

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.2 (4,966 votes)
Release: Feb 2012

Summary: Labeled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.

Grace

Director: Paul Solet
Starring: Jordan Ladd, Stephen Park, Gabrielle Rose, Malcolm Stewart, Samantha Ferris
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 5.5 (50,101 votes)
Release: Sep 2009

Summary: After losing her unborn child, Madeline Matheson insists on carrying the baby to term. Following the delivery, the child miraculously returns to life with an appetite for human blood. Madeline is faced with a mother's ultimate decision.

Grandma's Boy

Director: Nicholaus Goossen
Starring: Allen Covert, Linda Cardellini, Shirley Jones, Peter Dante, Shirley Knight
Genre: Comedy
Studio: 20th Century Fox

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.0 (908 votes)
Release: May 2006

Summary: Gamers, grannies and stoners unite! From Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions comes a raucously funny, "fish-out-of bongwater comedy" (Playboy) that'll have you rolling with laughter! Life is sweet for 35-year-old video game tester Alex (Allen Covert), until he's forced to move in with his overbearing grandmother Lilly (Doris Roberts) and her two roommates: oversexed Grace (Shirley Jones) and overmedicated Bea (Shirley Knight). To save face with his much younger co-workers and super-sexy new boss (Linda Cardellini), Alex brags about the "three hot babes" living with him, but soon that cat's out of the bag?and the real party at Grandma's house has just begun! If you love footie pajamas, techno-talk and karate-chopping chimps (and who doesn't?), grab your buds and watch Grandma's Boy!

The Grandmaster

Director: Kar Wai Wong
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Ziyi Zhang, Song Hye-kyo, Chang Chen, Wong Hing-Cheung, Julian Cheung Chi-Lam, Zhao Benshan, Cung Le, Elvis Tsui, Yuen Woo-Ping
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Foreign
Studio: Block 2 Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Release: Aug 2013

Summary: The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.

Grave of the Fireflies

Director: Isao Takahata
Starring: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Rhoda Chrosite
Genre: Animation, Foreign
Studio: Central Park Media Corporation (I) (II)

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 8.4 (67,232 votes)
Release: Dec 2004

Summary: Isao Takahata's powerful antiwar film has been praised by critics wherever it has been screened around the world. When their mother is killed in the firebombing of Tokyo near the end of World War II, teenage Seita and his little sister Setsuko are left on their own: their father is away, serving in the Imperial Navy. The two children initially stay with an aunt, but she has little affection for them and resents the time and money they require. The two children set up housekeeping in a cave by a stream, but their meager resources are quickly exhausted, and Seita is reduced to stealing to feed his sister. Despite his efforts, she succumbs to malnutrition. Seita painfully makes his way back to the devastated city where he quietly dies in a crowded railway station.
The strength of the film lies in Takahata's evenhanded portrayal of the characters. A sympathetic doctor, the greedy aunt, the disinterested cousins all know there is little they can do for Seita and Setsuko. Their resources, like their country's, are already overtaxed: anything they spare endangers their own survival. As in the "Barefoot Gen" films, no mention is made of Japan's role in the war as an aggressor; but the depiction of the needless suffering endured by its victims transcends national and ideological boundaries. "--Charles Solomon"

Gravity

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Basher Savage, Eric Michels, Ed Harris, Paul Sharma, Orto Ignatiussen, Amy Warren
Genre: Drama, Sci Fi, Thriller
Studio: Warner Bros.

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 8
Release: Oct 2013

Summary: Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a brilliant medical engineer on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expance of space…

The Great Escape

Director: John Sturges
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence
Genre: Action, Adventure
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

My Rating:

Rated: Unrated
Rating: 8.3 (100,656 votes)
Release: Mar 1998

Summary: A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many John Sturges's "The Great Escape" is both the definitive World War II drama and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernstein's admirable music, this picture is both a template for subsequent action-adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood. Reunited with the director who made him a star in "The Magnificent Seven", Steve McQueen gives a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts, the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding "Cooler King." The rest of the all-male Anglo-American cast--Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn, and Gordon Jackson--make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhill's book, the various escape attempts, scrounging, forging, and ferreting activities are authentically realized thanks also to technical advisor Wally Flood, one of the original tunnel-digging POWs. Sturges orchestrates the climax with total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human drama. Without trivializing the grim reality, "The Great Escape" thrillingly celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight. "--Mark Walker"

The Great Gatsby

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Debicki, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Callan McAuliffe, Amitabh Bachchan
Genre: Drama, Romance

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Release: May 2013

Summary: An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Director: Morgan Spurlock
Starring: Morgan Spurlock, Ralph Nader
Genre: Documentary, Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 6.6 (8,967 votes)
Release: Aug 2011

Summary: Since the advent of recording devices and on-demand services, consumers have been bypassing commercials like never before, so advertising agencies have stepped up their use of product placement. In "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold", Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me") renders the process transparent as he documents his attempts to get Madison Avenue to fund his film. After a flood of rejections, he takes a series of meetings with companies willing to align their brand with his--and make no mistake, Spurlock is as much a brand as Donald Trump or Outkast's Big Boi, who show up to talk about product endorsement. The director's entertaining and enlightening journey even leads him to a juice purveyor that opens its wallet for placement above the title--hence the name of the pomegranate beverage which appears on all promotional materials. As one observer puts it, "You're selling out, but not selling out." For perspective, Spurlock solicits commentary from progressive thinkers, like Ralph Nader and Noam Chomsky, and Hollywood types, like J.J. Abrams, who created "Lost", and Quentin Tarantino, who admits that a certain all-night diner rejected his offer to appear in "Reservoir Dogs". Spurlock even travels to São Paulo to take a look at their ban on outdoor ads: no billboards or messages on cabs and buses, rendering the city clean and downright dull for those accustomed to American-style marketing. The film as a whole resembles a full-length version of a "Mad Men" pitch meeting--but funnier. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

The Green Hornet

Director: Michel Gondry
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz
Genre: Action, Adventure
Studio: Sony Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 5.9 (96,247 votes)
Release: May 2011

Summary: The buzz around "The Green Hornet" comes from the collision of weird talents involved: Seth Rogen plays the crime-fighting hero and writes the movie with his "Superbad" bud Evan Goldberg; pop star Jay Chou plays Kato; and the whimsy-headed Michel Gondry directs. Toss in "Inglourious Basterds" Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as a super-villain highly self-conscious about his brand, and you've got a blockbuster that definitely isn't going for the normal. And for a while, the movie's Apatovian comedy and bromantic tendencies supply some definite fun; plus, Waltz and his double-barreled revolver (along with an uncredited cameo by James Franco) launch the picture with a giddy opening action sequence. At some point, though, you want all this stuff to mesh, and "The Green Hornet" keeps zipping about in three directions at once, never quite maintaining its early comic zip, but not grounding itself in an engaging enough crime-fighting plot, either. And there's little to do for nominal female lead Cameron Diaz; although both millionaire playboy Britt Reid and Kato make half-hearted passes at her, it's clear their main interest is each other. You just knew a franchise that began as a radio serial in the 1930s (and took a brief but memorable detour into TV in the '60s) would end up being part of that unavoidable 21st-century genre, the male-bonding comedy. Of course, it's really a triangle. Their boss car, Black Beauty, also gets a lot of love. "--Robert Horton"

Green Lantern

Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Studio: Warner Bros.

My Rating:

Rated: PG-13
Rating: 5.8 (135,466 votes)
Release: Oct 2011

Summary: As far as superheroes go, Green Lantern may lack the clean, iconic lines of his more respectable DC counterparts Superman and Batman, but the very wonkiness of the premise (earthling joins elite force of space cops) lends itself to a pulpy, operatic, not-entirely-serious approach. (One of his teammates is a talking carrot, after all.) Capitalizing on a charming performance by Ryan Reynolds, the feature-film adaptation is a big, messy movie that, at its best, generates a feeling of aw-shucks wonder. Much like "Thor", it isn't afraid to loosen up on the inner turmoil of its hero and go macro. Based on comic writer Geoff Johns's retrofitting of the title character, the story follows Hal Jordan (Reynolds), an impulsive test pilot whose encounter with a dying alien leaves him with an energy ring capable of weaponizing his imagination. While struggling to master his will-based powers, he must deal with threats both earthbound (a hilariously nebbishy Peter Saarsgard, who may be the first supervillain to rock a hoodie) and galactic. Martin Campbell, a director who specializes in more down-to-earth heroics ("Casino Royale","The Mask of Zorro"), brings a pleasing matter-of-fact baseline to the proceedings, an approach that makes the increasingly outlandish effects truly feel special when they occur. "Green Lantern" has its debits, certainly--the lack of a memorable theme, a second act that hems and haws before getting to the action, the standard origin story shoehorning in too many secondary plots--but its final scenes succeed on a Gigantor, cosmic level where most superhero movies fear to tread. The bigger it goes, the more goofily enjoyable it gets. "--Andrew Wright"

Gremlins

Director: Joe Dante
Starring: Hoyt Axton, John Louie, Keye Luke, Don Steele, Susan Burgess, Scott Brady, Harry Carey, Jr., Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Polly Holliday, Donald Elson, Belinda Balaski, Dick Miller, Howie Mandel, Corey Feldman, Edward Andrews, Judge Reinhold
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Holiday
Studio: Warner Home Video

My Rating:

Rated: PG
Rating: 7
Release: Jun 1984

Summary: Minature green monsters tear through the small town of Kingston Falls. Hijinks ensue as a mild-mannered bank teller releases these hideous loonies after gaining a new pet and violating two of three simple rules: No water (violated), no food after midnight (violated), and no bright light. Hilarious mayhem and destruction in a town straight out of Norman Rockwell. So, when your washing machine blows up or your TV goes on the fritz, before you call the repair man, turn on all the lights and look under all the beds. 'Cause you never can tell, there just might be a gremlin in your house.

The Grey

Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Nonso Anozie
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Studio: 1984 Private Defense Contractors

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 6.8 (126,342 votes)
Release: Jan 2012

Summary: In Alaska, an oil drilling team struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting the humans are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders.

Grindhouse Presents, Death Proof

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan
Genre: Action, Adventure
Studio: The Weinstein Company

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 3.0 (348 votes)
Release: Sep 2007

Summary: Loud, fast, and proudly out of control, "Grindhouse" is a tribute to the low-budget exploitation movies that lurked at drive-ins and inner city theaters in the '60s and early '70s. Writers/directors Quentin Tarantino ("Kill Bill") and Robert Rodriguez ("Sin City") cooked up this three-hour double feature as a way to pay homage to these films, and the end result manages to evoke the down-and-dirty vibe of the original films for an audience that may be too young to remember them. Tarantino's "Death Proof" is the mellower of the two, relatively speaking; it's wordier (as to be expected) and rife with pulp/comic book posturing and eminently quotable dialogue. It also features a terrific lead performance by Kurt Russell as a homicidal stunt man whose weapon of choice is a souped-up car. Tarantino's affection for his own dialogue slows down the action at times, but he does provide showy roles for a host of likable actresses, including Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, and newcomer Zoe Bell, who was Uma Thurman's stunt double in "Kill Bill". Detractors may decry the rampant violence and latch onto a sexist undertone in Tarantino's feature, but for those viewers who grew up watching these types of films in either theaters or on VHS, such elements will be probably be more of a virtue than a detrimental factor. -- "Paul Gaita "

Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodríguez, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, Marley Shelton
Genre: Action, Adventure
Studio: The Weinstein Company

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.7 (35,726 votes)
Release: Oct 2007

Grosse Pointe Blank

Director: George Armitage
Starring: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Alan Arkin
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Studio: Walt Disney Video

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.3 (55,840 votes)
Release: May 1998

Summary: Hit man Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) is in an awkward situation. Several of them, actually. He's attending his high school reunion on an assignment; he's got a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) on his tail; and he's going to have to explain to his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) why he stood her up on prom night. This amiable black comedy, cowritten by Cusack and directed by Jonathan Demme protégé George Armitage ("Miami Blues"), has the feel of Demme's "Something Wild" and "Married to the Mob"--which is to say its humor is dark and brightly colored at the same time. Cusack and Driver are utterly charming--as is the leading man's sister, Joan, who plays his secretary. (Ms. Cusack received an Oscar nomination for her next role, in "In & Out".) Alan Arkin is also very funny as Martin's psychiatrist. "--Jim Emerson"

Groundhog Day

Director: Harold Ramis
Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures

My Rating:

Rated: PG
Release: Mar 2001

Summary: Bill Murray does warmth in his most consistently effective post-"Stripes" comedy, a romantic fantasy about a wacky weatherman forced to relive one strange day over and over again, until he gets it right. Snowed in during a road-trip expedition to watch the famous groundhog encounter his shadow, Murray falls into a time warp that is never explained but pays off so richly that it doesn't need to be. The elaborate loop-the-loop plot structure cooked up by screenwriter Danny Rubin is crystal-clear every step of the way, but it's Murray's world-class reactive timing that makes the jokes explode, and we end up looking forward to each new variation. He squeezes all the available juice out of every scene. Without forcing the issue, he makes us understand why this fly-away personality responds so intensely to the radiant sanity of the TV producer played by Andie MacDowell. The blissfully clueless Chris Elliott ("Cabin Boy") is Murray's nudnik cameraman. "--David Chute"

The Guard

Director: John Michael McDonagh
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan
Genre: Comedy, Thriller
Studio: Reprisal Films

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 7.3 (38,766 votes)
Release: Jul 2011

Summary: Sergeant Gerry Boyle is a small-town Irish cop with a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humor, a dying mother, a fondness for prostitutes, and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international cocaine-smuggling ring that has brought straight-laced FBI agent Wendell Everett to his door.

Gummo

Director: Harmony Korine
Starring: Jacob Sewell, Nick Sutton, Lara Tosh, Jacob Reynolds, Darby Dougherty
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Studio: Fine Line Features

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 8
Release: Mar 2001

Summary: Xenia, Ohio, is a small poor and boring city that never fully recovered after a tornado in the 1970s. Teenager Solomon and his slightly older friend Tummler, have nothing to do but kill time, buying glue to sniff and get high.

Gymkata

Director: Robert Clouse
Starring: Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, Richard Norton, Edward Bell (II), John Barrett
Genre: Thrillers
Studio: Warner Home Video

My Rating:

Rated: R
Rating: 3.9 (2,066 votes)
Release: Jan 2007

Summary: A camp classic and one-time staple of late-night cable, "Gymkata" stars former Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas as a master of Gymkata, a fighting style that blends elements of martial arts and--what else?--gymnastics. Sent to a fictional Middle Eastern country on the Caspian Sea called "Karabal, on the Caspian Sea," Jonathan Cabot (Thomas) must survive a high-stakes competition called the Game that had previously claimed the life of his father. But winning could mean shifting the balance of power in the cold war. (The movie was made in 1985, and Thomas missed out on the 1980 Olympics because of the U.S. boycott.) Fortunately, being a master of Gymkata means that as you run through the village streets with bad guys in hot pursuit, in between the buildings you'll find a conveniently placed high bar from which you can swing and unleash powerful villain-crunching kicks. Moments like that earn "Gymkata" a 9.5 on the unintentional-comedy scale. With Tetchie Agbayani as the love-interest princess, and Buck Kartalian as a fearsome villain who looks like Mel Brooks. "--David Horiuchi"