Burt Reynolds stars as a retired gambler who takes a young hot-shot (Bret Harrsion, Sam from Reaper) under his wing and then finds himself drawn back to the tables. Remind you of anything? Shannon Elizabeth, Maria Mason, and several real poker players (many of playing themselves) also star. Check out the official site. The film shuffles up and deals in limited release in select cities on Friday. Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.
Deal
N/A
John Cho and Kal Penn reprise their roles from the 2004 film. This time around the stoners are chased around the country by authorities who think they are terrorists after they attempt to sneak a bong aboard their plane. Roger Bart, Richard Christy, Jack Conley, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tamara Feldman also star. Check out the official site. The film lights it up on Friday. Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
N/A
“I’ll kill you witch!”
“Not if I kill you first orphan bitch!”
Based on one of the four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West, this new adaptation tells the story of a Jason (Michael Angarano) a young boy from Boston who finds himself thrust into a magical world and charged with returning the golden staff to the Monkey King (Jet Li) thus freeing him from his stone prison and freeing the land from the tyranny of the man who turned him into a statue, the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou).
Along the way to seek the wizard, um, I mean Warlord, Jason encounters companions who journey with him to help him on his quest including a drunken master (Jackie Chan), a beautiful girl hell-bent on revenge (Yifei Liu), and a monk (Jet Li). Together this small band of rebels travels through forests and deserts across the yellow brick road to reach the fortress, take on the Jade Army, led by the Warlord’s assassin (Li Bing Bing), and defeat Cobra Kai, um, I mean release the Monkey King.
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The Forbidden Kingdom Read More »
“That’s what Science Fiction and Fantasy is for, after all; to take one behind the scenes,
to force one to reinvent the paradigm. And Dark City does that in spades.”
—Neil Gaiman
I’m a big fan of The Matrix, but I’m a bigger fan of Dark City. Released more than a year before Neo took the red pill to the delight of audiences everywhere, writer/director Alex Proyas presented a similar tale of a man trapped in a world where nothing is quite what is seems. Although not as widely known (more than six times the number of people have taken the time to rate The Matrix on IMDb), it is a superior film in almost every conceivable way. Released in 1998 we mark the occasion by reviewing the DVD ten years later.
Back in the spring of 1998 I was in the middle of a particularly brutal college semester and looking for a few hours respite. Checking the paper I discovered the local $1 movie theater was showing a film I had missed, Dark City. Taking a chance, I went. I went back the next night as well. And the third night I dragged my two roommates and went back again. I long ago lost track of the number of films I have seen over my lifetime, but I can count on one hand the films which have had this reaction on me.
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Just for you, or loyal RF readers, from time to time we share some good scenes from some good flicks. Here’s a couple clips smushed together of Jennifer Connelly singing (the voice is actually that of Anita Kelsey) “Sway” and “The Night Has 1000 Eyes” from 1998’s much under-appreciated Dark City. As to why we’re sharing this with you today, you’ll understand in a couple of hours.
