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Chaplin

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  • Title: Chaplin
  • IMDb: link

“What do we do now Charlie?”
“Smile.”

It is impossible to discuss Chaplin without first mentioning the singular performance by Robert Downey Jr. There are many biopics where the star does a passable job and others where movie magic truly happens and the actor, to an almost eerie extent (think Jim Carey in Man on the Moon, only better), embodies the subject on film.

Downey may have failed to take home the Oscar (Anthony Hopkins, also in this film, spirited it away for his performance as a cannibal), but there is nothing here to be ashamed of.  From the recreation of Chaplin’s famous scenes to the more intimate moments far from the cinema, Downey gives us a Chaplin that lives and breathes, and a magic that makes us want to go out and buy all of the Tramp‘s films.

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Hulk Smash on DVD

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  • Title: The Incredible Hulk
  • IMDB: link

“Don’t make me hungry.  You wouldn’t like me when I’m hungry.”

Athough not a sequel to Ang Lee‘s Hulk the film, after a brief introduction,  picks up with Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) on the run trying to control his condition and find a cure.  His search will lead him back home into the arms of Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and the sights of Gen. Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) and his new protege (Tim Roth) who has agreed to be enhanced by process which created the Hulk.  For more on the film read December’s original review.

Learning from the mistakes of Hulk this film stays truer to the characters and amps up the action.  This comes with the cost of replacing what worked Lee’s film (the actors), and although this version is a better representation of the character it lacks some of the style of Lee’s film.

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30 Rock – Season 2

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  • Title: 30 Rock – The Complete Second Season
  • tv.com: link

“I like when a woman has ambition; it’s like seeing a dog wearing clothes.”

When 30 Rock originally aired I wasn’t impressed.  To me the first season which was slightly less fun than staring at color bars, was painfully unfunny.  So it was with more than a little trepidation when I sat down to watch the second season on DVD.  Imagine my surprise when it turned out that while I wasn’t watching the show it began to find the funny.

The show takes place in NBC Universal headquarters inside the GE Building at 30 Rockerfeller Plaza (thus the title).  Tina Fey stars as the head writer for a comedy series which stars Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowsi.

The main focus of 30 Rock is the behind the scenes antics of those who work in the building from the other writers on the show (Scott Adsit, Frank Friedlander, Keith Powell), to the loyal page (Jack McBrayer) and the studio suit (Alec Baldwin).

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The Great Films – Rear Window

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  • Title: Rear Window
  • IMDb: link

“Are you interested in solving this case or in making me look foolish?”
“Well, if possible, both.”

With the recent release of Disturbia I thought this would be a good time to introduce a new feature and take a look back at the film which it pays homage to.  Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is considered one of the director’s finest films by both critics (it earned a 100% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes and ranked #42 on AFI’s 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time) and fans (at the time of this review it ranks #16 on IMDB’s Top 250 Films of All Time).

Alfred Hitchcock, ah, there was a man who knew how to tell a tale.  The joy in Rear Window is the simplicity.  One man looking into the windows of his neighbors discovers a little about them, and a little about himself, and uncovers what he believes is evidence of cold-blooded murder.  It’s a film of slow revelations, of constant building tension, of troubled relationships, and of learning the truth about yourself as well as your neighbors.  If you enjoy suspense then you could search long and hard trying to find a flick better than this one.

Stuck at home with a broken leg, photojournalist L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) begins to examine the world around him finding numerous worlds in the apartments across the courtyard.  Over the past six weeks these strangers have become his form of entertainment and his only way to experience the outside world.

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L.A. Confidential

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  • Title: L.A. Confidential
  • IMDB: link

“Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush.”

The year was 1997 and the film was L.A. Confidential. Based on the James Ellroy novel of the same name the film tells the story of corruption and murder in 1950’s Los Angeles.

The film follows the investigations of three distinctly different cops.  The first is the ambitious career-mined Det. Lt. Edmund Exley (Guy Pearce) who makes a name for himself on honesty and a willingness to throw those who don’t agree to the wolves.

The second is Officer Bud White (Russell Crowe) a blunt instrument with a strong desire to help women in trouble and more brains than most people, even himself, give him credit.

And the third, Det. Sgt. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), is a fame obsessed cop drunk on the Hollywood scene, his small role as a consultant for the cop show Badge of Honor (think Dragnet), and his ties to sleazoid magazine editor (Danny DeVito).

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