Short and much more succinct, director Donlee Brussel’s “Cabbie” has really managed to change its overall tone, lending to its a bittersweet taste that I thought worked much better. “Cabbie” still has its flaws, but when it was done, the purpose of “Cabbie” seemed much more focused. “Cabbie” is centered on aspiring cabbie Marty, who is a combination of naive and quirky. He sees the more interesting purpose of cabbies as being a noble profession, and wants desperately to be the nomadic cab driver that travels the city looking for new people to take to their destination.
Rolling Thunder (1977) [Blu-Ray]
It’s pretty funny that Tommy Lee Jones and William Devane who star in “Rolling Thunder” do their best to prevent talking about the elephant in the room for the extras in the “Rolling Thunder” Blu-Ray from Shout! Factory. “Rolling Thunder” is one in a line of post-Vietnam films about the defeat of the war and its effects on its veterans. “Rolling Thunder” is a bleak revenge film about a soldier that went to war for nothing, only to come home to nothing. DeVane gives a compelling performance as Major Charles Rane, a man who was imprisoned in a POW camp for seven years with a few other soldiers. Finally freed, he and the group return home to Texas to receive a grand welcome, but they’re unsure how to respond. They’ve lived like savages for almost a decade, and, as Rane admits, he gained something of a Stockholm effect. Not just for his captors, but for the torture inflicted on him and his men every single day.
Airheads (1994)
It’s hard to believe that at one point in time, Brendan Fraser was a bigger star than Adam Sandler. Where in Adam Sandler was a general up and comer in “Airheads,” Fraser takes top billing, even over character actor Steve Buscemi. While a childhood favorite, “Airheads” is one of those nineties comedies that hasn’t aged well at all. Surely, back then it was a fun film and has survived mainly by fans of Sandler, and nostalgiaddicts from the nineties, but objectively “Airheads” is a lame comedy that is sparse on laughs. I have fond memories of watching this movie repeatedly when it was on VHS, but these days it’s merely just a sub-par vehicle for its cast of character actors.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
This is what the “Star Wars” prequels should have been. An amazing young warrior torn by lust for power by an evil master, and honor and duty by a noble master, both of whom are fighting for the young soul’s innocence. If only, folks, if only. In the end though, Director Ang Lee’s masterpiece made me wish Director George Lucas would have just paid attention and taken some notes! That said, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is beautiful, it’s wonderfully acted, and yes, it’s a masterpiece. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is a beautifully layered and complex storyline with numerous sub-plots, all of which never go unresolved and under explored.
Monday Movie Pause: "Young and Beautiful"
From the soundtrack of “The Great Gatsby,” Lana Del Rey’s haunting “Young and Beautiful.”
Fast Five (2011)
Where the first in the series of action films was a remake of “Point Break,” director Justin Lin’s “Fast Five” is an iteration of “Ocean’s Eleven.” This time around, Justin Lin assembles characters from the first four “Fast” films to combine forces and steal from the richest man in Rio De Janeiro. When Dominic is broken out of jail by his old friend Briand and his sister Mia, he disappears leaving his friends to wonder where he ended up. During a big heist involving boosting cars from a local drug lord Hernan Reyes, Dominic appears to help Brian and Mia complete the job. But all goes wrong, when the group’s cohorts decide to change the deal. Little do they know that within one of the car’s is a chip containing a crucial stats about Reyes operation.
Marvel's Avengers Assemble!
I guess with the not so stellar ratings of the fantastic “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” Disney figured it’d be a good idea to lay the ground work for another “Avengers” vehicle. This time, “The Avengers” are much closer to their cinematic counterparts, taking off from the first movie, and including superhero The Falcon, who is slated to appear in the upcoming sequel. What’s sad is, when you think about it, “Avengers Assemble” is actually a spin off of “Ultimate Spider-Man.” Marvel has laid the ground work for this new series with guest spots from the movie versions of the Avengers since the show started, with appearances from Iron Man, Thor, and the sun glasses donning Hawkeye.