Joel and Ethan Coen Two Serious Men Gaze Into Their Past by Jay S. Jacobs Brothers and auteurs Joel and Ethan Coen grew up in a sparse, ticky-tack, rustic early suburb of Minneapolis in the late 60s. Now, after over two decades in filmmaking in which they have turned their incisive pens (okay, more likely computers) onto … Continue reading
THE ANSWER MAN (2009) Starring Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Taylor Pucci, Olivia Thurlby, Kat Jennings, Max Antisell, Annie Corley, Thomas Roy, Tony Hale, Richard Barlow, Nora Dunn and Steven Pasquale. Screenplay by John Hindman. Directed by John Hindman. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures. 95 minutes. Rated R. The Answer Man is far from a perfect film, … Continue reading
ADVENTURELAND (2009) Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig, Margarita Levieva, Josh Pais, Mary Birdsong, Kevin Breznahan, Wendie Malick, Jack Gilpin, Matt Bush and Kelsey Ford. Screenplay by Greg Mottola. Directed by Greg Mottola. Distributed by Miramax Pictures. 107 minutes. Rated R. I had an old friend who always … Continue reading
ECHELON CONSPIRACY (2009) Starring Shane West, Edward Burns, Ving Rhames, Sergey Gubanov, Tamara Feldman, Jonathan Pryce, Martin Sheen, Yuriy Kutsenko, Sandra De Sousa, Steven Elder, Todd Jensen, Mike Straub, Trevor White, Vee Vimolmal and Greg Donaldson. Screenplay by Kevin Elders and Michael Nitsberg. Directed by Greg Marcks. Distributed by After Dark Films. 106 minutes. Rated … Continue reading
JONAS BROTHERS – THE 3D CONCERT EXPERIENCE (2009) Starring Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas, “Big Rob” Feggans, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, John Lloyd Taylor, John Cahill Lawless, Ryan Matthew Liestman, Gregory Robert Garbowsky, Caitlin Evanson, Ben Clark, Denise Jonas and Kevin Jonas, Sr. Directed by Bruce Hendricks. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. 76 minutes. … Continue reading
Woody Allen, Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood and Patricia Clarkson – Willing to Do Whatever Works by Jay S. Jacobs It’s a pretty well known fact in the entertainment world that legendary filmmaker Woody Allen hates movie promotion. He almost never does publicity junkets for his films, which is why his last minute decision to … Continue reading
ELSEWHERE (2009) Starring Anna Kendrick, Tania Raymonde, Chuck Carter, Olivia Dawn York, Paul Wesley, Jon Gries, Kinna McInroe, Jeffrey Daniel Phillips, Suzanne Lang, Joshua Swanson, Shannon Holt and Eddie Martinez. Screenplay by Nathan Hope. Directed by Nathan Hope. Distributed by E1 Entertainment. 106 minutes. Rated R. When you review films for a while, you quickly … Continue reading
Mark Feuerstein – Pains Bring Gains by Jay S. Jacobs Hollywood has never seemed to figure out how to use Mark Feuerstein. Different producers have seen potential stardom in the handsome, funny and likeable actor, however the series they have hired him for have not always been quite worthy of his talents. He has had … Continue reading
THE BIG SHOT-CALLER (2008) Starring David Rhein, Marlene Rhein, Laneya Wiles, Robert Costanzo, Leslie Eva Glaser, Rodney Lopez, Mariana Parma, Natasha A. Williams, Maria Soccor, Paul Borghese, Stephanie Bush, Phil La Rocco and Johnny Solo. Screenplay by Marlene Rhein. Directed by Marlene Rhein. Distributed by Stella Films. 90 minutes. Not Rated. At what point do … Continue reading
Duncan Sheik Bringing Down the Whisper House by Jay S. Jacobs It’s not a straight line to go from pop star to respected Broadway composer, but Duncan Sheik never believed in doing things the normal way. Sheik first exploded onto the pop culture radar in 1996, when his Gold-certified self-titled debut album yielded the mega-hit … Continue reading
