In 1980, there was no movie with a bigger buzz than AMERICAN GIGOLO. A young Richard Gere had headlined in "Yanks" the year before to mild success, but this was his breakout role. Gere stars as Los Angeles male escort Julian, buffed and polished to be every woman's fantasy at an exorbitant hourly rate. Writer/Director Paul Schrader made this film a year after descending into a similar seedy social underbelly with George C. Scott looking for his runaway daughter in 'Hardcore". Schrader balances the endless shots of shiny Mercedes, perfect suits, shoes, sunglasses and modern beach side homes with a palpable loneliness that Julian tries to ignore in his pay for play relationships. Soon, Julian finds himself in a new kind of relationship with Michelle (Lauren Hutton) at the same time he falls under investigation for murder when one of his tricks ends up roughed up and killed a couple nights after his visit. Bill Duke (Predator) brings some menace as Leon, a pimp with little regard for Julian's standards and Hector Elizondo (Pretty Woman) brings humor and edginess to his role as the detective convinced Julian is guilty. Gere took a lot of heat when the film was released from critics who found him cold and emotionless, but I feel like they're missing the point. Watch Gere's Julian when he realizes he's framed or when he sees a spark with Hutton of something beyond what he's experienced. Gere's good, Duke and Elizondo are better. Very 80's in its frank nudity, casual drug use and Blondie music ("Call Me" stll holds up just fine) Gigolo is an interesting dive into the darker side of hustling. Giorgio Morodor delivers an interesting, driving score, hinting at the masterpiece score he'd deliver two years later for Schrader's "Cat People", to this day one of my favorite movie scores. No one's better at forcing us to explore humanity's dark side than Schrader. With the screenplays for "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull" and writing & directing "Hardcore", "Auto Focus" and GIGOLO, the man's a brilliant tour guide of our darkest drives. Put on your shades, slide lower in your seat and hang on. Julian's journey into the dark gets a B.

Ridley Scott's 2007 crime epic AMERICAN GANGSTER delivers great performances and plenty of tension as two talented actors take two very different, colliding paths on opposite sides of the law. Denzel Washington is excellent as Frank Lucas, a loyal driver and right hand man for a lifelong gangster. When that crime kingpin and Harlem overlord dies, Frank battles for control of the drug business. Frank surrounds himself with his extended family and grows a powerful empire by thinking differently than anyone before him. Meanwhile, detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe, terrific) finds himself nearly alone as the flawlessly honest man willing to turn in the bad guys or the good guys if they break the rules. When he is appointed to run the new Narcotics Task Force in New Jersey, his work all begins to lead toward Lucas and his powerful family. Director Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner) immerses the viewer in both sides of the law, following Lucas as he decides to purchase cocaine directly from the Asian fields, traveling to the East and forging a business relationship with powerful dictators in the middle of the Vietman War. It's interesting to see how many Vietnam references Scott weaves into the film, network news coverage of the war and its politics seems to be the only thing on any television in the movie. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Rudy Dee and John Hawkes are all excellent, with Brolin oozing sleeze as the most crooked 1970's detective on screen.Watch for Ted Levine (the infamous Jame Gumb "put the lotion in the basket" from Silence of the Lambs) as Crowe's boss. While it never quite reaches the classic status it's striving for, American Gangster is a very good film, with strong writing and powerful performances by Denzel and Russell. Denzel oozes danger in every scene and his catch phrase "My man...." makes you cringe everytime you hear it. Frank Lucas is a very dangerous man and Washington nails it. If it wasn't based on a true story, I would find the last half hour almost unbelievable. To say more would require a spolier alert, but life must be stranger than fiction as some of the characters you think you know suddenly choose a dramatically different direction. Washington, Crowe and Scott are in fine form and deliver a violent, powerful crime drama that gets an A.

I've heard good things about the Vince Flynn book series featuring Mitch Rapp, a kick ass, young, take-no-prisoners secret forces soldier. I hope the books are better than the movie, cause this first Rapp film adventure is a major stink bomb. Rapp is a young man proposing on the beach when extremist Muslim terrorists attack the vacation spot, killing many tourists including his new fiance. Within about ten minutes, we see him go into seclusion and then emerge as a terrorist hunting, one-man killing machine. He's then recruited and put into a super secret, very predictable US forces group managed by tough ex-Navy Seal Stan Hurley. Poor Michael Keaton does what he can with the character of Hurley, who is part Mickey from "Rocky", part Mr. Myagi and 100% stereotypical, oozing macho dialogue and eye rolling one-liners. The worst part of the film is Dylan O'Brien as Rapp. O'Brien is apparently popular in "The Maze Runner" and "Teen Wolf" but I admit I've never had any interest in either and I think he's in way over his head trying to launch a film series. Maybe I just prefer my action heroes look older than 17, but no matter how much they muscle him up and have him grow lots of facial hair, O'Brien always looks like he wondered in from High School Musical. Bad casting, bad writing. The villains are okay, the concluding action sequence is pretty well executed but by then, my eyes hurt from rolling them every 5 minutes when somebody drops an idiotic line of dialogue or does something illogical in service of the screenplay. At one point, the bad guy pulls off Keaton's fingernails in graphic detail one at a time to try and extract information. I found myself wondering if I'd go through that rather than see a sequel to this mess. I don't think I need fingernails THAT bad.... Dumb beyond dumb, it gets a D.

A thoughtful character study that feels like a mashup of Hitchcock and "The Day of the Jackal", 2010's THE AMERICAN is a slow but sure thriller. George Clooney stars as an American assassin hiding out in Italy, preparing for his last mission. While his handlers start to question if he's still "got it", he finds moments of solace with a very select few. First is Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli from "Mission Impossible: III") a non-judgemental priest who finds him interesting company over a glass of wine. Their conversations are fascinating as the assassin remains as selective in his words as the priest does his advice. Second is beautiful prostitute Clara (Violante Placido) who carefully builds a personal relationship with him beyond their professional arrangement. Placido is terrific. The last character in his life is his final client Ingrid (the gorgeous Irina Bjorklund) who has ordered some very custom weaponry for the final mission. Like early Hitchcock, most of the film is very carefully choreographed character set up in exotic European locations. Nothing much happens, but it's beautiful to watch. When violence explodes, it's sudden, lethal and carries real consequence. It's interesting to see Clooney in a role that mostly asks him to lay low, displaying as little personality as possible. He can be pretty menacing when he turns off all that effortless charm on screen. THE AMERICAN won't be for all tastes, it's very methodical. But I thought it captured the feeling of being an American in a foreign country in a way that very few movies have. The last time it felt this tangible to me was Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation". There is a palpable, hard to describe cocktail of excitement and loneliness that I've felt places like Chile, where no one speaks English and you are there alone on business. Director Anton Corbijn, who also made the superb "A Most Wanted Man" gets it just right. Settle in for a long slow burn and enjoy THE AMERICAN. It's an adult thriller that gets an appreciative B. (Godfather fans: Violante Placido is the daughter of stunning Simonetta Stefanelli who, as Apollonia, fell in love with Michael Corleone, in The Godfather in 1972. The resemblance is startling.)

It's hard to believe that this film came from directors Joe Dante (Gremlins), John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Animal House) and Carl Gottlieb, the screenwriter of "Jaws". Back in 1987, those gentlemen, along with actors like Arsenio Hall, Phil Hartman, Carrie Fisher and Michelle Pfieffer teamed up for AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON. It's meant to be a hilarious spoof of a 1950's grade B horror movie, interspersed with comedy sketches. It ends up being a very unfunny, dumb and lifeless bunch of skits occassionally enlivened by a mild chuckle or boobs. It's painful to watch all these people who would go on to do good work stumble through this painful mess. Blech. It gets an F.

As a huge fan of Steven Spielberg's original anthology TV series on Sunday nights in the late 70's, I was really excited to see a modern reboot on Apple TV+. Alas, AMAZING STORIES is a lackluster reference (Tribute? homage?) to the classic series. The original season on NBC had episodes from Spielberg himself, Robert Zemeckis, Joe Dante, a group of directors relishing telling one short story for the small screen. This new update promises modern visions from today's leading filmmakers, but after completing all of season one, I'm still waiting. Five one-hour episodes comprise the first season. It opens strong with the first installment, "The Cellar" about an old Iowa home with a basement that has some time travel tricks up its sleeve. If you've seen "Somewhere In Time" with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, you pretty much get the idea as lovers trapped by time try to reconnect. Some good story aspects and suspense combined with great sound and special effects make it a winner. Episode 2 "The Heat" lands with a thud as two young girls on a track team deal with loss and violence. While some of the messaging is terrific, the entire episode creaks along, boring you into submission Episode 3 gets back on track. The always terrific Robert Forrester (Jackie Brown) stars as a grandfather who gets a mysterious superpower ring from his youth in the mail. It leads to some nice DC/Marvel tinged adventures with his grandson. It's heartfelt and fun. Episode 4 slips back into meh with the story of a woman emerging from a coma who seems to be a very different person. Throw in some aliens and family drama and you've got zzzzzzzzzzzzz..... The final episode delivers, with a World War II pilot crashing into the modern day through a wormhole. Bonding with a young widow and her stepson, they cram a lot of adventure and excitement into an hour. It ends the season on a high note, but still leaves me wondering what the hell happened to this reboot. With Apple size budgets and unbridled creativity on the table, this is the best that showrunners Edward Kitsis (Lost, Tron Legacy) and Adam Horowitz (Lost, Felicity) could come up with? Unless they improve the content dramatically for season two (if there is one) they should consider a name change to TRITE STORIES YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE. Season One gets a C-.

Is it any wonder that Sony has scrapped the Spiderman series after this disappointing sequel to the very good 2012 kickoff of the Andrew Garfield series? THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 finds Peter Parker (Garfield quite good again as our web slinger) comfortable in his role as part time student/part time hero. Soon though, Oscorp rears its more sinister side and Peter finds himself battling not only his old friend Harry Osborn/Green Goblin, but the powerful super villain Electro. And that's when the film falls apart. Jamie Foxx can OWN the screen in great and lesser films (Django Unchained, White House Down, respectively). But he has a hopeless role here, reminding me WAY too much of Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze in the "Batman and Robin" debacle than forming any real threat to our hero. Dane DeHaan was quite good in "Chronicle" but feels all wrong for what's required to struggle with the duality of Harry & The Green Goblin. Emma Stone is still fine as Gwen Stacy and her chemistry is strong with real-life flame Garfield, but the biggest danger to her are the screen writers, who seem to think characters are disposable and character development is secondary. There are several very well staged action scenes, but a lot of them feel very familiar. How many times can Sony reboot this franchise and tell the same damn story again and again. Apparently plenty, since they just announced a NEW reboot with a new cast for next year. After this familiar, fair but creatively exhausted sequel, I am officially not aboard for any more Spiderman. Let's take Spiderman and the Fantastic Four and put them on the shelf for thirty years or so. Enough is enough. The ending is a downer and an unpleasant surprise. It feels gratuitous and like a desperate bid for some emotional connection to an overcrowded yet under-written plot. Garfield and Stone deserve better. Less than amazing, its gets a C-. Get the Raid, I've had enough of Spiderman.

Kicked off our July 4th with a late night showing of THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN, which in a word, IS amazing! I went into this one wondering if it would wow me like my all time favorite comic book flick SPIDERMAN 2, or leave me shaking my head like the horrible SPIDERMAN 3. This Spidey reboot Rocks! Andrew Garfield is excellent as Peter Parker, with a likability that Tobey never had in the role. He is funny, emotional and a damn good actor. He's matched by Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy in an excellent performance. Their chemistry is palpable (no wonder they became an off screen couple). This is a terrific cast firing on every moment, with Denis Leary providing hilarious lines and great action as Gwen's dad and the police chief of NYC, Sally Field and Martin Sheen as flawless Uncle Ben and Aunt Mae & Rhys Ifans as Dr Conners/The Lizard in a Spidey villain performance right up there with Alfred Molina as Doc Ock in Spiderman 2. My biggest doubt going into the movie was the choice of Marc Webb (aptly named, no doubt) as director. After "500 Days of Summer", they chose him to direct this $215 million tentpole? Well I was wrong. Webb brings so much realism and emotion to the first hour's set up that you really connect with the characters and you become much more invested in them as the action ramps up. And it really is all about the action right? The action scenes are first rate, with the Lizard/Spidey's encounter on the bridge and the conclusion atop the Oscorp tower hitting all the right exhilerating notes. The web slinging "Spiderman soaring through Manhattan" scenes are SO superior to those even 5 years ago that it makes you realize how far digital effects have come even in that amount of time. I could make some minor complaints about a running time that goes maybe 15 minutes too long, or a forced Stan Lee cameo that takes you out of a great action sequence, but it would be silly to complain about minor points in what is for me, a great summer comic book movie. A really pleasant surprise, The Amazing Spiderman spins a solid A.

A fun, fascinating documentary about one of the most legendary hotels in the world, ALWAYS AT THE CARLYLE is loaded with history and movie stars. In the heart of New York City, The Carlyle has hosted decades of Presidents, film stars and the well-to-do. Writer/Director Matthew Miele does a superb job interviewing the hotel staff, many of whom have been on the job for most of their lives. George Clooney, Jeff Goldblum, Wes Anderson, Anthony Bourdain and many more share their favorite experiences, most of which are loaded with humor and appreciation for the sheer old world class of the property. It's sad when you hear one gentlemen sharing that he's retiring because the basic decency, appreciation and personal contact that he's thrived on for a half century has been replaced by the self centered, faces buried in phones, lack of personal service world that's left him behind. It's melancholy to hear him talk about this change, making you feel the loss of personal interaction that used to be the norm. I doubt if I'll ever stay at The Carlyle. I'd love to, and after seeing this I went online to see what a room costs. Yeah, I don't mind splurging, but this is another league! If the closest I come is this superb, enjoyable documentary about the people inhabiting this iconic NYC spot, I could have done a lot worse. Hell, even Harrison Ford is having a good time here and he ALWAYS seems grumpy. I was able to see Christine Ebersole perform in the legendary Cafe Caryle a few years ago and it was like going back in time. Pure Class. Like having lunch in the lobby restaurant at the Waldorf Astoria, it's personal time travel to a finer age. If you love New York, luxury hotels, following the jet set or just plain history, check into CARLYLE today. We'll give the film a solid B.

If you are a lifelong music & video buff, you're going to have a lot of fun reliving the heyday of the music business in ALL THINGS MUST PASS: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOWER RECORDS. I used to spend literally hours (and who knows how many thousands of dollars) in Tower Records in Phoenix near Chris-Town, in Tempe by ASU and at Southern & Alma School. From albums, through CDs, from Beta to VHS to Laserdiscs, Tower Records owned me. Colin Hanks (great actor in TV's FARGO and son of Tom) directs a savvy and entertaining tale of the rise of Tower Records from a single section in a drug store to a massive international retailer. Founder Russ Solomon narrates the entire tale, from his first venture selling 45's in his Dad's store, then expanding into a new building, then a separate store, and so on. He has fun sharing the work place adventures of a bunch of kids through the 60's, 70's and 80's that grew into a massive family that expanded into THE destination for music and video. It's heartbreaking for those of us that loved that store to see all those massive shelves and shelves of selection, the great signage for new releases, the immersion of the customer in a buying experience that's been lost forever on a grand scale. There are plenty of laughs and some surprisingly moving moments as well. Elton John and Bruce Springsteen show up to tell their tales and the documentary is packed wall to wall with footage of the stores and the characters that worked there. I still head to Amoeba Records in LA when I visit to try and grab a fix of that old retail store magic, but I truly miss the days of collecting those titles. As the digital age appears and then explodes and you watch Solomon's business model become unsustainable almost overnight, you cant help but feel sad for him and his team. By the time they could react, it was too late. As Hanks and his crew film Solomon visiting Japan, where Tower Records still exists in all its glory, its enough to make any album aficionado wax painfully nostalgic. All things must pass but what a shame! This entertaining blast from a treasured past gets an A.

Revisiting 1976's great film ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN makes you long for the day when journalists actually chased a story and didn't serve as lapdogs for political parties (no matter what side of the fence you may be on politically!). Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are young, new reporters Woodward and Bernstein, who start to report on the Watergate break in and uncover a much bigger story that changed the face of politics in the seventies. An all star cast portrays the real life players at the Washington Post and the White House, while real news footage shows Nixon and Agnew's actual reactions to their unraveling administration. Jason Robards is GREAT as Post boss Ben Bradlee, while Jack Warden, Martin Balsam and Hal Holbrook provide strong performances. While basically a movie about two reporters, the film plays like a suspense film as the two uncover deeper and deeper ramifications behind the facts that continue to pile up. My only complaint is I would have liked the movie to have been longer and stuck with the story as the White House players began to fall like dominoes in the face of the breaking story. A film classic, perfectly led by Redford and Hoffman as two undaunted, aggressive reports going where the story leads them, with the fortitude to stand behind the story. Oh how we could use some of THAT reporting style in recent years! Exciting, smart, a brilliant history lesson disguised as a thriller and deserving of an A.

Part family drama, part thriller and excellent from start to finish, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD is filled with riches. Billionaire Jean Paul Getty (an excellent Christopher Plummer) is one of the most powerful men in the world. Traveling the globe to expand his oil business, Getty built an incredible fortune. Driven by power, with little regard for anyone without focus, Getty keeps his family at a distance. When his 16 year old grandson John Paul (Charlie Plummer) is kidnapped, a huge mystery begins to unfold. Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman, My Week With Marilyn) is Gail, John Paul's mother, who battles with everyone to take the kidnapping seriously and find her son. Gail's pursuit is exhausting and relentless. Getty assigns one of his right hand men Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg in by FAR his best screen performance) to assist Gail to find his favorite grandson. As it becomes clear that the richest man on planet Earth is not going to part with a dollar to pay the ransom, the tension on both sides escalates. Director Ridley Scott is a terrific filmmaker. His film legacy (Alien, The Martian, Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner) assures that fact, but he continues to surprise. Scott moves this story forward at an incredible pace, slowly revealing more and more facts about people you grow to care about or despise. They aren't always on the side of the event you suspect. Plummer famously took over the role of Getty from Kevin Spacey after his swift fall from grace last year. Scott re-shot all of Spacey's scenes with Plummer one month before the film hit theaters. It's incredible to see how seamless the re-shoots are and how fantastic Plummer is in the part. I have no idea how Spacey played the role, but I am confident it didn't come close to Plummer. Romain Duris is fantastic as Cinquanta, a kidnapper who grows protective of John Paul. It's great to see Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People) on screen again as Getty's senior lawyer. I'm not a huge fan of Wahlberg, but given a straight dramatic role for a change, he is surprisingly good. Holding his own against Plummer in the final scenes, their last confrontation is a powerhouse and one of the best moments in a film. Beautifully shot, exciting from start to finish, some of the quieter moments of the film are the ones that stick with you the most. What a story. What a movie. ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD won't bring you happiness, but this twisted true story delivers on every count and gets an A+. After you see the film, google to find out what happened to these characters after the events of the film. Real life truly is stranger than fiction.