No Picture
Movies

VOD Spotlight: Monsters take a holiday in “Hotel Transylvania”

Ever wonder what Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man do when they’re not scaring people? The animated hit Hotel Transylvania runs with this concept, taking place at a remote resort run by Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) and his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez). Drac is about to host some old friends — including Frankenstein (Kevin James), the Wolf Man (Steve Buscemi) and his gaggle of furball kids — in the one place monsters can escape the constant, fearful eye of us pesky humans. The place has to remain a secret, but all that changes one day when a young human (Andy […]

No Picture
Comedy

VOD Spotlight: Woody Allen’s “To Rome With Love” brings another all-star cast to the “Eternal City”

Like most Woody Allen movies, To Rome With Love features an all-star cast: heavy hitters Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Penélope Cruz and Roberto Benigni join familiar faces Carol Alt, Alison Pill, Judy Davis, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page and, of course, Allen himself, in a film about the lives of residents of and visitors to Rome and the adventures people have that will change their lives forever.  Allen says, “So much of the action and activity in Rome takes place outside, in its cafes and streets. It’s an amazing city just to walk in. The city itself is a work of […]

No Picture
Action

VOD Spotlight: Joseph Gordon-Levitt channels Bruce Willis in “Looper”

In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time-travel is possible — but is illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” — a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good … until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. The trouble for Joe begins when he “lets his loop run” — meaning he lets his older […]

No Picture
Action

VOD Spotlight: “Resident Evil: Retribution” marks a return for Milla Jovovich

Resident Evil: Retribution, the fifth installment of the bloodthirsty franchise, finds Alice (Milla Jovovich) fighting alongside a resistance movement against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead. As always, the central figure in this gritty and gripping tale is Alice, played once again with implacable ferocity by Milla Jovovich. “Milla is a huge factor in the success of the films,” says Bolt. “One of the things that makes Resident Evil interesting is that we present a woman as a convincing action hero. She’s tough as hell. She’s a leader; she’s determined. If anybody’s going to beat Umbrella, it’s Alice.” Alice has evolved […]

No Picture
Action

VOD Spotlight: Joseph Gordon-Levitt finds a “Premium Rush” on the streets of NYC

David Koepp, director of the film Premium Rush, wanted to create a film whose plot unfolded “more or less in real time, very compressed, but wide open in terms of space.” He found his subject matter on the streets of New York City, where bike messengers are part of the everyday landscape. Koepp knew he wanted to be true to the realities faced by the bike messengers and the subculture they inhabit. So everyone who worked on the film spent as much time as possible with actual bike messengers, learning the ways of the messenger lifestyle. In addition, all of […]

No Picture
Action

VOD Spotlight: “Total Recall” a treat for Beckinsale and Biel

In reimagining Philip K. Dick’s story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” for the 2012 update of Total Recall — the film was first rendered onscreen in 1990 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger — director Len Wiseman and the other filmmakers did something a little devilish, if a little delicious as well: They cast Wiseman’s wife, Kate Beckinsale, as Douglas Quaid’s (Colin Farrell) seemingly loving wife, who of course turns out to be a savage killer. It was a turn that Beckinsale relished. “I’ve never played a bad guy before. I’ve always been on the side of truth and justice,” […]

No Picture
Comedy

VOD Spotlight: Seth MacFarlane’s “Ted” influenced by Muppets

Seth MacFarlane has had such a visible presence in recent years with his animated series Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad! that it was only a matter of time before his producing/writing talents would spill over onto the big screen. Fans of his series work should easily relate to his live-action comedy, Ted. The film stars Mark Wahlberg as John Bennett, a man whose childhood wish for his beloved teddy bear to come to life was granted in his youth, but whose relationship with his stuffed pal has gotten a lot more complicated over the years. Now, almost […]

No Picture
Action

VOD Spotlight: Jeremy Renner is on the run in “The Bourne Legacy”

How many good Part 4’s can you remember? Between that, and knowing that the lead star isn’t taking part, you could be excused for thinking that The Bourne Legacy seems like a clunker from the outset. Words like “cash grab” and “desperation” come to mind. So it’s nice to settle in and realize the filmmakers have actually put some thought into this installment of the reliable spy franchise. Jason Bourne, the amnesiac hero of the first three films, is only seen in photographs, though his presence is the catalyst for much of the action. The same black ops government program […]

No Picture
Action

VOD Spotlight: “The Dark Knight Rises” Bale’s glorious Bat-finish

With The Dark Knight Rises, the story arc that began with 2005’s Batman Begins comes full circle. At the start of this last chapter, the character Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has been away from his role as Batman for eight years, his crime-fighting purpose having been largely fulfilled — as well as Batman’s status as a fugitive after having assumed responsibility for the death of Gotham City D.A. Harvey Dent. The long hiatus in hiding has had a dramatic effect on the mindset of both Bruce and Batman. “In Batman Begins, you see the tragedy and the pain that motivates […]

No Picture
Comedy

VOD Spotlight: “Hope Springs” a trip for Meryl Streep

Some people are fond of saying that age is just a number. But for some couples, age just makes you numb. This is essentially the starting point of director David Frankel’s film Hope Springs, written by Vanessa Taylor (Game of Thrones), about a long-married couple, Kay and Arnold (Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones), who have lost their spark over the years. “Kay wants to reconnect with her husband, Arnold,” Streep explains. “She wants to feel connected, to feel intimately involved with him, to feel that he’s intimately interested in her. But I think Arnold, if you asked him, wouldn’t […]