Tom Hanks – How Many Have You Seen?

Tom Hanks – How Many Have You Seen?

He Knows You're Alone (1980)

Mazes and Monsters (1982 TV Movie)

Bachelor Party (1984)

Splash (1984)

Volunteers (1985)

The Man with One Red Shoe (1985)

Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986)

The Money Pit (1986)

Nothing in Common (1986)

Dragnet (1987)

Punchline (1988)

Big (1988) – Nominated Best Actor

Turner & Hooch (1989)

The 'Burbs (1989)

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

Radio Flyer (1992)

A League of Their Own (1992)

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Philadelphia (1993) - Won Best Actor

Forrest Gump (1994) - Won Best Actor

Apollo 13 (1995)

That Thing You Do! (1996)

Saving Private Ryan (1998) – Nominated Best Actor

You've Got Mail (1998)

The Green Mile (1999)

Cast Away (2000) – Nominated Best Actor

Road to Perdition (2002)

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

The Ladykillers (2004)

The Terminal (2004)

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

The Great Buck Howard (2008

Angels & Demons (2009)

Larry Crowne (2011)

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Captain Phillips (2013)

Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Ithaca (2015)

Inferno (I) (2016)

Sully (2016)

A Hologram for the King (2016)

The Circle (2017)

The Post (2017)

Crazy Rich Asians - Review

Crazy Rich Asians

Not since the successful and moving 1992 film “The Joy Luck Club”, has there been an all Asian English-speaking cast film made in the USA. Now someone in their marketing wisdom thought 26 years was long enough to give it another cinematic try in the more dramatically lighter story called “Crazy Rich Asians”.

Early in the film we meet Rachel Chu. She is an Economic's Professor at a college in NY city. She loves her job and her boyfriend; a handsome, sophisticated and highly educated man named Nick who is madly over heels in love with her. One day Nick asks Rachel to go with him to Singapore to attend his best friend’s wedding. Rachel happily looks forward to accompanying her longtime boyfriend to see where he was raised as well to be able to meet his parents who for the most part Nick has been pretty secretive about.

On their flight to the wedding Nick reveals his parent are “financially comfortable”, but upon their landing in Singapore Rachel learns to her surprised Nick’s family is mega wealthy and he's also considered one of the country's most eligible bachelors. Now feeling pressure to be liked by his Nicks upper crust family she is thrust into a spotlight, where she has to contend with jealous socialites, quirky relatives and something far, far worse…………….. Nick's difficult and perpetually disapproving mother.

REVIEW: At it’s core “Crazy Rich Asians” is a fun filled cinematic frolic through the prism of an old time romantic story.  Part "Cinderella" and "Romeo and Juliette" and cable's TV Land's "Younger", this film breaks no new ground in the romantic fairy tell genre. Nor does it offer anything meaningful or shocking or anything that could be considered as having a weighty dramatic twist to its plot. No “CRAs” is none of these. But what it does offer is a sweet, lighthearted, satisfying and sometimes emotionally sad and emotionally uplifting spin on what’s it like to be young and in love all though some exquisite cinematography that will have you googling Travelocity to get tickets to Singapore.

The overall arc of this story is very delicate and stays on the periphery of not being too serious in its execution. It never really takes any huge risk in delving too deeply in its plot development nor into making any of the cast members seem way too unlikable or way too likable. Instead the films direction cleverly makes all of the cast member seem appealing in their own unique varying ways - they all come across relatable to the audience. And mixed with just the right amount of humor and sober reflection “CRAs” stays in its lane all through its 2 hour running time of being a film about personal empowerment, the importance of family traditions and young love through the filter of  the Asian culture.

“CRAs” is a sparkling film that includes an imaginative location for a bachelor party, an exquisite wedding scene and a breath taking finale on the top of a hotel. This film kept me smiling trough out with solid performances all around, with a special note towards rapper and actress Awkwafina who was a scene stealer in every frame with her quick witted and timely humor. 

Underneath it all “CRA’s does try to ask and answer an age-old question; that being can money buy happiness?. I don't know and neither does the film really answer that in my opinion. But what the film does do through some gorgeous visuals, romance, beauty, Asian culture and my $10 bucks last night for the ticket, I can say it gave me a lot of plain old entertaining joy and was well worth the price for it. And if you see it I believe it will do the same for you.

3.50 Stars

Lester’s 2018 Fall Movie Guide

Lester’s 2018 Fall Movie Guide

The Little Stranger (August 31)

A creepy period piece set in a beautiful mansion, this apparent slow-burner has a killer cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling, and Ruth Wilson (whom you may know from her star turn on The Affair). Something tells me The Little Stranger has one helluva twist. I'll take a goth ghost story any day.

A Simple Favor (September 14)

Bridesmaids director Paul Feig and screenwriter Jessica Sharzer (American Horror Story) bring Darcy Bell's riveting thriller to the big screen. Fans of Gone Girl or TBS series Search Party will be drawn into this film's web of intrigue. Anna Kendrick plays a mommy blogger whose best friend, played by Blake Lively, vanishes. The disappearance launches a series of twists, turns, and betrayals that, judging from the film's sultry, stylish trailer, will have all the intrigue and verve of the best thrillers.

The Children Act (September 14)

Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Ian McKewan, this movie (starring the unbeatable combo of Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci) follows a British High Court judge who has to rule on whether a boy dying of leukemia should receive a life-saving blood transfusion against the wishes of his Jehovah’s Witness parents. Part court drama, part relationship drama, all drama-drama.

White Boy Rick (September 14)

White Boy Rick is a 2018 American crime drama film directed by Yann Demange. The story of teenager Richard Wershe Jr. (Richie Merritt), who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.

Operation Finale (September 21)

Operation Finale is a 2018 historical thriller film directed by Chris Weitz. 15 years after World War II, a team of secret agents are brought together to track down Adolf Eichmann, the infamous Nazi architect of the Holocaust.

Colette (September 21)

Keira Knightley in a period piece. The star of such classics as Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, and Anna Karenina is back at it again, this time trying the Belle Epoque on for size. In this joyful, fiercely feminist biopic of Nobel Prize–nominated author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Gigi), Knightley plays the titular role with her usual aplomb, tracing the journey of a writer who must fight for visibility when her work is unduly credited to her husband. A hit at the Sundance Film Festival, this will be one of the bright spots of the fall.

The Old Man and the Gun (September 28)

The Old Man and the Gun is a 2018 American crime film directed by David Lowery, based on the 2003 New Yorker article by David Grann. The true story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.

A Star is Born (October 5)

Lady Gaga literally stars as a preternaturally talented singer-songwriter whose rise to fame coincides with the fall from grace of her lover and mentor, played by Bradley Cooper. Cooper directed the flick and also sings in it. This is the third remake of a Janet Graynor film from 1937; Gaga steps into shoes that have previously been fitted for none other than Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland.

Bad Times at the El Royale (October 5)

Emmy, Grammy and Tony-award winning triple threat Cynthia Erivo leaps from the Broadway stage to the big screen this fall in the Viola Davis–starrer Widows and at the center of Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale. A twisty psychedelic “pulp fictiony” crime thriller brings seven strangers together at a motel in the 1960s—where guns, money, ominous rainstorms, and a shirtless Chris Hemsworth all come out to play. Co-starring Dakota Johnson, Jeff Bridges, and Jon Hamm.

Beautiful Boy (October 12)

Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet join Oscar-winner Amy Ryan and Emmy-winner Maura Tierney to tell the heartbreaking true story of a father's fight to save his son from a crippling addition to meth. The film is based on two memoirs, one by dad David Sheff and one by son Nic Sheff.

The Hate U Give (October 19)

Based on Angie Thomas' bestselling YA novel, The Hate U Give explodes into theaters this autumn with an timely and incisive exploration of race, class, and opportunity. Starr (Amandla Stenberg) is a black girl living in two worlds: the mostly black, lower-class neighborhood in which she lives, and the mostly white, upper-class prep school she attends. But then she witnesses her cousin's murder at the hands of a police officer, and is drawn into activism as the lines between her worlds crumble. Thomas' book has been perched atop the New York Times bestseller list for over a year, so expect audiences to show up big time for this adaptation.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (October 19)

Melissa McCarthy, who's shown dramatic chops before, gets to be front and center of this crime caper tragedy. McCarthy plays celebrity profiler Lee Israel, who has seen her fortunes fall and her paychecks dry up. While trying to make money selling rare books, she stumbles into letter forgery and quickly gets caught up doctoring missives from famous people with her own poison pen. Co-starring fellow funny people Richard E. Grant and Jane Curtain, this forgery flick is the real deal.

Serenity (October 19)

Interstellar co-stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway re-team for another mind-bender, this one set on earth—or water, to be exact. Hathaway leads this neo-noir playing a woman who makes a dangerous request of her fishing boat captain ex-husband, played by McConaughey. She wants him to take her current husband, Jason Clarke, out on the boat and leave him for the fishes.

Bohemian Rhapsody (November 2)

Though there were some serious productions snafus that almost jeopardized this highly-anticipated Freddie Mercury biopic—including on-set chaos, thanks to an MIA director who later got fired mid-production—it’s finally happening and it looks really promising. Rami Malek (of Mister Robot fame) stars as the Queen frontman at the height of his powers, mustache and all.

Boy Erased (November 2)

This true story of a Baptist preacher's son (played by Oscar nominee Lucas Hedges), who is outed and must choose between submitting to gay conversion therapy or being exiled from his family and faith community. Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman play his parents in a film directed by Joel Edgerton, who also wrote the screenplay.

Suspiria (November 2)

The trailer alone for Luca Guadagnino’s remake of the 1977 horror classic Suspiria makes me jump, and the movie got some terrified reviews from those who saw a preview of it at CinemaCon. Dakota Johnson in a creepy period horror film, though?

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (November 2)

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a 2018 American fantasy film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on works by E.T.A. Hoffmann and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. After being led by her godfather (Morgan Freeman) to a special key, Clara (Mackenzie Foy) finds herself in a strange world inhabited by the Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightley) and other mysterious beings.

On the Basis of Sex (November 9)

Mimi Leder directs Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer in a Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic and it's time to get pumped. Jones plays the jurist as a young lawyer bringing a gender discrimination case before the Supreme Court. Hammer plays her legal partner and husband, Marty.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web (November 9)

Based on the fourth novel of the Millennium series (and the first not written by Steig Larsson, who passed away in 2014), this film got a lot of buzz with its trailer, which shows the genius Claire Foy nearly unrecognizable as Lisbeth Salander. She looks so badass and Swedish! It’ll be interesting to see Foy as an action star, but if there’s one thing we know about her, it is this: She has the range.

Welcome to Marwen (November 21)

Welcome to Marwen is a 2018 American fantasy drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis, inspired by Jeff Malmberg's 2010 documentary Marwencol. A victim (Steve Carell) of a violent assault constructs a miniature World War II village in his yard to help in his recovery.

If Beale Street Could Talk (November 21)

If Beale Street Could Talk is a 2018 American drama film directed by Barry Jenkins, based on the novel by James Baldwin. A woman in Harlem (Kiki Layne) desperately scrambles to prove her fiancé (Stephan James) innocent of a crime while carrying their first child.

Blue Are High On My List 

Samuel L. Jackson - How Many Have You Seen?

Samuel L. Jackson - How Many Have You Seen?

1408 (2007)  

A Shock to the System (1990)

A Time to Kill (1996)

Amos & Andrew (1993)

Any Given Wednesday (2000)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Barely Lethal (2015)

Basic (2003)

Betsy's Wedding (1990)

Big Game (2014)

Black Snake Moan (2006)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Cell (2016)

Changing Lanes (2002)

Chi-Raq (2015)

Cleaner (2007)

Coach Carter (2005)

Coming to America (1988)

Country of My Skull (2004)

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Def by Temptation (1990)

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Django Unchained (2012)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

Everything Is Samuel L. Jackson's Fault (2013)

Eve's Bayou (1997)

Fathers & Sons (1992)

Fluke (1995)

Freedomland (2006)

Fresh (1994)

Goodfellas (1990)

Gospel Hill (2008)

Hail Caesar (1994)

Home of the Brave (2006)

Inglorious Basterds (2009) – voice over

Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Jackie Brown (1997)

Johnny Suede (1991)

Juice (1992)

Jumper (2008)

Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1991)

Jungle Fever (1991)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Kiss of Death (1995)

Kite (2014)

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)

Losing Isaiah (1995)

Magic Sticks (1987)

Meeting Evil (2012)

Menace II Society (1993)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Mother and Child (2009)

No Good Deed (2002)

Old Boy (2013)

One Eight Seven (1997)

Out of Sight (1998)

Patriot Games (1992)

Pulp Fiction (1994) - Nominated Best Supporting Actor

Ragtime (1981)

Reasonable Doubt (2014)

Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

RoboCop (2014)

Rules of Engagement (2000)

S.W.A.T. (2003)

School Daze (1988)

Sea of Love (1989)

Shaft (2000)

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Soul Men (2008)

Sphere (1998)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Strictly Business (1991)

Sydney (1996)

The 51st State (2001)

The Avengers (2012)

The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

The Exorcist III (1990)

The Exterminator (1980)

The Great White Hype (1996)

The Hateful Eight (2015)

The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Man (2005)

The Negotiator (1998)

The New Age (1994)

The Other Guys (2010)

The Red Violin (1998)

The Return of Superfly (1990)

The Samaritan (2012)

The Search for One-eye Jimmy (1994)

The Spirit (2008)

Thor (2011)

Together for Days (1972)

Trees Lounge (1996)

True Romance (1993)

Twisted (2004)

Unbreakable (2000)

Unthinkable (2010)

White Sands (1992)

xXx (2002)

xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)

xXx: State of the Union (2005)

Blue Are My Personal Favorites

Career Box Office Total - $5,733B – Ranked No.1

Coming Soon Below:

Captain Marvel (2019

Glass (2019)

Inversion (2020)

Life Itself (2018)

Shaft Sequel (2019)

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2020)

The Last Full Measure (2018)

BlacKkKlansman - Review

BlacKkKlansman

Filmmaker – Director Spike Lee makes a comeback in the incredible true story of an unsung – unknown American hero.

It’s the early 1970s and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. During the initial interview we watch an honest and eager Ron make the perfect pitch during his interview why he should be their first man of color on a less than tolerant local police force in a less than tolerant community. With some skepticism the White Police Chief named Bridges offers Ron a job. But frustrated by his assignment and determine to making a difference Ron goes to his Chief to request to be put on the investigative unit. Again, reluctant to do so, the chief offers relents by giving Ron a job on the unit.

Shortly thereafter, Ron and now even more determined to make a name for himself, sets out bravely on a dangerous mission to infiltrating and exposing the local Ku Klux Klan. The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague named Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) into working with him. As Ron would pretend to be himself on the phone speaking to Klan members his partner Flip would pretend to be Ron by showing up at meetings wired to gathering information on criminal activities they maybe be engaged in. Together, they work as a collaborative team by taking down the extremist hate group as the organization was just starting to take aim in sanitizing its violent rhetoric past by appealing more to a mainstream America with the leadership of David Duke, the National Grand Wizard of the Klan.

REVIEW: There are so many things that are good with this film that to speak on the peripheral details of the story, even so slightly, would be a disservice to you as potential viewer and to me as someone trying to crafty convey why this film deserves your immediate time and money. However, let me be clear, while 95% of the film’s 2:15 minute running time (in the middle) is simply constructed to telling the true events of Ron Stallworth’s amazing story, Director Lee also makes a very concerted effort in the first and last 3 minutes  of the film to providing some contextual political social commentary about how the historical events in our nation’ past and its present have not changed.

From the history of the Civil War, the films “Birth of a Nations” and “Gone With Wind” to more recent events like 2017 Charlottesville, VA, to police officer shootings of African American and comments about African Americans, Lee bluntly illustrates that these events absolutely mirror one another and that a much larger salient question has to be asked ……….”What has changed?”. And while this commentary is only a very, very brief part; brief bookends if you will to the film, if you have an antithetical repulsion to seeing even a small amount of politics injected to a films story than I will spare suggesting for you to see the remaining 95% rest of what otherwise is a fabulous true story film.

Structurally, the trailers misleadingly suggest that there is a prominent comedic aspect to this story. And while certain situations were in deed funny – maybe even a bit spoofy - goofy, the aggregate film itself was all dramatic with two parallel track stories as a guide.

On one track Director Lee examines the rise of Black college student activism in the local Colorado community and their impact on the American landscape for meaningful change and social justice. On the other track and much deeper he examines the Klan by delving into their collective mind sets of people who are filled and bonded by deep seeded hatred. As if mysteriously they are drawn to some unique defining light that can only be seen by them which makes them spend the bulk of their time on earth finding new ways to perfecting, working and living for hatred as a means of validation and purpose in their lives. Further it rather adroitly looks at how hatred can become the very essences of someone intimately taking over their every consciousness to the point of it being no more of an afterthought by simply asking someone to “passing the salt and pepper” than to being racial in all aspect of daily vernacular with terms we all know too well.

With a career changing solid lead performance by John David Washington (Actor Denzel Washington's son), I would not be surprised to see Director Lee garner a Best Director and Best Picture nominations. But its my hope that the Academy will remember the fine performances of Actor Adam Driver as the Jewish partner “Flip”. Of Actor Topher Grace who played “David Duke” with perfect aplomb of being the personification of sophistication and handsome charm and yet a soulless vile man. And finally, and especially so with Finnish born actor Jasper Pääkkönen who played Klansman “Felix Kendrickson”. His portrayal of his “Felix” as a defiant perpetual loose cannon of red hot bigoted rhetoric and yet someone who was also an equally loving and devoted husband seriously deserves and warrants some Oscar nomination consideration.

Perfectly paced Spike Lee's "BlacKkKansman" is clearly one of the Best Films for 2018 with also one of the best film musical soundtrack in recent memory. The film is the embodiment of such rare simultaneous qualities ranging from exciting, entertaining and bold to something sad, reflective, at times depressing and a personal razor-sharp punch to the gut.

In 1989 Spike Lee directed an acclaimed film titled “Do the Right Thing” which delved into the fictional story of social injustice in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Now in his “BlacKkKlansman” Lee comes full circle on his career showcasing what “Doing the Right Thing” really and actually looks like when two ordinary men risk their lives in obscurity by trying to bring some real justice to the world.

4.00 Stars