Although not as strong as the premier, Tuesday’s episode entitled “Butch & Sundance” gives us a bit more glimpses into the shady mind of Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie). Seriously I think that below the surface there is something off about the seemingly quiet and normal guy with an affinity for shooting ranges. I think back on the times when he sat in front of the psychiatrist or even when sharing childhood pains with his partner John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) he would only go so far into his story and then clam up. I think that he was either hurt beyond what he’s revealing or something else happened to his mother to make him into what he is now. In this episode he gets into a funk of depression when he and John Cooper find a mother and her daughters bludgeoned, tied up, raped and shot inside a home. It was disturbing to say the least and the father – himself being shot was rushed to the hospital as he laid immobile on his front steps. Cooper tries to tell Ben that it’s part of the job and that Lydia letting them leave the crime scene early was her doing him a favor,. But Ben is physically shaken and takes it to a blind date orchestrated by his sister later on that night.

Guess who plays the woman in this blind date? Well none other than Eden from NBC’s Heroes… remember her? Actress Nora Zehetner? No? Oh well, I’m a fan so I was pleased to see her hook up with Ben. Well it didn’t happen, Nora’s character seemed sweet enough but Ben’s rich bitch sister, the tool that dates her and one other annoying waste of life decided to start needling him about the early murders (since they saw it on the News), asking questions like “like oh my god were they like tortured and raped?”. It was enough to make me feel uncomfortable for him and after getting to boiling point with these idiots and their questions, he excuses himself and goes to the shooting range to blow off some steam. Personally methinks he should’ve called up Officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis) and pulled the trigger on that instead, but that’s just the shipper in me.

John is still struggling with his painkiller habit and barks at Ben for poking jokes at him about it – ie: “you have something you want to say to me?” Lydia and Rene continued to bump heads on detective styles but actually got pretty friendly towards the end and that brings me to the episode’s downer. Tammi Bryant (Emily Bergl) is back with her spousal drama with Sammy (Shawn Hatosy). This time her issue is (drumroll) toilet paper! Yay! Sammy asks her to get some supplies from the wholesale market instead of Walgreens and she manages to turn that miniscule chore into World War 3. Nothing new with these two folks, he is still having a hard time adjusting to the other less-than-perfect cops and his wife is still a psycho who stresses him out daily. I still await random gang member popping this woman in the head and removing the character from the show, but I won’t hold my breath. Dare I say some of you out there identify with, or even like Mrs. Tammi Bryant?

If you were going to miss an episode, you could get away with missing this one since there was absolutely nothing new in the relationships or developments of the characters. Maybe we will see some better movement next week.

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

For you young readers who have no clue who this man is and why the internet blogosphere is lining up to post news of his death, rent or pick up a movie called The Lost Boys from Netflix. Here’s a sad video of Corey and his good friend Corey Feldman discussing his battle with drugs:

Corey Haim’s Filmography

For the record Corey Haim has been battling drug addiction for a long time. Although he was relatively forgotten in the last decade of Hollywood celebrities and actor favorites, death is always the great reminder and I am sure that Haim will be remembered for the positives within his life on and off screen.

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

Do you even remember Lindsay Lohan? Well you probably recognize the name but don’t remember anything she has starred in or even care. She did do a movie way back in the day called Mean Girls and has been the brunt of many a “drunk crack whore” joke since then. What Lindsay is REALLY known for and will never live down is being part of the foul wave of crotch-shot heavy, drug-ridden, spoilt, rich, over-celebritied brat pack of Hollywood (circa early 2000) that held people such as Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie in its membership. Well Lindsay has resurfaced recently – and no it’s not for an upcoming movie or anything, but for a frivolous lawsuit against E*Trade for their latest ad featuring a baby girl named Lindsay that is labeled a “milkaholic” by the E*Trade baby’s girlfriend.

Hmmm, am I to assume that only one Lindsay exists? That the gingered coke-aholic is THE Lindsay. Well I say nay! I have known many a Lindsay, so if this one gets 100 Mil, I think they should too. But let’s take a look at the ad before we continue tearing this crackhead actress a new one.

Cute!

So if this doesn’t scream opportunistic bullshit suit I don’t know what does. Hey Lindsay get over yourself hon, I had forgotten about you, your substance abuse and your train wreck of a life prior to reading this today. None of us guys at the heavily populated Super Bowl party that I attended -- watching this ad premier even recalled your drunk ass when we saw cute Milkaholic baby girl. Please go away or go star in something else other than online scandal rags and Google Image nip-slip cameos. If you get even a penny off of this it will only green light other washed up coke addicts to come out of the woodwork to sue companies in order to keep their dream merchant happy. Amy Winehouse I hope you’re paying careful attention to this… okay that was mean, I love Amy’s music, I should stop now.

We will be watching the outcome of all this with great interest.

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

Moonraker

Outside of the ridiculous plot and people involved, this is one of Moore’s best portrayals as James Bond. For fans of James conquering women sexually, he sleeps with every woman that bats eyes at him in this movie, counting three separate women who spend the night with him in three different countries. The gadgetry is restricted to a cool wrist dart, but the device is used quite effectively throughout when James deemed it necessary. Moonraker fails as a compelling James Bond movie, trying it’s best to be what it isn’t a Sci-Fi, Space-aged action movie. The lasers looked awful and seeing the Americans clash with the bad guys in their astronaut outfits shooting lasers was such a bad look.

Moonraker does come with a ton of eye-candy, depicting Rio de Janeiro as a haven of scantily clad sexy women, jiggling and shaking their asses down the street. The villain Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) was hell bent on building the perfect world so he of course kept a haven of beautiful women on his island, more eye-candy for this movie even when it wasn’t even necessary. Sadly the weakest and most horrid movies in the James Bond series are numbered within the Roger Moore legacy, this being one of them. It’s a shame that such a great portrayal of James is lost amidst the laser beam fire and bad special effects but he more than makes up for it in his next movie For Your Eyes Only.

Bond-o-meter Score (ranges from 1-10)
James Bond/Story (9): Roger Moore does not disappoint as 007, and again he delivers in his role. Too bad the writing could not do him justice and he was the only bright light in this debacle.
Bond Girl – Holly Goodhead (5): After meeting Corinne Dufour (Corinne Clery), Dr. Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) seemed bland and not so hot. Nothing special about this gal and her act has been done before.
Bond Toys (5): a wrist watch that shoots darts and a supped up power boat… yawn?
The Villain (4): Hugo Drax, while being a driven man with more money than god, mr. Drax had zero charisma or coolness to him. He was a boring villain and we hate boring villains.
Spicy Rating (4): A forgettable pile of garbage with space-age laser beams. Not thanks, NEXT!

  STAR RATING: (5/10)   ★★★★★

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

With a fun story and a positive protagonist, Alice in Wonderland manages to capture the magical luster that makes both adult and child like a movie. It’s a safe blind-buy for the future and could turn out to be an awesome Blu-Ray disc once it leaves the Box Office. If you remember anything of the little girl’s trip down the rabbit hole and into the wonderful world of Wonderland then this is a beautiful reminder of the tale.

Beware of Tim Burton Haters with Movie Review Blogs
When you read a negative review on this movie play close attention to it, make sure there are no hints of prejudice towards Tim Burton and his love for casting Johnny Depp. In our modern age it is the cool thing to hate on things like this and unfortunately the trend has found its way into movie and music critique… right Taylor Hicks? Although it didn’t dial home any huge action, suspense or thrill for me, Alice in Wonderland was far from a  bad movie and one that you may want to check out in the near future. Judge for yourself and if you liked it as much as I did, come on back and holler at me.

  STAR RATING: (8/10)   ★★★★★★★★

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

The Players (Three Cops at Boiling Point)

Tango is an undercover cop who has been undercover way too long. So long has he been under that the lines begin to blur as his ambition of reaching detective seems more like a carrot being dangled in front of his face by the upper brass. He is angry, hardened, has done prison time and has made his bones in the streets along with the thugs. To anyone outside of his superiors Tango was the real deal, a rags to riches hustler and boss whose love extended only to his buddy Chaz (Wesley Snipes) the main boss of his drug empire, an ex-con whom he helped get free, and a man who had saved his life in prison. When his wife leaves him and his promotion is threatened Tango begins to fall more into the darkness and the fake street name that he had made for himself begins to become his reality.

Eddie is a burnt out 22 yr veteran of the NYPD who has one week left till retirement. The first time we meet Eddie he has a gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger resulting in a click due to no bullets being in the chamber. Eddie is completely burnt out, he has no life, his woman is a prostitute to whom he pays top dollar for a few hours pleasure. He is aloof, dead to caring about anything except getting out and a miserable wreck to watch onscreen. Of the three characters you can feel the depression of this character, he is done, finished and he made me feel tired just watching him go though the motions to get to that final day. It would have been an easy trip to that pension had the chief not paired poor Eddie up with a rookie who brings him back to reality, an unwelcome reality that leads him to commiting one good act.

Sal is a father of four beautiful kids, his house is a shithole and his wife is pregnant with kids. He is a great father and a struggling Catholic, his poverty straining the strings of his faith. His boys want a room to themselves so that they can get a turtle, his eldest daughter wears her skirts too short. Sal knows that drug money doesn’t end up helping the poor victims of the street but rather ends up padding the pockets of the political fat cats. He needs money because his house has mold that is affecting the health of his wife and unborn kids, but he has a realtor friend and she’s holding a house for him. The house is about to go back on the market if he can’t get her the money within the week. He’s short on money, his salary can’t help him out outside of feeding his family, he prays but God isn’t helping. The daily raids he lead brings him within the reach of thousands of dollars stuffed into stoves, mattresses and toilets. He’s getting desperate and time is running out, he has to make a choice.

The lives of these men are a depressing rollercoaster to watch and of the three I would say that Sal was the hardest to watch. You wanted to cheer for the guy, he was a good father, hated racism, wanted to be a man of faith and was actually quite good at his job. Regardless of all these qualities the one thing he lacked was control, his wife was a baby machine, his check was small and he had no other income stream to help him get better accommodations. His life was a screwed up mess and he wasn’t dealing with it well. All three of these men were extreme caricatures of things we all go through in life, we work at places where we can’t get promoted. We never seem to have enough money and with the aspect of losing our homes looming over our heads we get desperate. Brooklyn’s Finest was a joyride through emotional hell on many levels, I would urge you to go out and see it.

  STAR RATING: (9/10)   ★★★★★★★★★

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

Rudy Ray Moore

Growing up on the poverty-stricken streets, Petey is one day accosted by some bullies as a seemingly broken old man looks on. The boy does his best to fend off the bullies but loses the fight in the process. The old man, impressed by the boy’s bravery offers to teach him self-defense. After mastering karate, and various weapons, Petey tells his old master that his true passion was to be a comedian and to have people laugh. The old man gives him his blessings and Petey grows up to become an extremely successful comedian.

Later on in life, comedians Leroy (Leroy Daniels) and Skillet (Ernest Mayhand) strike a deal with a gangster named Mr. White (George Mireless) in order to fund a new venue. They are told that if the show does not produce numbers they will be dealt with severely and they gladly accept the offer. One day Petey returns to do a show for his old neighborhood in a rival venue to Leroy and Skillet. This starts a feud and since the duo owed Petey money from the past he refuses to postpone his show which leads to an all out war. During the war Petey is killed and is visited by the devil who gives him a strange offer in return for his life. The devil wishes for Petey to marry his ugly daughter and produce an heir to his throne. Petey accepts but never plans

Well there is cheesy and then there is cheesy and Petey Wheatstraw is pretty bad. Once you’ve gotten past the slow motion martial arts and Rudy Ray Moore’s sassy rhyming, you are left with a crazy story, some god-awful props and I think I saw an 8 yr old playing the part of a newborn baby. This is pure camp in all its glory and if you are a fan of the rhyming, jiving, high-kicking comedian, you will no doubt love Petey Wheatstraw. For myself, no amount of naturally buxom succubus’s and witty devils could sucker me into liking this flick. It’s amusing, but that’s about it.

  STAR RATING: (3/10)   ★★★

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

In the season opener Lydia is given a new partner in Rene Cordero (Amaury Nolasco) and has a hell of a time adjusting to the change. When she finds out that her long-time partner Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott) was shot and in the emergency room, she makes it a habit to schedule regular visits along with calling him numerous times during the day. It felt as if Lydia was giving the man more attention than even his own wife (what’s up with that?) And upon finding out that he doesn’t plan on returning to duty, she bursts into tears outside of his hospital room. Pause… what the hell Lydia, do you have issues, or do you have issues? While I speculated that the character has some deep rooted abandonment issues, a friend of mine eluded that she may have fallen in love with the man and with him gone it was an “opportunity lost” for her to rob him from his wife. This seems viable but far-fetched based on her consistency with being such a caring, moral individual.

The introduction of Rene as Lydia‘s partner is a welcome addition. His confident swag and bulletproof ego (at least to Lydia‘s insult shots) is enough to predict some future action in the tender way between he and she. I mean, SOMEBODY needs to sleep with this woman, all goodness aside – I do not question her character, but she needs to get laid badly! While I’m sexualizing the female cops did you get a look at Officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis) in casual clothes? Chalk it up to her growing on me but she was looking pretty damn good! So good in fact that rookie Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) could not resist the urge to casually ask her out for a drink. I suspect a future romp in the bedroom between these two good looking Officers. Plus with the good ‘ol boy crew giving Chickie hell for ratting out that asshole Dewey (C.Thomas Howell), she needs a good friend right about now. Hell and who else would hit on her? It’s not like Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) would do her any good unless she came with some pain killers for his habit. Zing!

This episode detailed a homeless ex-con preying on old people to steal money for his crack habit. There was a semi-riot scene when Chickie’s worthless new partner accidentally shoots at a kid that stole a car. This led to herself, Cooper and Ben being swarmed by people in the neighborhood jumping on their backs, lunging at them and showing no disdain despite the 9mm’s pointed at them. It was an intense scene, but the best part of this episode was the severe lack of (can we get a moment of silence for this) no Tammi “psycho bitch” Bryant (Emily Bergl) – God I hate her! Can we put a bullet in her character please, she is the one downer on this show and I’m hoping they keep her screen time to a minimum.

We also get to see some jailhouse shanking and The Wire’s Wood Harris as a possible recurring crime boss. This was a great start to the new season and I look forward to tuning into it every Tuesday on TNT.

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs

Plot (Minor Spoliers):
Shutter Island is a tale about U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) visiting a large Psychiatric Facility on a remote island known as Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a patient. The island has had a dark reputation that places fear in the hearts of would-be residents and the tall dank buildings with their courtyards decorated by the patients is enough to make it seem so. No-one looks happy at the facility, the doctors are drawn and melancholy, the residents have dead eyes, the orderlies shuffle along slowly about their duties and everyone is monitored by a host of armed guards. When Teddy and Chuck begin their investigation they are met with a cold reception and the smooth tongue of the island’s head physician Dr. Crowley (Ben Kingsley).

Teddy Daniels begins to suffer from migraines and nightmares detailing his dead wife, his service as an infantry man in World War 2 and the missing girl from Shutter Island. His dreams are long, odd and particularly creepy as his wife gives him clues and his flashbacks on the war shows piles of Jewish bodies, frozen and discarded in an inhumane fashion. When he comes to he is sweaty, disoriented and confused. The patients, police and doctors are elusive in their answers about the missing girl but some patients comply in subtle ways, hinting at a darker plot beyond what was being spun. The answers from the interviewees seemed coached and when Teddy finds out that the other head doctor – Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow) is an old German, his suspicions of foul play increases.

As Teddy falls deeper and deeper into a bit of psychosis from his nightmares, the migraines and the continuous stormy weather on the island, his trust begins to wane even for partner Chuck. He admits to having an ulterior motive for coming to the island and his pursuit for Laeddis (Elias Koteas) the man who killed his wife begins to turn into obsession. When a bad storm disrupts the electric gates and barbed fences holding the patients in, Teddy takes the opportunity to slip into the maximum security building C, a building that had been held restricted from he and his partner since their arrival and the building that he suspected would have Laeddis and possibly the answer to the missing girl.

Shutter Island’s atmosphere is a miserable, dark, wet mess of rocks leaves and sea water. The patients looked marginally cared for and the dress, look and feel of everything was very much of the 1950’s. Leonardo DiCaprio’s raw emotion was powerful to witness near the end of the movie and his volatile actions throughout made him an unpredictable protagonist to follow. Ben Kingsley shows why he is a dangerous man to contend with onscreen as he captured the audience immediately in every scene that he held. His portrayal of Dr Crowley was that of a shady, sophisticated  man who you couldn’t pinpoint whether to trust him or not during the investigation. The score was subtle and appropriate, skipping the need for loud noises and dramatic rush music to drive the audience’s emotions – I instead found it complementary to the movie and melancholy throughout. Above all else is the direction, the movie was a mind f-ck and you are constantly wondering intently until the closing scenes. The ending is poetic, as is the trademark of a Scorsese movie and you will be utterly pleased the way I was. It’s the solid team of Scorsese/DiCaprio all over again, this time in the dark, mysterious complication of the human mind.

  STAR RATING: (8/10)   ★★★★★★★★

Originally posted at: Spicy Movie Dogs