Hold Up

In 2011, Bennett Miller somehow made us care about baseball when he turned a book about the Oakland A’s and a couple of sabermetricians into a feature-length drama featuring Brad Pitt, his bff Jonah Hill, and the great Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sabermetricians? You’re goddamn right! I vocabulary like a mug. This flick struggled in production but Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian b

In 2014, a puppy was kicked to death, and a tale of vengeance and healing followed with Chad Stahelski’s action banger, John Wick. Starring Keanu Reeves as the iconic title character who finds therapy in murder as he grieves his way through an organized crime family responsible for killing that puppy I mentioned earlier. This comic-inspired flick spurred too many sequels and spin

In 2003 Tim Burton found himself hung up in tall tales with his fantastical family drama, Big Fish. This flick netted some huge talent with Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and many other notable names and faces as we brave the waters of this father and son’s tumultuous relationship told over the backdrop of an old man’s often confused musings. Big Fish

Len Wiseman’s debut in 2003 was no cause for celebration, but it could be said that Underworld, the film he popped his cherry on, was. Featuring Kate Beckinsale as Selene, the vampire enchantress who hunts werewolves and was responsible for the most sexual awakenings since Princess Leia went commando. This flick is basically Romeo and Juliet with sexy vampires and werewolves done

It was the year 1999, and people were terrified of computers ending their life because they couldn’t handle change. But John McTiernan was cool as a cucumber working on what some people call The Thomas Crown Affair, his art heist remake/retake on the ‘60s flick of the same name. Pierce Brosnan faces off against Rene Russo and Denis Leary as he steals hearts and arts for the lov

In 1997, we saw a dark comedy thriller-type flick called Suicide Kings. Peter O'Fallon directed this cast of B and C-level actors for their ill-fated plan to kidnap a mobster in hopes he can fund or find their kidnapped friend. This flick did not do well, making less than a couple million in the $5 million budget and struggled for positive reviews. But does it hold up? Listen in as

1993 brought us Stephen Hopkins’ action flick, Judgement Night. This flick tells the story of a group of friends who take a wrong turn into a bad area of Chicago where they witness a murder and become hunted by Denis Leary and his gang as they attempt to clean up any witnesses. This flick is another sentimental one for a couple of us, so even though this was not critically lauded

In 2011 we were elevated watching Your Highness, David Gordon Green’s stoner fantasy flick starring and co-written by Danny McBride. This flick has us following a spoiled prince with a big heart and a substance abuse problem as he embarks on his first quest filled with danger and reluctant hand-jobs. This flick did not do well critically or financially, but the cast is good, and

We are celebrating Christmas with Ted Demme’s 1994 dark comedy, The Ref, starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis, and Glynis Johns. The Ref tells the story of a burglar who ends up taking a family hostage as a way of eluding capture as the cops scour the area for him; however, he gets more than he bargained for when the family turns out to be wildly dysfunctional. This mov

1974 brought the controversy and the funny with Mel Brook’s Blazing Saddles. This flick undertook the mission of taking on racism and westerns through the story of a black, half-Dutch, sheriff appointed to a small town of morons to reduce it’s worth so a dirty politician can buy it up and gentrify it. Blazing Saddles features the sparkling chemistry of Cleavon Little and Gene W