TheRetroCritic

Liam Neeson is back with yet another action thriller and, so soon after Taken 3 (which was met with lukewarm reviews), although the film's poor performance at the box-office proves that Run All Night was one Neeson-being-a-badass movie too many too soon, this doesn't reflect the film's overall quality. Sure Run All Night works a bit too much like a compilation of Neeson's previous movies: he plays an alcoholic ( Non-Stop ) with a family he's aiming to protect at all costs ( Taken ) who is very good at punching faces (all of the above). Even then, this is a solid thriller which may not be quite as unique or atmospheric as the underrated A Walk Among The Tombstones , but which hits all the right notes and has a lot going for it. For one thing, the film looks beautiful: from the slick, dream-like expansive shots of the city to the dark, street-light-lit night shots, even if the film itself wasn't, the cinematography in this one is, indeed, a hit. Director Ja

Gothamized  is a completely unofficial guide to new series  Gotham  and a debate arena for all things Batman. CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE EPISODE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE In this 17th episode, we discuss the 14th and 15th episodes of  Gotham , Scarecrow, DC villains, turkeys and bronies. (for my written review of the Gotham Pilot,  click here! ) Hope you enjoy it! You can also find us on podcast  The Big Rewind  (available on iTunes) and send us emails with your Bat-questions, Six Degrees challenges and riddles here:  gothamized@gmail.com (for the pilot episode  CLICK HERE )

Released back in 1947, The Lady From Shanghai was a moody film noir directed by and starring Orson Welles about how a femme fatale (played by a blonde Rita Hayworth) lures an Irish seaman into sailing with her and her wealthy husband on a yacht. Eventually, a murder is committed and Welles' protagonist is framed for it and is even made to confess to it on paper. Based on Sherwood King's novel "If I Die Before I Wake", The Lady From Shanghai was not a huge hit upon its release and pretty much mystified its producers. Since then, it has received more critical acclaim, mostly due to Orson Welles' technical creativity in full force during the film's admittedly impressive and memorable funhouse climax. The use of mirrors, elaborate sets and projection making for a brilliant, much ripped-off stand-out sequence. This is what most remember from this movie, that and Rita Hayworth, whose one song in the middle of the movie may not have been Welles' own idea but

In this 52nd episode, Adam (aka The RetroCritic) and fellow film buff Jamie discuss movie news, pay homage to Leonard Nimoy , review Selma and talk retro stuff. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE EPISODE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE Email us here if you have any questions, requests or contributions:  bigrewindpodcast@gmail.com Or simply comment below :) Oh and you can also find us on  iTunes  and now  Stitcher  where you can subscribe to the podcast and download every episode thusfar! @TheRetroCritic #TheBigRewind retrocriticblog.blogspot.com thebigrewind.blogspot.com youtube.com/TheRetroCritic youtube.com/Cablogula

Robert Downey Jr. tries his hand at a more serious, low-key drama in The Judge , a film in which the actor plays a lawyer having to go back to the town he grew up in following the death of his mother only to find himself defending his father (Robert Duvall) in a court battle. Based on a true story, The Judge is both about a cocky dude coming to terms with his past and himself and about a father fighting for his honour despite it potentially costing him his freedom. As a character study of both characters, the film does a great job making us feel for both even with their obvious shortcomings and keeping us interested in this court case which could easily go either way. We also learn more about the truth bit by bit so you're kept suspicious throughout. The performances are very strong with Downey Jr. showing a wider range of emotion recent comic-book movies have allowed him to portray and Duvall giving a courageous, quietly affecting, layered performance which earned him an Osca

As the world mourns the sad passing of film and TV icon Leonard Nimoy, I would like to express my personal thanks to the man who brought Star Trek 's Mr Spock to life for giving me and millions of others so many classic moments in entertainment for so many years. Here are some of my favourite Leonard Nimoy performances, in no particular order: Star Trek: The Original Series Columbo Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan  Star Trek III: The Search For Spock Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Fringe Futurama The Simpsons The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins Song Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Transformers: The Movie Star Trek: The Animated Series Invasion Of The Body Snatchers   In Search Of The Big Bang Theory A Brave New World Star Trek (2009) The Story Behind The Vulcan Greeting The list goes on. My deepest condolences go to

Gothamized  is a completely unofficial guide to new series  Gotham  and a debate arena for all things Batman. CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE EPISODE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE In this 16th episode, we discuss the 12th and 13th episodes of  Gotham , Aquaman and George Carlin. (for my written review of the Gotham Pilot,  click here! ) Hope you enjoy it! You can also find us on podcast  The Big Rewind  (available on iTunes) and send us emails with your Bat-questions, Six Degrees challenges and riddles here:  gothamized@gmail.com (for the pilot episode  CLICK HERE )

Based on a surprising true story, Bernie is a dark comedy starring Jack Black, directed by Richard Linklater, which kinda passed by nearly unnoticed despite the talent involved and the intriguing premise at its heart. Though he was nominated for a Golden Globe, that Jack Black was ignored for an Oscar nomination just goes to show the Academy Awards' reluctance to acknowledge comedy as a legitimate genre worthy of recompense. The actor goes completely against-type as the mild-mannered, multi-talented Bernie Tiede who one day, out of nowhere, shot an 81 year-old millionairess after a lifetime of not doing anything remotely violent or suspicious. The film makes full use of Black's versatility and he rises up to the challenge like a pro, delivering one memorable, quietly hilarious performance. Linklater tells this tale through a variety of talking heads which build up every scene and although this technique rarely works when it's not used in a documentary, here it helps g

I continue my journey through the classic  Duke Nukem 3D  with the final part of the "Entering Death Row" level. For the first three parts of the Let's Play, see below. EPISODE 1, LEVEL 1 EPISODE 1, LEVEL 2 EPISODE 1, LEVEL 3 (PART 1)

Loosely (very loosely) based on the 80's TV series, The Equalizer really is yet another excuse to have Denzel Washington pretending to be a real everyday guy with a boring life while simultaneously being a one-man-army prone to killing bad guys in badass ways. In a weird way, this works more like a prequel to the series as Washington comes to realise, through what happens in this movie, that he can use his talents and his CIA contacts to solve seemingly unsolvable problems random people are faced with. In this instance, he takes it upon himself to protect a young prostitute (Chloe Grace Moretz) from some Russian mobsters. The man's life, which consists of working at Home Depot, reading classic novels, taking tea very seriously, motivating people to lose weight in order to become security guards, all the good stuff, goes from a dullfest to... basically him becoming Batman and taking people out in various creative ways. For one thing, he times the fights he gets into, as if