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Gabriele Salvatores’ (MEDITERRANEO) I’M NOT SCARED is a simple kidnap thriller that achieves grander status do to its observant eye, point of view and style.

Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano) is a 5th grader who lives in a remote village in Italy. His family is poor. His father Pino (Dino Abbrescia) is often away and is mean, but not because he doesn’t love his children, but because he is selfish, lazy and ignorant. You can tell that he really does love his children, as does their mother Anna (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, THE MACHINIST), who, however, tends to go long with what Pino says.

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The best way I can describe this film is that the jazz soundtrack fits it perfectly. Will (Clive Owen, CLOSER) is a former gangster who has given up the tough life for a hermit-like existence living on the road. His younger brother Davey (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM) has become a small time drug dealer and hustler, who meets a violent end.

Almost like he knows something is wrong, Will returns to investigate the circumstances of his brother’s death. His return is not welcomed by top gangster Turner (Ken Scott, THE BOXER) and his ex-girlfriend Helen (Charlotte Rampling, SWIMMING POOL) wishes he’d just leave town right away. Other notable characters include Davey’s friend and Will’s former lieutenant Mickster (Jamie Foreman, SAVING GRACE) and the twisted car dealer Boad (Malcolm McDowell, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE).

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This film is an emotional kicker. One moment it will have you laughing with its dark humor and in a split second a mean jab by one of the characters will have your stomach turning in knots.

Martha (Elizabeth Taylor, FATHER OF THE BRIDE) and George (Richard Burton, THE LONGEST DAY) have been married for too long you could say. Their marriage is in no way stable. They bicker and fight from the moment we meet them. But it starts off in a playful way and gets more ugly as time goes by. As the film opens, they are arriving home from a party. George is a history professor at the college where Martha’s father is the president. Martha has invited a young new biology professor named Nick (George Segal, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE) and his bubbly wife Honey (Sandy Dennis, THE INDIAN RUNNER) over for drinks.

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Mel Brooks’ idea for making a silent movie was great, but the film doesn’t capitalize on its potential. Brooks plays Mel Funn, a recovering alcoholic film director who hasn’t had a hit in ages. Along with his sidekicks Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) and Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise, THE LOVED ONE), they set out to make a silent film.

Their Studio Chief (Sid Caesar, GREASE) doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but Funn sells it by saying he’ll get big stars. The Studio Chief is desperate because a huge conglomerate Engulf & Devour, run by Engulf (Harold Gould, THE STING) and Devour (Ron Carey, HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART I), are staging a hostile takeover of Big Pictures Studio.

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From the makers of ICE AGE comes this new 3D animated wonderment. Director Chris Wedge’s ICE AGE was a big surprise. His follow-up may be a bit weaker in the story area, but it makes up for it greatly with a breathtakingly constructed world and character designs. This is the kind of movie that looks so good you could turn off the sound and just stare at the visuals for an hour and a half.

Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor, TRAINSPOTTING) is a young inventor, who tries to invent gadgets that help his fellow bots, mainly his dishwasher father Herb (Stanley Tucci, SHALL WE DANCE?). One day, Rodney sets out to Robot City to pitch his inventions to his idol Bigweld (Mel Brooks, LIFE STINKS), but when he arrives he discovers that Bigweld has disappeared and his company is being run by the shiny and shallow Phineas T. Ratchet (Greg Kinnear, AS GOOD AS IT GETS).

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This film is the classic gangster tale, directed by Howard Hawks (RED RIVER) and produced by Howard Hughes. The story deals with the rise of Tony Camonte (Paul Muni, THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA) in the ranks of organized crime. Along with PUBLIC ENEMY and LITTLE CAESAR, this film is considered a landmark in gangster films. It is also noted for pushing the boundaries of screen violence. It was actually released in two versions, so that it could play in certain States.

Tony is a thug and murderer for crime boss Johnny Lovo (Osgood Perkins, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937). He’s reckless and violent and gets a thrill for the kill. Just take note of his childlike giddiness when he gets his first tommy gun. He rules over his sister Cesca (Ann Dvorak, MERRILY WE LIVE) with an iron fist and constantly tries to seduce his boss’ girl Poppy (Karen Morley, MATA HARI).

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This is the first of the Bing Crosby/ Bob Hope Road Pictures that I’ve seen. It’s the third in the loose series.

This time around Crosby plays Jeff Peters and Hope plays Orville “Turkey” Jackson, two carefree castaways who end up in Morocco. Penniless in the strange town, Jeff sells Turkey for a few hundred bucks to Princess Shalmar (Dorothy Lamour, THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH), who used to be engaged to Sheik Mullay Kassim (Anthony Quinn, GUNS OF NAVARONE).

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Based on a novel by Pat Conroy, this film is a classic melodrama brought to life with extremely well-observed characters. Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte, THE HULK) narrates the story of a Southern man dealing with the secrets of his past.

His marriage to Sallie (Blythe Danner, MEET THE PARENTS) is on the rocks, because he doesn’t express his emotions expect in outbursts of anger. He’s in a midlife funk, having quit his job as a high school teacher and football coach. Additionally, he has a very tense relationship with this willful mother Lila (Kate Nelligan, TV’s A WRINKLE IN TIME). Then he receives word that his twin sister Savannah (Melinda Dillion, A CHRISTMAS STORY) has attempted suicide again.

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This fascinating rock documentary chronicles seven years in the careers and lives of two indie bands – The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. We watch as the Dandy Warhols move toward relative success in the U.S. and Europe while The Brian Jonestown Massacre self-destructs.

The main focus of the film is on The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s lead singer and songwriter Anton Newcombe. Dandy Warhols’ lead singer and songwriter Courtney Taylor-Taylor says many times throughout the film that Newcombe is a genius and revolutionary. However, others, especially band members Joel Gion and Matt Hollywood, would feel he is a mad genius.

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Director Roman Polanski made his feature debut with this simple relationship drama. The film begins with a shot of a couple driving in a car – their faces in shadow until the end of the credits when the light comes up. The husband Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) seems to be a bit older than his beautiful wife Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka). They come upon a young man (Zygmunt Malanowicz) hitchhiking in the middle of the road and pick him up.

The three end up going on a boating trip together. In a very subtle way the film is a love triangle and a tale about two men engaged in a mental arm-wrestling match. Andrzej uses his wealth and age to lord over the nameless young man, but the 19-year-old in turn uses his youth and edginess to threaten the older man in different ways.

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