The Blu Spot

The Film: Hot on the heels of "Crime 101," here we have another crime caper of a completely different sort with "The Mastermind." Coming to us from writer/director Kelly Reichardt, whose name you may remember from such films as "First Cow," "Night Moves," and "Wendy and Lucy," it attempts to approach the sub-genre from a slightly different angle in order to give us a single-focus, character-driven outing, while toning the excitement factor down considerably. Having been aroun

The Film: As always, when it comes to the over-saturated genre of romantic-comedies, the single biggest hope one can have when watching one of these films is to find one that doesn't have a strict adherence to the standard formula that the vast majority of them can't seem to get away from. Whenever they recycle it yet again, all we end up with is a banal, predictable, cliched mess in which the audience can name every beat well before it happens, making the need for a hefty do

The Films: There are very few people who can claim to have achieved such monumental global success as an action star as the great Jackie Chan. His incredible martial arts skills & prowess have been entertaining audiences for several decades, starting all the way back in the '60s, followed by his major breakout in Asia in the late '70s, and further still with his introduction to the US in the '90s. To celebrate this phenomenal icon, Arrow Films has assembled a collection of si

The Films: Back in 1992, a little video game called "Mortal Kombat" was unleashed and instantly became an insanely popular phenomenon. Utilizing an intriguing photo-realistic style that had actors standing in for its characters, this little fighting game also became a rather controversial one among parents for its use of blood (though obviously quite tame to what would follow in the proceeding decades), leading to it being omitted from certain versions of the home port. It wo

The Film: When it comes to the realm of horror-comedies, it's another one of those genre combos that can be very difficult to get right. Some filmmakers will somehow find a perfect balance between the two, while others will rely far more heavily on the humor side of the equation in order to bring out the laughs of a horrifying situation. Then there are those who simply let the absurdity of the situation speak for itself, which brings us to Kirill Sokolov's "They Will Kill You

The Film: Much like the horror genre, crime drama is another one of those types of films where it's a little difficult to come up with something truly original, so much so that you pretty much have to go to "Inception" lengths to really pull any surprises. There's a basic mix of ingredients, the details of which you can change around a bit in various ways, but it's basically going to come down to how well the characters are developed and the amount of excitement that can be b

The Film: When "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" came out just three years ago, many fans were hoping that it would be the long-awaited triumph that would finally see everyone's favorite plumber get a proper adaptation after several decades of waiting (and obviously not counting the bizarre 1993 adaptation in which the only commonality to the games were the names). What we got was something of a mixed bag, one where the visuals were gorgeous and the voice acting was great, but wh

The Film: George Stevens is often cited as being one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, an honor that is fully-justified by even the briefest glimpses at his remarkable body of work. With a filmography that boasts such classics as "A Place in the Sun," "Giant," "Gunga Din," "Shane," and "The Greatest Story Ever Told," it's not hard to see why he has such a revered reputation, with many of today's great filmmakers still singing his praises. Way back in 1984, a

The Film: When it comes to action megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger, there are many that primarily remember his incredible work from the '80s, which includes classics such as "The Terminator," "Commando," "The Running Man," and the "Conan" films. However, there's quite a lot to be said about his outstanding run in the '90s as well, where we got such films as "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (a masterpiece considered by many to be his best work), "True Lies," "Total Recall," and "Las

The Film: Spy comedies is another one of those sub-genres that can be rather difficult to get right. There are a number of filmmakers who have been pretty successful at it, with films like "Top Secret!," "In Like Flint," and "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," but then there are several other projects, which shall remain nameless, that haven't been able to find the humor in the idea of spoofing such a popular & serious type of film. One of these that seemed to come