Movies

11Aug4:40 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

Brick (2005) is a valiant attempt by writer/director Rian Johnson at a neo-noir applied to the millennial generation. Joseph Gordon-Levitt' immense talent, in the leading role which he has cultivated during his decades of experience despite being a relatively young man, certainly helps Johnson's script and direction.  But Johnson's talent...

Read More

05Aug12:28 pmEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Inspired by Dashiell Hammett's novels Red Harvest (1920) and The Glass Key, the Coen brothers' film, Miller's Crossing (1990), is a stylish neo-noir about feuding gangsters during the Prohibition era.  The film stars Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, and Albert Finney. Clearly, the early stylish fingerprints of the Coen...

Read More

28Jul1:18 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

I alluded to the film in a blog past this week. So, now would be as good a time as any to recommend   Marathon Man (1976), starring the impressive acting trio of  Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and Roy Scheider.  Written by the great William Goldman, and directed by John Schlesinger, the film hooks you in right from the opening scene and...

Read More

22Jul12:20 pmEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Seeing as it is new to Netflix this month, I would be remiss not to recommend one of the better films from the 1990s as a whole, not to mention the best film in what many film commentators and historians dub the "gangsploitation" genre prevalent in the early-1990s.  Menace II Society (1993) is a mesmerizing film and a stunning debut for the...

Read More

15Jul12:30 pmEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Although I wrote a negative review for  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) earlier this year, a much better film which the acclaimed writer/director Martin McDonagh was involved with was In Bruges (2008), which is currently available on Netflix.  The film is the epitome of what a dark comedy should be, and stars Colin Farrell...

Read More

07Jul5:19 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

Available on Amazon Prime,  Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor (2011) is easily one of the best full-length documentaries I have seen in quite a few years. Kudos to co-directors Ken Rodgers and Betty Rodgers (with Ken as the writer) for brilliantly and seamlessly weaving together the stories of fifteen former Marines and Navy Corpsmen who tell...

Read More

01Jul10:29 amEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

On this weekend leading up to Independence Day on the Fourth of July, I think it is appropriate to re-recommend an all-time great television series. And that would be the AMC series, "TURN: Washington's Spies," currently available on Netflix.  This series is a true story; a spy thriller set in the American Revolution. It is fabulously done and...

Read More

16Jun4:32 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

Following in tradition for this website on Father's Day Weekend, the great father/son tale told in Road to Perdition (2002) is worth a viewing (or a repeat viewing). My own father died in 2002, not long before this film was released. He took great care of himself, especially as he reached middle age, but an aggressive form of brain cancer...

Read More

10Jun11:39 amEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

The suicide of  celebrity chef, author, travel documentarian, and television personality, Anthony Bourdain, took many by surprise this week. After all, he had what many termed to be the "dream job," of traveling the world and eating great local cuisine, learning from skilled local chefs and meeting friendly people native to each of his...

Read More

03Jun10:05 amEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Collateral , not the current Netflix series, but the 2004 American neo-noir crime action thriller film, is a highly entertaining and worthy of viewing. The film was directed by Michael Mann, of Heat (1995) fame. And while Mann will never top Heat ,  Collateral ought not be disregarded.  via YouTube: Vincent (Tom Cruise) is a cool,...

Read More

27May11:56 amEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

On this Memorial Day Weekend, the trio of George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube headline the cast of Three Kings (1999), a film worth a viewing over the holiday. The film centers around the Gulf War, and maintains a fast pace of action and thrilling adventure while intertwining well-place comedy, too.  via YouTube: Starring Emmy and...

Read More

25May12:36 pmEST

Fusing Actionable and Educational Analysis of Chipotle 05/25/18 {Video}

Read More

19May7:58 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

I was working for a firm in Milan, Italy, in the summer of 2004. During my time there, I recall plenty of experiences and people, including an Italian office mate who would sing Bruce Springsteen songs in broken English all day because me being American reminded him of Bruce.  However, another memory was going on a date with a young Italian...

Read More

12May10:11 amEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

Writer/director Justin Lin has certainly moved on to bigger things in his career, namely the Fast and the Furious series of films in addition to plenty of pop culture hits, but I still consider his finest work to be, by far,  Better Luck Tomorrow (2002).  Better Luck Tomorrow might be a bit difficult to track down these days. However, I...

Read More

11May3:20 pmEST

Biotech's Bad Boys with Good Charts {Video}

Read More

06May10:12 amEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

I previously recommended "BOSCH," an Amazon Prime series based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling crime novels, which centers around the gritty, old school LAPD homicide detective, Harry Bosch. I wanted to give a quick follow-up and viewing the third and newly-released season four to re-recommend the show.  While BOSCH might not be in my...

Read More

28Apr6:03 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

With a talented cast headlined by Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito,  The War of the Roses (1989) is a classic dark comedy which will have you wondering something along thee lines of, "Why don't they make movies like this anymore?" It's not that this is an all-time great film, but it is an entertaining story with good action,...

Read More

21Apr11:38 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

The Wild Bunch (1969) headlines the talented William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, and Robert Ryan about an aging group of outlaws looking for one last big score as the “traditional” American West is disappearing around them.  If you are looking for well-done western action, this film is as good as any.

Read More

15Apr10:56 amEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Although divorce is now commonplace and widely accepted (even expected) in modern society, back in the day in Sicily it was flat-out illegal. And a film which automatically comes to mind regarding that topic is t he uproarious comedy, Divorce Italian Style  (1961), starring the great Marcello Mastroianni in his prime. The film centers around...

Read More

07Apr9:13 amEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

An Officer and a Gentleman  (1982) is one of those coming-of-age all-American films from the 1980s which ought not become swept away in the sands of time. It is currently available on Amazon Prime and well worth a viewing.  via YouTube: Once in a great while a movie comes along that truly grips and uplifts its audiences. Such a movie is An...

Read More