Movies

06Oct10:27 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

Several weeks ago on my primary Twitter account I mentioned how impressed I was with Land of Mine (2015), as I considered it to be a superior war film to that of Dunkirk (2017). Although Dunkirk features impressive action sequences and a quality soundtrack, the film did not run particularly deep--It was the epitome of a Hollywood...

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29Sep10:51 pmEST

Saturday Night at Chess Cinemas

Simply put,  Leaving Las Vegas (1995) is a beautiful film. You may hear others use different adjectives, such as "sad," "depressing," even "gross," but there is no denying the quality of the character development. And there is certainly no denying the powerful performances by Nicolas Cage and Elizabeth Shue.  The soundtrack is legendary, and...

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23Sep12:21 pmEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Directed by now-famous Danny Boyle,  T2 Trainspotting  (2017) is a commendable sequel to the original Trainspotting (1996), which I still consider to have been one of the best films of the 1990s. Set in and around Edinburgh, Scotland, T2 combines the "where are they now?" of the original cast of characters, impressively portrayed by Ewan...

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08Sep12:53 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

Another 9/11 commemoration is fast-approaching this coming week, as the anniversary falls on a Tuesday this year. As we know 9/11/2001 occurred on a Tuesday. And this upcoming seventeenth anniversary seems surreal in terms of how many years have since passed.  One film which did not receive nearly enough acclaim for its poignant, minimalist,...

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02Sep7:25 amEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Ed Wood (1994) pulls off the feat of trying to make a very good movie about a real-life terrible film director. This would be one of many famous collaborations between Director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp. Memorable performances by Depp, Martin Landau and Sarah Jessica Parker make this black and white comedy-drama worth watching.

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25Aug9:53 pmEST

Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

Currently available on Amazon Prime,  Good Time (2017) displays New York City grit about as well as any film in recent memory. The film is a showcase for the talents of directors Josh and Benny Safdie, two brothers who grew up in Queens and Manhattan.  In the film, Benny Safdie plays the brother to the more dominant Robert Pattinson (the...

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19Aug1:46 pmEST

Sunday Matinée at Market Chess Cinemas

Available on Netflix, Gran Torino (2008) is vintage Clint Eastwood in his twilight years.  I recall watching the film in a theater (which seems like an antiquated concept these days) in Las Vegas right near the depths of the financial crises and that devastating bear market. The audience was instantly gripped and likely fed off Eastwood's...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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25May12:36 pmEST

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

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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...

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