"Bull Durham" is a 1988 sports romantic comedy film directed by Ron Shelton. The story revolves around the world of minor league baseball and follows the lives of three main characters: Crash Davis, a veteran catcher; "Nuke" LaLoosh, a talented but inexperienced pitcher; and Annie Savoy, a passionate baseball groupie who chooses one player each season to mentor.
As the baseball season progresses, Crash takes Nuke under his wing, teaching him not just about the game but also about life and love. Meanwhile, Annie finds herself caught in a love triangle between Crash and Nuke, leading to amusing and heartfelt moments of romance and rivalry.
The film explores themes of love, loyalty, and the pursuit of dreams. It has been praised for its witty dialogue, authentic portrayal of the baseball world, and the chemistry between the lead actors. "Bull Durham" is often considered one of the best sports films ever made and has become a cult classic. It stars Kevin Costner as Crash Davis, Tim Robbins as "Nuke" LaLoosh, and Susan Sarandon as Annie Savoy.
Few of us know that "Olympus" is the Secret Service code for White House. Nevertheless it reveals the base of the plot of Antoine Fuqua's Olympus Has Fallen, the movie about a terrorist attack on most significant government building of America. As terrorists secured their mission and kidnap the President, National Security Team engages with effort to save his life and avert much bigger disaster. Their success depends of Mike Banning's insider knowledge about how security organized around the President and White House. The problem is that Banning was fired some time ago and now is out of the trust. Also few of us know that the same plot was used in Sony Pictures, who was filming White House Down directed by Roland Emmerich in the same time. In this competition of two quite similar films Antoine Fuqua has some advantage expressed in brilliant actors cast. The main hero Mike Banning is played Gerard Butler. You may know him as George in Playing for Keeps or Frosty Hesson in Chasing Mavericks. Another remarkable movie Gerard Butler starred at is Coriolanus. Some of us may remember 300 where Gerard Butler played King Leonidas. As for President Benjamin Asher, Aaron Eckhart (Rabbit Hole, Love Happens, The Dark Knight) secured this role in 2012. Morgan Freeman also stars in the movie as Speaker Trumbull, a man behind the curtain, who took the power when the President was kidnapped.
The story of The Place Beyond the Pines is revolving around two destinies: father's and son's. Luck Glanton, a stunt rider, got a surprise – his girlfriend, Romina, comes back with a newborn boy. Guess who is this little guy? Now, Luke has two more things to look after besides his bike. Perhaps he measured his responsibility too seriously, when he decides to rob the bank in order to secure his son's bright future. Nevertheless, this "fathering" has attracted appropriate attention of local police department in person of cop-turned-politician Avery Cross who chases Luck for bank robbery. Although Luck has stolen 40 thousands only his future for Avery is clear: Luck will go to jail. But suddenly, the story takes an unexpected turn. Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines has got an impossible 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes just after the movie hit the screens of Toronto International Film Festival. The brilliant play of actors cast and powerful drama has received positive critical acclaim by most of the critics reviewed the movie. The main protagonist Luck Glanton is played by Ryan Gosling (Gangster Squad, The Ides of March, Drive), who managed to outdo himself in The Place Beyond the Pines. Eva Mendes (Girl in Progress, Fast Five, Last Night) also stars in the movie as Luck's girlfriend, Romina, and the chemistry between these two characters is on the verge of an incredible. Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook, Hit and Run, Limitless) stars as Avery Cross, a cop leading the investigation against Luck and his play is striking and emotional.
The Call (2013) is scheduled to hit the theatres in March 15, and this movie will be the eighth in row for Brad Anderson a moderate productive film director, just after his Vanishing on 7th Street, Transsiberian, The Machinist, Session 9, Happy Accidents, Next Stop Wonderland and The Darien Gap – those makes 7 films in 17 years. Nevertheless, it's a first time when Brad Anderson manages to gather such a brilliant cast in his movie. The lead role was secured by Halle Berry – and this only actress is able to "make the film" as she repeatedly did in Cloud Atlas, Dark Tide and Catwoman. Her character, Jordan, a 911 operator is trying to help troubled young girl and save her from murderer. Things got worse when teenagers real troubles reveals Jordan's old fears and psychological traumas. The influence of these revived fears have causes ambiguous effect on their dialog and consequences it leads to. Troubled teenager girl, Casey is played by Abigail Breslin,who may be familiar to you by her prominent roles in Little Miss Sunshine, where she were nominated in 10 prestigious awards, My Sister's Keeper (as Anna Fitzgerald) and Definitely, Maybe (Maya Hayes).
Todd Robinson's Phantom is an action thriller about a fictional chain of extremely dangerous events supposedly taken place in the midst of Cold War. The movie's plot revolving around the haunted Captain of Soviet Submarine heading to the center of military exercises of US Army with the dangerous crew members and nuclear missiles on the board. Those dangerous crew members are the KGB agents with the secret mission to launch deadly missiles. The target is the US Navy ships and submarines concentrated in the center of training operation. This will destroy the major part of US Navy and provide an advantage for USSR Army. And, for sure, this will ignite the Third World War resulting with all the devastating nuclear consequences. The Captain of Soviet Submarine, Dmitri Zubov (Ed Harris) stands between an uneasy choice: to herd with hellish KGB Officer (David Duchovny) dreaming to unleash nuclear war, or to turn against his country and save the world.
If you are very fan of such movies like The Illusionist and The Prestige, the 2013 year will delight you with some brilliant surprises. There are two movies worth your attention in 2013 The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Now You See Me. And if the second one looks more like some mix with drama and crime genre, the first one is the "pure magic". Much like Nolan's The Prestige, Don Scardino's The Incredible Burt Wonderstone tells a story about two magicians Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton whose performance gained them the first place in world rankings, but suddenly their fortune dried when Anton gets trauma during the performance. It was an accident, but Anton blames Burt for this and leaves the show. Burt has to overcome desperation, he tries to find something credible in his life to draw inspiration for the new magic shows. For worse, a previously unknown street-magician Steve Gray enters a big scene with a dangerous, but much acclaimed trick which builds him the whole show, makes it an enormously popular one. Burt understands that Gray's success means checkmate for him when his beautiful assistant, Jane turns against him and joins Gray. There only salvation for Burt, to convince Anton forgive him and reunite in some new glorious show to overshadow Gray. It's not an easy mission to accomplish, because Anton has moved to Far East and seems to be quite happy without Las Vegas turmoil. Don Scardino managed his best to gather such a brilliant cast in this 30 000 000 USD movie: Jane is played by Olivia Wilde (Relanxious, The Third Person, People Like Us, Deadfall, TRON: Legacy) while main antagonist Steve Gray is portrayed by Jim Carrey (Dumb and Dumber To, Loomis Fargo, Mr. Popper's Penguins). The main character Burt Wonderstone is played by Steve Carell (Frank or Francis, Hope Springs, Date Night) while his partner, Anton Marvelton is depicted by Steve Buscemi (On the Road, Rampart, Grown Ups). And if you are not impressed enough, David Copperfield stars in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone as illusionist David Copperfield, of course.
Niels Arden Oplev, who may be familiar to you by his movie The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo comes with his next keep-on-toes drama Dead Man Down. It's not a surprise, that his favorite Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who played the leading role in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, as Lisbeth Salander took the same level role in Dead Man Down. In this movie she plays Beatrice, a desperate, yet prudent and coldblooded woman on the warpath to accomplish the revenge by killing Alphonse Hoyt (Terrence Howard), a mob boss of the New York. On her way she meets Alphonse's guard, Victor (Colin Farrell), who seems to share her thoughts about the boss. She tries to blackmail and use him, but later, the truth reveals, Victor claims that Alphonse is responsible for the death of his wife and daughter. The engrossing desire for revenge unites Beatrice and Victor. Meanwhile, it becomes clear that there are other strong feelings between them, the feelings that have grown in the shadow of vengeance.
You might remember the first of The Last Exorcism and its cam-shaking found-footage style. Thanks god, The Last Exorcism Part 2 is made in normal way without boring "real-footage" effects. Like in th previous one, Ashley Bell stars in this movie too as Nell Sweetzer, a terrified girl found lurking in the woods and latter rehabilitating after the previous exorcism which turns out be just an act of clearing the way for greater evil eager to settle in Nell's tiny body. Further, unlike the first movie directed by Daniel Stamm (The Darkness, Angry Little God, A Necessary Death), the second "Last Exorcism" is directed by the less known Ed Gass-Donnelly (Small Town Murder Songs, This Beautiful City) which may lead to some underestimating of the horrifying power of this movie, but watching the trailer will left you reassured. The filming is great, the horror scenes are powerful, and the evil is realistic. Thanks to the writer Damien Chazelle (Grand Piano, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench) the movie plot looks solid and scenario twists are plausible.
Few of us know Scott Charles Stewart as a man standing behind the visual effects of such the great movies of last decade: Red Cliff, Iron Man and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Live Free or Die Hard. In 2009 he debuted as director of horror movie Legion followed by awesome directorial work on action-horror film Priest in 2011. Dark Skies (2013) his forth directorial project and definitely most ambiguous one. The movie follows Barret family. They are quiet and inoffensive people living their insulated and isolated lives among suspicious neighbors in small American town. That's why they are left one-on-one with imminent threat. Gorgeous hottie Keri Russel (Austenland, Goats, Extraordinary Measures) is playing the main character in Dark Skies (2013) while Dakota Goyo (Noah, Real Steel, Thor) is playing her young brother, Jesse.
Snitch centers on a desperate father, who has his son being sentenced for decades, after being arrested for participating in drug dealing scheme. The father is played by Dwayne "Rock" Johnson, who is certainly familiar to you by his roles in Fast Five franchise and high-profile failure Journey to Mysterious Island. You may also remember his roles in Faster as Driver and in The Other Guys as Christopher Danson. In Snitch Johnson has to impersonate the kind of a guy, he does best: responsible and adamantine. His character decides to make a deal with U.S. Attorney to become a snitch, a whistleblower working undercover amidst top-ranked criminals. If he manages to expose the international drug lord, his son will got a chance to avoid the jail, if not he will lose his life and lives of loved ones, and his son will be jailed for the rest of the life.
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III stars Charlie Sheen as Charles Swan III a graphic designer who is popular among the ladies, successful in professional life and generally a lucky man. But in one unfortunate moment his life suddenly changes when Charles' girlfriend Ivana, breaks with him unexpectedly. Since that moment Charles life begins to slide by a tailspin-shaped curve. His manager Saul and best friend Kirby both try to help Charles but ineffectually. The movie's action takes place in the midst of 70s' when life was still full of "sex-drug-and-rock-and-roll things: which causes an ultimate influence on the filming style of A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. The movie is directed by Roman Coppola who has given us CQ. So, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the film is almost a directorial debut Roman Coppola as for big-screen movie. Nevertheless we shall pay a tribute to his actors' selection – the ensemble cast is splendid and full of chemistry between the characters. As we said before Charles is played by a top-ranked American comedian Charlie Sheen (a star of Two and a Half Men, She Wants Me, Due Date and Scary Movie franchise). His girlfriend Ivana is played by a gorgeous Katheryn Winnick (a star of Vikings, Stand Up Guys and Nikita). Charles friend Kirby is played by Jason Schwartzman (Saving Mr. Banks, Moonrise Kingdom, Bored to Death), while Saul is played by Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson, Passion Play, Lost in Translation).