Michael Corleone's famous line "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in" has never been more applicable than they are to Jason Bourne in THE BOURNE SUPREMACY. After going off the grid, Bourne (a superb Matt Damon) and his girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente) are living a quiet life in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. When a brutal assassination attempt on Bourne brings him out of hiding, he finds himself a pawn in a massive frame up with worldwide political impact. Once again, Bourne is forced to put all his amazing skills to work in an effort to prove his innocence and expose the real conspirators. Brian Cox is back and terrific as Ward Abbott, a puppet master with feet in both sides of the battle. Joan Allen (The Contender) returns as senior CIA commander Landey and Julia Stiles (The Omen) is pulled back into the action as Bourne's confidant from the last film. Director Paul Greengrass (United 93) overwhelms you with incredible hand-to-hand combat shot with handheld cameras, sweeping crane shots of massive car chases and a constant sense of danger. Composer John Powell (Solo) delivers a modern action score than pounds you forward through the thrills. Damon once again nails the tortured soul of Bourne, buried under amnesia, wanting to be left alone and constantly under the threat of assassins and the government. There isn't a hint of CGI in the entire movie. Every stunt is real. The average length of every shot is only 1.7 seconds, giving the entire movie the feel of a rollercoaster roaring forward. Just as strong as the original, SUPREMACY set up the next sequel, The Bourne Ultimatum for its release in 2007. SUPREMACY lives up to its title, earning an exciting, violent A.

In 2002, Matt Damon kicked off one of the best spy film series of all time with THE BOURNE IDENTITY. It's not easy to capture the backroom politics, surveillance intrigue and clandestine maneuvering of Robert Ludlum's novels for the big screen, as the boring and ponderous 1983 film adaption "The Osterman Weekend" proved. Director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Mr and Mrs Smith) proves a terrific choice, paired with an excellent screenplay by Tony Gilroy (Proof of Life, Michael Clayton) that keeps things moving at an incredible pace. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) awakens in a remote village after being found floating in the sea by fishermen. He has total amnesia and no idea why he has several bullets in him and more than a few bruises. As he begins to recover, he finds the number to a Swiss bank account (where is half the fun). What he discovers there unleashes several movies worth of mayhem and action as assassins immediately begin to come after him. Watching Bourne fight back against these unprovoked attacks with skill and lethal force he has no idea he possesses sets up the entire series. Who is he? Why are so many people trying to kill him? How does he know several languages and one hell of a lot about a lot of topics? Damon is terrific, creating a character we cheer for on his violent road to discovery. Franka Potente is great as Frankie, a young woman who gives Bourne a ride and becomes part of his quest. Chris Cooper (The Town) is a CIA operative you'll love to hate, along with Brian Cox (Troy) as Ward Abbott, a key player in Bourne's story. Clive Owen is a lethal assassin and Julia Stiles (Silver Linings Playbook) begins a recurring role as a lower level CIA tech whose torn in what she discovers about Bourne. The stunt team does incredible work, with some jaw dropping hand to hand fight scenes as well as massive scale car chases through the crowded streets of Europe that are among the best ever filmed. Damon trained for many months in martial arts and gun training, all of which pays off in the incredible, fast paced action that explodes with authenticity. Unlike earlier OO7 films, Bourne actually feels every punch and rough landing, a trait which Daniel Craig brought to the Bond role when the Bourne films proved very successful. The infallible Roger Moore of the 70's would never have worked in the 2000's. THE BOURNE IDENTITY is a terrific thriller, leaving things very open ended for the sequel "The Bourne Supremacy" in 2004. It gets an A and still holds up beautifully for fans of smart action films nearly 20 years after it's release.

This 1968 big screen crime drama blends documentary style storytelling with highly polished momentum detailing the story of THE BOSTON STRANGLER. Much like his film "Fantastic Voyage" two years before, Director Richard Fleischer visually assaults you with sliding split screens, drawing your eye all over the screen as he shows scenes from different angles or multiple events at the same time. The same year saw "The Thomas Crown Affair" with this same style that film buffs will note Brian de Palma adopted for many of his thrillers in the 70's and 80's. Henry Fonda is a special prosecutor assigned to coordinate multiple cities efforts to capture the serial killer. The strangler's access to many women's apartments even after the city is on high alert baffles the police. George Kennedy (Airport, Cool Hand Luke) is great as the lead Boston detective on the case, even if his accent comes and goes like the wind. Tony Curtis appears halfway into the film as killer Albert DeSalvo, a lethal, unstable man living two lives and ramping up his seemingly random murders across the city. This true story is well told, like a perfect Dateline episode brought to life by one hell of a cast. Five decades have not been kind to some of the attitudes toward sexual diversity on display, but its very much of its time. Murray Hamilton (Jaws) is very good and Sally Kellerman (M*A*S*H*) brings real power to a victim of DeSalvo's that may prove to be his undoing. Curtis was never better in a role than he is here in a part that was originally offered to Robert Redford and Warren Beatty. It's dated but visually clever, well acted all around and pretty suspenseful until it slides into a bit too much detail on Fonda's post arrest interviews with Curtis. I'll give it a B-.

Melissa McCarthy is one of the funniest women working in film today. When she commits to a character, she's ALL in, body and soul. In the last 3/4 of her new film THE BOSS, those gifts generate plenty of laugh out loud moments, even as the story meanders all over the place, or in this case, all over Chicago. The first 1/4 of the film is the weakest, an almost laugh free depiction of Michelle Darnell (McCarthy) and her rise from orphan to one of the wealthiest motivational speakers in the world. McCarthy arrives on stage in a flaming gold Phoenix statue, dances and raps with abandon and swears like a sailor. Her loyal assistant Claire (an excellent Kristen Bell) and driver Tito (Cedric Yarbrough) are introduced, but other than a hilarious tooth whitening scene, the first 25 minutes is pretty flat and unfunny. At this point, I started to get worried that I was going to have to sit through another McCarthy misfire like "Tammy". Thankfully, Darnell's arch-rival and former love interest Renault (Peter Dinklage having a LOT of fun sporting faux French and Asian affects and a very bad Euro haircut) turns her in for insider trading and she loses everything, forced to move in with Claire. From the moment Darnell gets flipped by a sadistic sofa bed and she decides to start selling Claire's brownies as direct competition to Girl Scout cookies, the laughs kick in and rarely stop. McCarthy created the character many years ago in improv and those years have paid off with a fully realized Michelle. From wardrobe to arrogance and from sofa bed to boardroom, McCarthy's Darnell is fully realized and profanely funnier than hell. At one point, Darnell's Darlings (a red beret wearing troop of tough young girls with aspirations) have a knock down, drag out fight with their rival traditional troop that becomes a massive Tarantino style battle that (depending on your sense of humor) is gut-bustingly funny. McCarthy and her husband and director here, Ben Falcone let the story wonder into predictable territory as Darnell bites the hand of the only family she has ever known and then has to seek redemption, but Bell and McCarthy are good enough to pull it off. Tyler Labine is very funny as one of Claire's co-workers looking for a date, SNL's Cecily Strong delivers laughs as Claire's demented boss and Kathy Bates delivers in a small role as Michelle's mentor and investor. McCarthy's best films (The Heat, Bridesmaids, Spy) have not been directed by her husband, but this is their best effort together, generating plenty of laughs after a rocky start. Darnell takes NO prisoners. She's foul, nasty, politically incorrect and has no filter, just like THE BOSS. We'll give it a B-.

Let me make my first New Years resolution for 2020. It's to make sure and see everything that incredibly funny actress Beanie Feldstein does for the next decade. She's fall-over-funny perfect in BOOKSMART, one of the best comedies of recent years. Critics loved it but audiences pretty much ignored the film when it hit theatres early this summer. If you like your comedies "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Animal House" raw, adult and funny, you're going to love this comedy. It's all those things, but shoved forcefully through a strainer of today's high school students and sensibilities. Feldstein is hilarious as Molly, Class President and social pariah, completely focused on checking every box for college admissions while ignoring any kind of social life. Her best friend Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) is equally committed and always at Molly's side. The class surrounding them is loaded with all the groups we've known for years, but amped up to self involved hilarity that can only be achieved by today's social media teens. Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte are awkward perfection as Kaitlyn's parents and Jason Sudekis delivers laughs as a principal whose passion for the job has long left the campus. When Molly and Kaitlyn realize that all the students around them had fun for four years and are also attending great colleges next year, they commit to one massive night of partying on the eve of graduation. What ensues isn't a stupid "Porky's" night of adventures, but a laugh-out-loud night of discovery, surprises and some terrific dramatic moments in the mix as well that sneak up on you. The songs throughout are perfectly tuned to the eclectic cast of characters. Dever and Feldstein have fantastic timing from the very first scene. Awkward has never been so funny. Actress Olivia Wilde directs her first film here and kills it with on-point timing and a tough to achieve balance in storytelling. I kept hearing how great this movie was but ignored it like the rest of the country. BOOKSMART deserved better. I bet its a hidden gem that will only gain in popularity in the years ahead. FELDSTEIN gets and A+ and the movie gets an A for adult laughs and smart writing that deserve to stand aside "Fast Times" and "The Breakfast Club" as a classic coming of age comedy.

Almost impossible to describe and deftly dancing the line between western and horror film, 2015's BONE TOMAHAWK is a one-of-a-kind experience that will linger with you long after its over. Kurt Russell keeps his wild "Hateful 8" beard and mustache as small town lawman Sheriff Hunt. His part time deputy is the aging Chicory, perfectly played by superb actor Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water, Step Brothers). When a dodgy drifter (David Arquette) wanders into town burying secrets, he sets a chain of events to life that sees a mysterious and very lethal tribe of cannibalistic cave dwelling Indians steal into town. They take several people, including the town doctor Samantha played by Lili Simmons (True Detective, Banshee). Samantha is married to Arthur (Patrick Wilson) who's laid up with a broken leg. Arthur, the Sheriff & deputy, and successful business man (and former flame of Samantha's) Brooder and a guide head out to find Samantha and bring her back. Brooder is well played by Matthew Fox (Jack Shephard on TV's "Lost") in his best role since that iconic TV character. There are echoes of John Ford's "The Searchers" with our group of battered everyman heroes in search of a kidnapped loved one, but new writer/director S. Craig Zahler turns this movie into something much more modern, haunting, grisly and shockingly bloody as our band nears their target. Russell is perfect as the Sheriff, bound by duty and committed regardless of the horrors he witnesses. The cannibal tribe is brutal in their methods and their first killing in the cave is a jaw dropper of graphic horror, more slasher film than western. The dialogue is terrific, the characters well painted by this talented cast and the locations well used. There were times in this movie I didn't know where the hell it was going. I started to worry that this was a lower budget "Cowboys and Aliens" knockoff, but it never takes the wrong road. BONE TOMAHAWK is a bloody, suspenseful, scary little masterpiece of horror, blended with a classic western. It defines an easy fit into any category, which makes it all the more appealing. If you don't like graphic violence, dont watch this one. But if you can handle it, saddle up for an intense ride that gets a B+. I never want to hear that freaky call coming out of the caves ever again....

ou wonder how great a biography of Freddie Mercury and Queen could have been, if it wasn't forced to live under the restraints of a PG-13 rating. I had the supreme good fortune to work and become friends with the late Bob Mercer at EMI/Capitol Records. The legendary LA lunch time stories he would tell me of his time with Queen at EMI would not make it in a family friendly film. Bob had nothing but admiration for Freddie and the band. Even with its PG-13 shackles, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is still a pretty good film, and really shines anytime the camera is on Rami Malek and his excellent performance as Freddie. We see a very young Freddie, a shy, self conscious young immigrant to London, who finds his voice when he takes over as lead singer of a college band. Gwilym Lee IS Brian May. He's a dead ringer for real life May and holds the screen very well alongside Malek's Freddie. Jospeh Mazzello (Jurassic Park) is John Deacon and Ben Hardy (XMen Apocalypse) rounds out the band as drummer Roger Taylor. The portrayal of the band and their interactions are the heart of the movie and it gets those right. The film shortchanges us a bit when it comes to the rise of the band, they seem to go from riding in a small truck across farmland to playing arenas overnight. But anytime Malek is boldly strutting across the stage in flawless recreations of Queen's best performance moments, the movie soars. Freddie falls in love with his only wife and "true love" Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) but as the years pass and times change, Freddie's sexuality emerges and their relationship grows far more complicated. Mercury and Queen's relationship grows through the familiar arc of what you'd expect in any story of a band, fact or fiction, but the best moments of the story are the true-life ones you don't expect. The bravest choice the film makes is by concluding with a recreation of Queen's entire 20 minute set at the massive 1985 Live AId concert. From the moment the camera swoops down from the sky, down into Wembley, with 100,000+ fans screaming and Queen taking the stage, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is pretty perfect. I remember seeing that set live on TV in 1985, but the movie puts you in the front row and often on stage looking out. Like Bradley Cooper's "A Star Is Born" this year, its as close as two films have ever come of putting you in the shoes of the performer and its powerful. Mercury knew he had AIDS and that this might be one of his last great world stages in life. The lyrics take on new meaning, the band's interactions run deeper and it's a great conclusion. Many of the relationships in the film feel shortchanged and PG-13 softens much of the impact of the drug abuse and more adult angles of Mercury's life. I found myself wishing it had more of the grit of "A Star Is Born" this year. With May and Taylor involved as producers on the film, one has to assume its a fairly accurate portrayal of the band's history. It's not always a flattering portrayal of Mercury, but by the film's conclusion its a moving tribute to Freddie finding his way back to his family, band and himself. Malek is fantastic. I'll be surprised if he doesn't win best actor for his portrayal of Mercury. Who wants to live forever? This huge box office hit, along with their stadium anthems and quirky operatic hits ensure that Queen will do just that. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY begs for a harder edge, but still hits all the right emotionally connected notes on a way to a solid B. Malek rocks. (Look up in the rafters in the Live AId scenes for May & Taylor as aging stagehands and peek behind all the makeup for Mike Myers as EMI man Ray Foster.)

A blood-spattered Christmas blender full of “Die Hard 2”, “Bad Santa”, “Christmas Vacation” and all things Tarantino, 2022’s VIOLENT NIGHT is a hilarious yuletide treat. David Harbour (Stranger Things) is perfectly cast as a Santa Claus tired of modern-day brats wanting nothing but cash and video games. The entitlement meter is off the charts while Christmas spirit has bottomed out. Like Billy Bob Thornton’s Bad Santa, Harbour’s St. Nick is fond of his beer and prone to spewing a little puke at the most inopportune moment. Just when Santa thinks there are no good kids left on Earth, he meets young Trudy Lightstone (a great Leah Brady). Trudy has just arrived at her mega wealthy Grandma Gertrude’s house for a Christmas Eve get together attended by her very greedy, money-grubbing relatives. Trudy’s Dad Jason (Alex Hassell from “The Boys”) is estranged from her Mom, Linda (Alexis Louder) who appears to be the only relatively unpampered one in the bunch. The film gets a lot of comic relief from Edi Patterson as Aunt Alva, who’s just arrived with her dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks B-movie star boyfriend Morgan Steel (Cam Gigandet). Alva is the ultimate gold digger, perhaps only exceeded by her obnoxious influencer, teenage son Bert (Alexander Elliot). Grandma Gertrude is played by Beverly D’Angelo (Ellen in Christmas Vacation) as a foul-mouthed, iron fisted ruler over the family fortune. That fortune is suddenly in danger when our bad guy Scrooge (John Leguizamo) and his band of Euro-villains arrive at the Lightstone mansion armed to the teeth and after a whole lot of cash. Leguizamo is terrific as the Alan Rickman of the Die-Hard bunch and Andre Eriksen and Brendan Fletcher are standouts on his crew, along with Mitri Suri as Candy Cane, a very lethal assassin. When Santa comes down the chimney of the manor, he finds some very good Scotch, along with the sudden realization he’s in the middle of a full-on armed assault. Watching Santa go toe-to-toe with some very bad dudes is unexpectedly hilarious. Harbour is excellent, generating a lot of laughs as the closest thing you’ll ever see to John Mclane/Santa. The fist fights and machine gun fire are non-stop, as is Santa’s bad-assery in dealing with the bad guys. Trudy’s walkie talkie that only works to talk to St. Nick comes in very handy, as do icicles, reindeer, and a large array of chimneys. Writers Pat Case and Josh Miller cut their teeth on two hugely successful Sonic the Hedgehog films and they’re clearly having a blast letting out their more adult humor in a non-stop barrage of profane one-liners. When Gertrude referred to wannabe superstar Morgan as “Jean Claude Van-Dipshit”, I knew I was in good hands. Director Tommy Workola brings a very sure hand to material that just shouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s relentless, gory, and flat out funny for adults. The closing scene even manages to generate some real holiday heart and emotion. Look. This thing shouldn’t work at all, but in the sure hands of a game cast and crew, VIOLENT NIGHT hits it out of the park. With a giant, blood-soaked sledgehammer. Ho Ho Holy Crap, I laughed all the way to a solid B. Move over “It’s a Wonderful Life”, we’ve got a new movie on the annual Christmas viewing list.

Movies in the 80's were a lot sexier than they are now. For evidence of that, along with one of the best films of that era, check out 1981's BODY HEAT. This was writer Lawrence Kasdan's (The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Big Chill) first time in the director's chair and one of his best. William Hurt stars as Florida lawyer Ned Racine. Stuck with low level clients and questionable enthusiasm, Racine burns the hot nights bedding waitresses and nurses of an endless variety. When he meets wealthy local woman Matty Walker (a smoldering Kathleen Turner) his world turns upside down and he can think of nothing else. When they start sleeping together in her massive home while her husband's away all week, the two fall in love and begin to consider every possibility for their future, including killing her husband. Richard Crenna is terrific as her husband, Mickey Rourke is strong as a local arsonist that Ned once got off in court and an impossibly young Ted Danson is great as Ned's friend and fellow attorney Peter, who's sage advice arrives a bit to late for Ned. This was William Hurt's second big film role after "Altered States" and he's very good as a man caught up in love and willing to do anything for the object of his desire. This was Kathleen Turner's first movie role and what a debut it is. She's sexy, dangerous and clever. You can't blame Ned for falling for Matty. Kasdan bathes every moment of the film in heat, from the opening credits to the final frames, everything and everyone seems to drip in sweat. John Barry wraps everything in one of his best music scores, upping the temperature on the mystery, the tension and the sex to a fever pitch. Body Heat sizzles. One of my all time Top 100, it gets an A+.

A huge hit featuring one of the best selling soundtracks of all time, 1992's THE BODYGUARD hasn't exactly stood the test of time. Kevin Costner is pretty flat and one-note as former secret service agent Frank Farmer, now relegated to protecting celebrities after he was out of work the day that Reagan was shot. His newest client is cliche big-star, big attitude singer Rachel Marron, played by Whitney Houston in her big screen debut. Houston isn't a great actress but anytime she holds the microphone and sings, the movie is excellent. Too bad there aren't more singing parts..... Ralph Waite (The Waltons) is solid as Costner's dad and Bill Cobbs (The Color of Money) is terrific as Rachel's right hand man that hires Farmer, but the rest of the roles are very cliche and over-the-top. You'll see the bad guy coming a mile away. It's kind of shocking how weak the screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Body Heat, Silverado) until you realize he wrote it many years before it was filmed, before he found success (and honed his craft). It was written in the early 70's for Diana Ross and Steve McQueen and then sat on the shelf until 1992. Any movie that has unfunny hack Robert Wuhl (Batman) hosting the Oscars falls very flat in the believability category for me. "I Will Always Love You" is undeniably a great pop tune and you won't be getting it out of your head any time soon after watching the film. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie will stick with you too. THE BODYGUARD gets a C.

Brian DePalma created BODY DOUBLE in 1984 as his follow up to his previous three hits in four years, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out and Scarface. He must have been exhausted, as Body Double is a very pale ripoff of past works. In place of creativity, DePalma just slathers on sleaze, managing to combine voyeurism, the porn industry, graphic murders using giant drill bits and plenty of nudity into one rather boring stew. In one of the weakest leading man performances of the 80's, Craig Wasson plays down on his luck actor Jake Scully, a claustrophobic zero in the personality department who housesits an amazing home in the hills of Hollywood. His host shows him a woman in the neighborhood that puts on quite a show each and every night at the same time, which Jake begins to obsessively watch through a telescope. Like a very poor homage to Hitchcock's Rear Window and Vertigo, DePalma spins a web of obsession in which Jake is part of an elaborate plan. Unlike Hitchcock, DePalma never creates a lead character you care about, so the suspense is minimal at any point. A strong cast surrounds Wasson's cardboard lead role, including a young and very adult Melanie Griffith as porn star Holly Body, Dennis Franz as a director and Gregg Henry as Sam Bouchard. There are a couple of terrific scenes in the film, including an elaborate cat and mouse, dialogue free sequence at an upscale LA shopping mall as Jake follows the neighbor and realizes someone else is following her too, along with a beachside scene of Jake following the woman in danger, but ten minutes of great photography and editing cant save this bottom dwelling, nasty lesser entry in the DePalma catalog. We'll give it a Naked D.

A massive box office hit back in 1969, BOB & CAROLE & TED & ALICE stands more as a cultural artifact of a fascinating time in America than a classic comedy/drama. Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon are both terrific as Ted and Alice Henderson. Successful, happy and enjoying their life, they spend many nights with best friends Bob and Carole Sanders. When the Sanders attend an LA Group Therapy session (as SO many did in the late 60's) they become almost unrecognizable people to their friends. Affairs are admitted to by the Sanders, even casually along with other secrets and they seem to be at peace with any decision made by the other. Their friends try to ignore it, wrestle with its impact on their relationship and finally explode with some truth telling of their own. Robert Culp and Natalie Wood are both good as the Sanders, but pale compared to Gould and Cannon. Writer/Director Paul Mazursky (Blume in Love, Harry and Tonto) specializes in films that feel real, not manufactured for the screen. While the 60's attitudes and settings somewhat cripple the film for viewing today, the jealousy, anger and romance are eternal in any setting. It's more drama than comedy, but loaded with great acting, including Gould's only Oscar nominated performance. If you can ignore the Austin Powers worthy outfits that Culp sports as a documentary filmmaker and Natalie's acting that bears more than a small resemblance to her last name, its an interesting comedy from another time that's worth visiting. Like more modern independent style films, it doesn't always provide answers, but it sparks interesting conversation. B&C&T&A gets a B-.