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Release Date: October 12, 1972
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Dreams die hard in wintry Atlantic City in Bob Rafelson's downbeat character drama. Depressive deejay David Staebler (Jack Nicholson) tends to his grandfather as he philosophizes on late-night Philadelphia talk radio. When his huckster older brother Jason (Bruce Dern) calls out of the blue one day, David travels to Atlantic City to see what his latest easy money scheme is. Along with his former beauty queen companion Sally (Ellen Burstyn) and her pretty stepdaughter Jessica (Julia Anne Robinson), Jason plans to open a resort on a small Hawaiian island, insisting to an initially skeptical David that the deal is as good as done. David plays along but, as he learns the reality of the situation, tries to talk some sense into Jason. Jason and his women will have none of it, leading to a tragic lesson about the cost of superficial values like beauty and wealth, and the limits of brotherly love. Rafelson's follow-up to his 1970 hit Five Easy Pieces once again questions American myths of success, with one brother unwilling to come to earth to realize his dreams and the other unable to do much beyond talk about his inertia to an unseen radio audience. With Five Easy Pieces star Nicholson as the introverted lead, and impressive cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs, The King of Marvin Gardens had the makings of another Hollywood New Wave hit. The response, however, was not what stumbling BBS Productions hoped, as Columbia barely supported the film and 1972 audiences were not as responsive to Rafelson's second exploration of contemporary alienation. The King of Marvin Gardens' artful depiction of disillusionment roots it firmly in the 1970s Hollywood art cinema, and its failure became one more sign of that cycle's popular limits.~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Starring:
Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn
Directed by:
Bob Rafelson
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 104 min
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Let Me In
A young boy has troubles at home and at school. Fortunately for him a little girl who has moved in next door just might be the friend he’s been looking for. Unfortunately for him, that little girl happens to be a vampire. This one’s a remake of a Swedish film – which was based on the Swedish novel “Let the Right One In.” Chloe Grace Moretz (she played the girl in “Kick Ass”) and Richard Jenkins star.
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February 1st, 2011
Conviction
This film is based on the real life case in which Betty Anne Walters, here played by Hilary Swank, put herself through law school to take on the case of her brother Kenny, played by Sam Rockwell, who was convicted of murder. Great performances by these two skilled actors are backed up by a terrific supporting cast that includes Juliette Lewis, Minnie Driver and – Melissa Leo, who just won Golden Globe and SAG trophies for her work in “The Fighter.” In this movie she plays the hard-nosed cop who made it her mission to convict a man of a crime that, as it turns out, he never committed.
Never Let Me Go
This is different kind of movie that takes place in sort of an alternate universe of the late 1970s and 1980s. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield are best friends who grow up together during this time at an English boarding school. However, the school has a chilling secret - and they find out how it is that people in general have an average lifespan that has now passed 100 years of age. And how they factor into that equation.
1 Disc DVD: Purchase
Welcome To The Rileys
Here is a quirky film about a dark subject. James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo (again!) are two people in a marriage that has been crumbling since the death of their 15-year-old daughter in a car crash. On a business trip to New Orleans, Gandolfini’s character wanders into a strip club and meets a hooker named Malory, played by Kristen Stewart. His intentions, however, are different then she at first guesses. He wants nothing carnal from her – but he does want a daughter! Soon he sells his business and moves into her apartment, paying her 100 dollars a day for the privilege!
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