“127 Hours”: Time Well Spent
We'll be seeing James Franco on the Best Actor Nominee list for his performance in "127 Hours", produced by the gang that brought you last years Best Picture, "Slumdog Millionaire". Director Danny Boyle describes this movie as an "action film about a guy who can't...
MSPfilmfest “Asian Film Festival” Underway
The Film Society of Minnesota begins it's Asian Film Festival, "In Search Of Asia", tonight at the St. Anthony Main Theater in Minneapolis. 30 films, 12 countries, though November 13. I will Emcee the Opening Night festivities tonight (11/3), introducing the director...
The Wall is Amazing!
If you get a chance to see Roger Waters and "The Wall" on tour do it, it will blow your mind. A combination of incredible musicians, an astounding set with unsurpassed technology and animation creating an unforgettable evening for "Pink Floyd" fans and newcomers...
Tim Russell Will Hit “The Wall”
Tomorrow night I'm seeing the 21 truck Extravaganza, "The Wall" at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Last night I had the backup singers for Roger Waters over for dinner. They are my cousins Pat and Kipp Lennon (brothers of the famous Lennon Sisters) and another...
Watch For My Reviews on Kare 11 4pm News 10/08/10
I'll be reviewing Secretariat and Life As We Know It and the DVD of Karate Kid Friday Afternoon on Kare 11's 4pm news.
Secretariat: I Got The Horse Right Here…
Who doesn't love a good Horse Movie? Some of my favorites include Phar Lap, about the Australian Racehorse of the '30's, and the very popular Seabisquit, a depression era horse that lifted our nation's spirits. The Disney folks have done a fine job with Secretariat,...
Life As We Know It: Babies Have Bodily Functions
Katherine Heigl is such a likable actress I don't get where she seems to have picked up such a Diva reputation. Josh Duhamel is likable too, but in Life As We Know It, the new PG 13 romantic comedy, he has to create such a thoroughly unlikable character, Eric Messer...
The Social Network: It’s all Geek to Me
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the first lock for Best Picture Nomination.... "The Social Network". It's the story of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, directed by David Fincher ("Seven","Fight Club") and written by Aaron Sorkin of "West Wing" fame. His...
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Unless I invested it)
Gordon Gekko is back and the sequel to Oliver Stone's 1987 mega-hit, "Wall Street", brings us up to date on his earlier shenanigans and their consequences. Michael Douglas does a fine job of acting but the script has him shifting character traits in a way that is...
Watch for me today on KARE 11’s 4 PM News
I'll be doing some movie reviews on occasion on Fridays for the KARE 11 "News at 4 PM" with Diana and Pat, first outing is today (September 17th). I hope they have powder to reduce the glare from my balding (bald) dome!
Easy A: “The Scarlett Letter”, John Hughes Style
I like Emma Stone, she was great in "Superbad" and "Zombieland" and in the new "Easy A" her talents are on full display, who knew she could sing? In this film, an attempt at the John Hughes style teen angst flick, Olive (Stone) falls for the peer pressure of her best...
The Town: Ben Affleck, Triple Threat
Forget the shame of "Bennifer", the personal and professional collaboration (Gigli) of Jennifer Lopez the new "American Idol" judge, and Ben Affleck, who proved to be a director and screenwriter to watch with "Gone Baby Gone", based on the Dennis Lehane novel, in...
The American: Clooney in a foreign mood
I love good foreign films, great characters, great acting, great scenery, sometimes a little slow but as Fred Armeson doing Joy Behar says, "so what, who cares" as long as your getting your money's worth. "The American" starring George Clooney and a terrific cast of...
Eat, Pray, Love: Book’s Fans Will Be Pleased
This past weekend the multiplexes had something for everyone, the under 30 crowd had a very clever comic book style ,coming of age film with Micheal Cera, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", the women had Julia Roberts in "Eat, Pray,Love", and the guys had an old fashioned...
The Other Guys: Nothing Wrong with some Good Laughs
Will Ferrell is back on top of the film comedy A-List, thanks to the sure hand of his Co-writer and Director, Adam McKay ("Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights"), and a very funny comedic performance from Mark "How's your Mother" Wahlberg. "The Other Guys" took the top...
Agora: Some Things Never Change
"Agora" is a fine Robes and Sandals film with plenty of action and drama, starring Rachael Wiesz as Hypatia, a 4th Century Philosopher, astronomer and mathematician in the legendary city of Alexandria in Roman Egypt. The film has terrific set design and photography,...
Restrepo: An Updated Band of Brothers
If you want to put the War in Afghanistan into perspective, you should really see this fine documentary by journalist Sebastion Junger and photographer Tim Hetherington. They followed the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne) of...
Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore…The Dog Days of Summer Have Arrived
Woof!, is this a stinker! Save your 3 D budget for "Toy Story 3" or "Despicable Me" if you haven't already seen those two fine animated offerings, tell the kids they can wait for the DVD (bargain bin, hopefully). This is the sequel to 2001's "Cats and Dogs" which at...
Salt: Don’t Sweat The Details, It’s Summer
Angelina Jolie is back in full Super Hero mode as Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative who may or may not be a counterspy for Russia, although the film spends most of it's length making the case that she is indeed a deadly force of nature on behalf of "Godless Red Russia"...
Inception: I Dreamed My Leg Fell Asleep
OK, I'm not in the mainstream of adulation this film has garnered. Even though I loved director Christopher Nolan's "Memento" and "Dark Knight", this hodgepodge of hokum and special effects, based on the flimsiest of premises gave me "happy feet" about halfway through...
Small Movies You Shouldn’t Miss
There are some great blockbuster summer movies for general moviegoers (see "Toy story 3") but fans of Independent Film have lots of choices this summer as well. One of the films you'll be hearing about at Oscar time is "Winter's Bone". This is a movie full of...
Despicable Me: Minions are the New Shmoos
This summer's newest family-friendly blockbuster is "Despicable Me", with an all star cast of comedic voices, including the omnipresent Steve Carell as Gru, a supervillain in search of villainy supremacy. His quest is compromised by his decision to utilize three...
“Cyrus”-John C. Reilly is Really Good
I just saw John C. Reilly on "The Tonight Show" telling Jay Leno about his trip to Australia, and his father, and ios new movie "Cyrus"- hysterical, and not really a surprise. John traveled with us to Iceland to premiere the Robert Altman film, "A Prairie Home...
Twilight Eclipse Casts Its Shadow over New Moon
I was one of the semi-reluctant, Twihard observers on Wednesday for the opening day of “Twilight: Eclipse” adding to the record take (68 million dollars) for any Wednesday film opening. It’s hard to miss it with over 4000 screens showing it nationwide, still it was an...
Toy Story 3: A Cinematic Slamdunk
Finally, the summer film season is picking up a head of steam with the arrival of a sure-fire Best Picture Nominee," Toy Story 3". This G-rated delight has something for all ages and temperaments, from the kids who have always used toys to fire their imaginations to...
A-Team is at least a B-Team
So, you somehow missed the 1980's TV series, "The A-Team", no big deal. If you're looking for a fun action film full of things being "Blow'd Up", with a fair amount of humor, and you take your big budget action film plots with a grain of salt, you'll have a great time...
Karate Kid A Worthy Redo
Karate Kid opens June 11th and whether you remember the original 1984 movie of the same name or not, you'll walk away with a satisfying experience, if not for the predicable ending, then for the China Travelogue that serves as it's setting. I visited China in 1992 and...
Karate Kid Movie Trailer
Look for my review of Karate Kid. The movie opens June 11 in theaters.
This Week on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor
We're on the road performing in Spokane on June 12, with Garrison Keillor and the rest of the cast of A Prairie Home Companion.
A Serious Man Official Website
The Coen Brothers' Oscar-nominated film, A Serious Man, is now on DVD. I play Detective #1 and my partner, Detective#2 is played by Guthrie Theater actor, Jim Lichtscheidl. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io-VDb6Qreo We did four takes, shooting us from inside the...