The Movie Sneak

Old-school retro while "new era" ballsy as hell, the films of producer Arthur Sarkissian - among them the RUSH HOUR series, WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING , Walter Hill's LAST MAN STANDING , Rutger Hauer's back-in-day classic WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE , Martin Campbell's THE FOREIGNER with Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, THE PROTÉGÉ , MEMORY and more - were all shepherded to the screen by Mr. Sarkissian not n...

What could make the greatest film summer of them all, 1982 - where within four months POLTERGEIST , STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN , E.T. , ROCKY III , BLADE RUNNER , THE THING , CONAN THE BARBARIAN , TRON , FIREFOX , AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN , PINK FLOYD: THE WALL , THE SECRET OF NIMH , THE ROAD WARRIOR , NIGHT SHIFT , DINER and more, ... which 40 years ago all opened back-to-back / week-after...

The concept of independent cinema isn't as new as some believe, and there have always been two kinds. One is where stars break from the system to do their own thing - such as when Douglas Fairbanks , Mary Pickford , Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith joined to form the (then) independent company United Artists to oppose the financial and creative strangulation of the “Big Five” studios of the day....

It's that time of year again where - as certain as those proverbial death, taxes and the changing of the seasons (though usually a lot more fun) - THE MOVIE SNEAK PODCAST unleashes its choices for the annual CHEAPIE BIN AWARDS . The world's most unpretentious awards show ( which really doesn't actually give out any trophies ), THE CHEAPIE BINS celebrates a love of film by delving into our favorite...

"Neo" means "new". But from Charlottesville , to the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitme r, to the January 6th terror attack (and Sept.18th rally attempting to recasts the insurrectionists as "political prisoners") and beyond, it's the same age-old supremacist doctrine which earlier fueled Germany's "Beer Hall Putsch" and the Holocaust, South Africa's once all dominant Apartheid, and America's "Ji...

Ever see any of those films, ... or POSEIDON , SMALL SOLDIERS , HOCUS POCUS , NEWSIES , PAYCHECK , THE FLINTSTONES or HOTEL FOR DOGS ? Whew - helluva career! Well, all of their sets - those created cinematic worlds and many more - were imagined and designed by the legendary William Sandell . And we’ve got him! So, sit back, crack one open, light ‘em if you got ‘em, open a steno pad and take some n...

The best awards show ever for "Movies No One Gives A Damn About, ... But Should! " returns with THE MOVIE SNEAK 's annual CHEAPIE BIN AWARDS . Y'know those department store, Rite-Aid and Dollar Store dump bins overflowing with that disorganized mess of Blu-rays and DVDs? Well, once per year we offer up a "Best Of" list culled from films - older and newer - we've only just seen over the last 12 mon...

Remember when documentaries were the purview of PBS , Jacques Cousteau , the Disney Nature films of the 60s, and they felt like junior high Social Studies? Not anymore! Since filmmakers Barbara Koppel , Michael Moore , Ken Burns and others entered the field the documentary has become one of the primary contemporary catalysts for environmental change, setting straight the long-bent historical recor...

Elections both large and small, every time one rolls around we hear the inevitable refrain of how "Never has one been more important!" . With America's 2020 Presidential race, however, regardless of where one falls within the political spectrum, we don't think anyone would disagree with that assessment this time around. We're old enough to remember how years ago before a few Presidential elections...

Few historical figures have been as polarizing as Christopher Columbus . So, how does someone create a film which - as if piecing together an historical puzzle with personal journals, newly discovered archaeological and forensics evidence and more - paints a dramatic portrait of both sides of the man: at once a brave and brilliant navigator, explorer and missionary; but ultimately also an obsessed...

Some films are perhaps too experimental (or just too ahead of their time) to be understood, ... even by their makers. After winning the Cannes Film Festival's Palm d'or for his 1989 breakout hit SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE , Steven Soderbergh was dubbed the " poster boy of the Sundance generation". Eagerly courted by studios large and small, filmdom eagerly anticipated the wunderkind's next cinematic...

Few big budget studio films since the 1970s exemplify the trichotomy of Luis Puenzo 's 1989 historical drama / romance adventure / political treatise masquerading as pulp OLD GRINGO . The eagerly anticipated adaptation of Carlos Fuentes ’ lauded 1985 novel “Gringo Viejo” (which took him 20 years off and on to complete), and from the director of the equally acclaimed 1985 Oscar winning film THE OFF...

Even those who don't subscribe to Cinema 101 "auteur theory" acknowledge that some of the most intriguing films are those wherein a director with a very distinctive and independent cinematic style / stamp / thematic brings that sensibility to what otherwise could be a standard genre programmer, and in so doing elevates it - at least a little - to a more memorable status. Think Donald Cammel 's DEM...

A throwback to the idea & character-based sci fi of the 1970s, writer / director Paul J. Salamoff ’s ENCOUNTER on the surface seems a near tropish yarn about a young artist who, after losing his daughter and the ability to walk in an accident, regains the power of his legs after a group of friends encounter a small alien “lifeform” / object after it crash lands in a field. Below the surfa...

Our candid conversation continues with one of the most laid-back / chill men in the biz - writer / director Tab Murphy (GORILLAS IN THE MIST, LAST OF THE DOGMEN), this time delving into his work as screenwriter on animated classics such as Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, ATLANTIS, TARZAN and BROTHER BEAR (and why he passed on TOY STORY and HERCULES), the 2011 revival of THUNDERCATS, the DC U...

Everyone knows Tab Murphy, ... even if they don't immediately know his name. The Oscar-nominated writer behind GORILLAS IN THE MIST, Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, ATLANTIS, TARZAN and BROTHER BEAR, critically acclaimed D.C. actioners such as BATMAN: YEAR ONE, BATMAN / SUPERMAN: APOCALYPSE, and Warner's much loved 2011 THUNDERCATS revival ( see, told 'ya you knew him! ) ... . Well, he's som...

Welcome to "SHOOTIN' IT" (Vol. I) - a MOVIE SNEAK mini-podcast wherein Craig and Jim informally kick back to discuss a topic currently at the entertainment industry forefront. While all of those "Spielberg Hates NETFLIX" headlines aren't entirely accurate (the legendary filmmaker loves TV and has produced material for every major network - including NETFLIX! - over the last near 40 years) he was f...

No statuettes, campaigns, "Best", "Worst" or "artistic merit" controversies. For those burnt out on months of Globes, Grammys, Oscars and gossip, THE MOVIE SNEAK is back with our CHEAPIE BIN post awards season hangover remedy geared towards those who just wanna love 'em some movies for movies sake. There's nothing like taking a flyer, picking up five or six movies for a sawbuck in a supermarket, G...

As part of our "Can 'Ya Dig It?" series of artists you need to know, THE MOVIE SNEAK is proud to present our sit-down with musician / composer Nathalie Bonin. While many first came to know her as the mesmerizing "aerial violinist" at the center of Cirque Elioize's 2009 NHL All Star Game pregame show, she had already been a decades long master of the craft. A member of the instrumentalist new wave...

"Remake", "Re-do" or "Re-imagining" - whatever you call them, don't be too quick to automatically write off a new version of a film as a studio dictated "hit & run" money grab. Over the years some have proven to be every bit as good ( and in some cases even better ) than the originals on which they were based. Carpenter's THE THING, Cronenberg's THE FLY, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and THE MAGNIFICEN...

Join Craig (from Philadelphia) and Jim (from Boston) as they celebrate the Eagles / Patriots 2018 Super Bowl throw down weekend with film excerpts, commentary and more featuring Michael Strahan, Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Costner, Denis Leary, Mark Wahlberg, Nick Nolte, Burt Reynolds, Anthony Mackie, Tommy Lee Jones, Gene Hackman, Keanu Reeves, Matthew MacConaughey, Robin Williams, Kurt Russell and other...

Is it film school ... or more like sitting in a bar chatting with an industry vet who's a brilliant recantour? Actually a bit of both! Informative, insightful, ... and funny as all hell, we chat with busy as all hell director Sam Irvin about his early days with Brian DePalma on THE FURY, HOME MOVIES, DRESSED TO KILL and more. We cover his voluminous output helming features for both the big and sma...

Directed by Barry Levinson from the novel by Michael Crichton (also the film's producer), and starring Michael Douglas, Demi Moore and Donald Sutherland, DISCLOSURE was one of 1994's biggest box office hits, but at the time was also vilified by some as borderline misogynistic because it featured an antagonist who was a powerful corporate career woman (Moore) accused of the sexual harassment of a m...

Few of our interviews have been as alternately hilarious, heartbreaking, inspirational (and flat-out enjoyable!) as our sit-down with "quadruple threat" writer, producer, director and actress of stage and screen - Amber Rachel Sweet. From small town, to ball player, to cinematic multi-hyphenate on the rise, Amber discusses her recent film - the emotionally raw personal drama THE SPACE BETWEEN (cur...

One of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year, BLADE RUNNER 2049, directed by SICARIO and ARRIVAL's Denis Villeneuve, and produced by the original film's director Ridley Scott, is being hailed by many as "One of the greatest sequel's ever made". And it just may be. We're fairly certain however that more than a few filmgoers will exit the theater scratching their heads and / or pissed to no...