News

Many actors have a sliding doors moment in their career when they pass up a choice role in a soon-to-be iconic movie. For some, it isn't a huge deal. Denzel Washington, for example, already had two Oscar nominations and one win under his belt by the time he decided he didn't want to star in David Fincher's "Se7en." Sure, he later came to regret turning away one of the defining films of the '90s, but he was already an established star and would be just fine without it. That isn't always the case when an actor hasn't quite built up the body of work to go around rejecting great parts –- just take Henry Winkler and Danny Zuko in "Grease."

Winkler was virtual unknown when he won the chance to play Fonzie on "Happy Days." Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli started out as a minor supporting character but quickly...

Throughout the twenty-first century, romantic comedies have experienced a slow death. During this period, major Hollywood studios have focused primarily on action-based blockbusters, leaving little room for high-profile romantic comedies. Recently, when studios do decide to produce romantic comedies, they receive streaming-only releases. These films tend to feature poor acting, subpar screenplays, and corny, cliché-ridden narratives. Major publications such as The Washington Post, Variety, and Parade have all written articles declaring the romantic comedy as a dead genre.

While the current state of romantic comedies seems to be in limbo, the complete opposite was the case in the 1980s. During the 1980s, romantic comedies thrived both critically and commercially. In Hollywood, romantic comedies such as When Harry Met Sally..., Tootsie, and Moonstruck ranked among the most iconic films of the decade. Overseas, romantic comedies like Pauline at the Beach and My American Uncle earned numerous accolades at international film festivals.

If you're making a list of the most timeless sitcoms ever produced, "The Golden Girls" has to be at or near the top. Yes, it's so very 1980s with its Miami fashions and decor, but its themes and sense of humor have aged better than most hit series of its era. At any moment, you can hop on Hulu, click on a random episode, and know you'll laugh yourself silly while watching Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), Rose Nylund (Betty White), and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) get in some kind of jam and ultimately be reminded of the importance and power of friendship.

The writing on "The Golden Girls" was always sharp (it won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series twice), but the secret to its seven years of sustained success (it ranked in the Nielsen ratings top ten for all but its final season) was undoubtedly its cast.

"Seinfeld" wasn't always a sensation. Over its first few seasons (beginning in 1989), the sitcom about nothing felt like too much to do about nothing in the eyes of NBC executives. Did people really want to watch whole episodes of unpleasant people either bickering around a diner table or getting into deeply embarrassing trouble, while, say, making out during a screening of the Steven Spielberg masterpiece "Schindler's List?"

They did, but they didn't know it initially, which, again, caused series creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David some trouble with the leadership at the network.

It's a little bizarre that there was any consternation at all. The series wasn't a breakout hit, but it was routinely ranking somewhere in the 40s in the Nielsen ratings and garnering enthusiastic reviews from critics. The ensemble finally clicked once Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Elaine was made a regular member of the cast, and the writing was consistently...

Though the Farrelly brothers are known for their comedy hits Dumb and Dumber, Theres Something About Mary, and Shallow Hal, 2018s Green Book proved that they have a lot more to offer than just laughter. The biographical film took home the Oscar for Best Picture, and Peter Farrelly won for Best Original Screenplay along with his writing partners, signifying that he has the chops to pen more than just jokes. Now the duo say theyd love to try their hand at another genre they have yet to dip their toes into: horror.

Speaking with Variety to promote their new film, Dear Santa, the Farrelly brothers touched on their interest in making a horror movie. While theyve been pegged as comedy directors for the majority of their careers, Peter pointed out other filmmakers such as Rob Reiner that have successfully made the jump between genres. That being said, he also mentioned...

Forty years ago, Rob Reiner made his feature directorial debut with “This Is Spinal Tap,” the mockumentary that launched his career and ultimately became a comedy classic. (Reiner is currently in post-production on a long awaited sequel.) At around that same time, Reiner began thinking about making a riff on “My Dinner With Andre,” starring him and his lifelong friend Albert Brooks.

“I saw that movie and immediately thought, wow, I could sit with Albert at a deli, and it could be ‘My Dinner With Albert,'” Reiner told IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “I said to Albert, ‘Let’s do it — we’ll sit in Jerry’s Deli or Art’s Deli and shoot for three or four days, and if you don’t like it, we throw it away.’ He never wanted to do it.”

Reiner never let go of the idea, however, and when he decided to...

Most film fans in the ‘80s got their first glimpse of John Cusack on the big screen as one of Anthony Michael Hall’s buddies who placed a bet that requires that their pal to secure a pair of Molly Ringwald’s panties in the John Hughes teen comedy “Sixteen Candles.” Hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Consider that his sister Joan was reduced to playing “Geek Girl” with an awkward brace around neck.

It was uphill from there as Cusack, with his ironically humorous takes on leading manhood, became one of the more in-demand male stars for the next two decades, working with such top-notch directors as John Sayles, Rob Reiner, Cameron Crowe, Stephen Frears, Spike Jonze, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick and Mike Newell. Somehow, Cusack has been under the radar when it comes to be nominated for major awards as a performer. But he has made considerable contributions...

Stand By Me launched Rob Reiner from ex-sitcom star to cinematic voice of a generation with an influential coming-of-age drama. Stand By Me removed Reiner's "comedic" label, leading to his subsequent triumphant fantasy film The Princess Bride. Reiner's interest in The Princess Bride was sparked by Stand By Me's success, setting the stage for his classic directorial career.

Rob Reiner achieved a rare string of smashes when he first stepped into the director's chair in 1984. Between his debut with the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap and the courtroom drama A Few Good Men in 1992, he directed seven movies. Six of them are indisputable classics, with the seventh -- 1985's The Sure Thing -- forced to settle for being one of the best teen comedies of the 1980s. It's a formidable winning streak that saw Reiner go from ex-sitcom star to one of the most notable cinematic voices of his generation.

Very few directors have ever had the kind of run Rob Reiner did as a director between 1984 and 1992. Think about it. This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men. Surely, that run alone would be enough to solidify him as one of the greatest Hollywood directors of all time? Those movies are so good it almost doesn’t matter how much money-losing crap he puts out now…and there is a lot of it… and North isn’t even the worst of it! So how did this man go from making a few great movies that defined and elevated our pop culture on so many different levels to suddenly pumping out nothing but heartless, soulless political flicks (did anyone see Lbj?) and rom-coms that are neither romantic nor comedic?

So, how did this jack of...

There wasn't a more popular or influential (or controversial) sitcom in the 1970s than "All in the Family." Created by Norman Lear, the series was a stingingly hilarious satire of American attitudes as the country adjusted to the post-Civil Rights Movement era and coped with the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War.

The genius of "All in the Family" was Lear's ability to make every single one of his main characters behave ridiculously without becoming full-on caricatures. Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) was an unrepentant bigot, his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) was a well-meaning ditz, his daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) was a work-in-progress idealist who went from dopey to fairly sharp as the series progressed, and his son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic represented everything Archie hated about liberals in one preachy package. We all saw a bit of ourselves and the people we have no choice but to call family in the Bunkers, and...

He directed When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, and now he’s back with a powerful political documentary. Not to mention the Spinal Tap sequel ...

Where to even start preparing for a Rob Reiner interview? You could rewatch his classic films, of course, namely that phenomenal eight-year streak that started with This Is Spinal Tap in 1984 and blazed through The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men. But even that is barely scratching the surface of a career that first got going in the late 1960s. What about his years as a household name in 70s sitcoms, or his famous comic actor father, Carl, or his unique childhood, in which Mel Brooks and other entertainment luminaries would be frequent guests in the house? And what about the political activism that...

Logistically, Rob Reiner's filmed adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery" sounds like a breeze of a production. Set mostly in one location with two actors, it could've easily been shot as a glorified stage play — and King's narrative is viciously compelling enough that it would've worked just fine via proscenium framing.

But Reiner, riding one of cinema's most impressive hit streaks, wanted to plunge audiences into Victorian romance author Paul Sheldon's life-or-death struggle with Annie Wilkes, his number one fan. So he hired cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, renowned for his visually dynamic collaborations with Joel and Ethan Coen, to drive home the literally immobilizing terror of a bed-ridden writer tortured into bringing a character he detests back to life.

Paul is in bad shape when Annie rescues him from a blizzard-caused car crash, and, initially, it seems like the worst he'll endure is flattery from a fan he secretly despises.

Television pioneer Norman Lear died Tuesday at the age of 101. The TV creator was associated with a bevy of family comedies throughout the 1970s, namely “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son,” and “The Jeffersons.”

Lear died of “natural causes,” his reps said in a media release shared with IndieWire. A private service for immediate family will be held.

“It is with profound sadness and love that we announce the passing of Norman Lear, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather,” a family statement, posted to Lear’s official social-media accounts, reads. “Norman passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023, surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end.”

“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him,” the statement continued. “He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music. But...

Rob Reiner has directed some of the most beloved movies in the history of motion pictures. His seven-film run of "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Sure Thing," "Stand by Me," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally...," "Misery" and "A Few Good Men" is remarkable.

That he transitioned from his portrayal of Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law, contemptuously dubbed "Meathead," on "All in the Family" to being a first-rate director shouldn't have come as a surprise. His father, Carl Reiner, was one of the greatest comedy writers of the 20th century. No one is a preordained success, but if you decide to pursue a career in entertainment coming out of that environment, you at least have a rock-solid notion of what works.

Reiner also, thanks to his father, developed a social conscience. As he knocked out his string of hit films, he established himself as one of Hollywood's most outspoken celebrities.

Spring break movies represent a nostalgic mix of fun, sun, and raucous partying, but the greatest also make for excellent cinema. Springing from the popular beach party films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, spring break movies are

typically aimed at a younger demographic, but the sub-genre has since branched out and touched nearly every facet of society. What it really comes down to is escapism, and the best spring break movies take the audience to exciting new places that are quite different from their usual environs. Even if they aren't all set on beaches, spring break movies are like little cinematic vacations.

Though many spring break movies are actually set during the mid-semester college break period, the impact of the sub-genre has grown to include movies of a similar style that involve characters outside the usual college age. While many of the early examples were formulaic, the best...

In the early 1980s, Stephen King was officially a household name. Writer of such instantly memorable titles as “Carrie,” “The Shining” and “The Stand,” it was very unlikely to find someone who’d not read – or at least heard of – a Stephen King novel. The author was getting so big that pretty much anything he published landed on the number one spot of the bestseller list. But would his devoted readers gobble up anything he put in front of them? That was put to the test in the middle of 1982, when King convinced his publisher to put out a collection of four novellas he’d written in between novels. The stories had some macabre elements in them, and one did indeed feature a bit of the old supernatural, but for the most part these stories were dramas that dealt with the human condition. The collection was called “Different Seasons,” and...

If you pulled a bloody leech from your underwear, you'd pass out, too. That's what happened to Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton) when he ventured into the woods with three friends in September of 1959 for a memorable scene from Rob Reiner's coming-of-age film "Stand By Me." After one of the group overhears his brother talking about discovering the body of a missing kid, Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell) conspire with Gordie to locate the body of Ray Brower, a discovery they believe will make them local heroes.

"Stand By Me" is adapted from a novella of best-selling author Stephen King, titled "The Body." It was Rob Reiner's third film, coming in between the John Cusack comedy "The Sure Thing" in 1985 and classic family fairytale "The Princess Bride" in 1987. In adapting King's story, Reiner suggested to screenwriters Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon a larger focus on Gordie,...

“Melrose Place” co-stars Daphne Zuniga and Grant Show will be reunited when Zuniga guest stars on an upcoming episode of the CW network’s “Dynasty,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Zuniga is set to play Sonya Jackson, a woman from Blake’s (Show) past who comes in and stirs things up for the Carringtons. The episode of “Dynasty,” titled “A Friendly Kiss Between Friends,” will air Friday, April 29, at 9 p.m. on the CW.

Here’s the official character description for Zuniga’s Sonya: “A successful, sultry contemporary to Blake Carrington, Sonya shakes things up after reuniting with her old friend and reminiscing about their college days. Sonya isn’t afraid to mix business with pleasure, posing unexpected challenges for Blake and his wife, Cristal.”

Zuniga starred as Jo Reynolds on Fox’s “Melrose Place” for four seasons alongside Show as her on-again-off-again love interest Jake Hanson, who remained through Season...

John Cusack is a fascinating movie star who has had many ups and downs throughout his multi-decade career. Alongside his sister Joan, Cusack launched his acting pursuits in the '80s and became renowned for his charisma and his emotional authenticity. The nervous, fast-talking energy that many stars try to emulate comes naturally to Cusack. After he delivered a memorable debut performance working alongside John Hughes in "Sixteen Candles," Cusack's talents became highly sought after by leading filmmakers.

Cusack started off as a teen idol thanks to roles in films like "The Sure Thing" and "Better Off Dead." However, where other adolescent actors failed to transition to more...

The post The 15 Best John Cusack Movies Ranked appeared first on /Film.

Writer/director Stephen Chbosky discusses his favorite films with host Josh Olson.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rent (2005)

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Dear Evan Hansen (2021)

Mean Girls (2004)

Footloose (1984)

Grease (1978)

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)

Wonder (2017)

Trainspotting (1996)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Shop Around The Corner (1940)

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Live Like A Cop Die Like A Man (1976)

The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary

Once (2007)

Mean Streets (1973)

Invaders From Mars (1986)

Cabaret (1972) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Heathers (1989) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary

Sing Street (2016)

Star 80 (1983)

All That Jazz (1979) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Sound Of Music (1965)

Fiddler On The Roof (1971)

Blow-Up (1966) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Graduate (1967) – Neil Labute’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith...

In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks with screenwriter Tamzin Rafn about her choices of 5 Great Romantic Comedies (Rom-Coms).

The Sure Thing (1986) When Harry Met Sally (1989) Groundhog Day (1993) Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994) The Proposal (2009)

Tamzin Rafn’s Play Mobil stop motion viral sensations are here:

Lock Me Up Lock Me Down – www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHS4OlFz-vw

Lock Me Up Lock Me Down 2 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aboZxmaoSI&t=23s...

The Keanu Reeves we all know and love, the super-agile, sharply dressed, rather taciturn action hero currently death-dealing his way through John Wick Chapter 3, was born 25 years ago, in the summer movie season of 1994 (yes that’s right…25 years ago!).

Until that point, Reeves had been a pin-up presence in arthouse treasures like River’s Edge and Permanent Record whose stock had risen sharply when he and Alex Winter had their first Excellent Adventure in 1988. After that, it soon became impossible to shake off his image as a loveable perma-stoned surf-jockey, never more than five seconds away from a ‘Woah, duuude.’

Attempts at breaking away from this unwanted mould and tackle more highbrow fare like Little Buddha often led to snide critical derision and more than a few titters, especially at his ‘English’ accent in Bram Stoker’s Dracula – ‘I know whhair the bahstud sleeps, in Carfax Abbehh.’

Point Break...

Most film fans in the ‘80s got their first glimpse of John Cusack on the big screen as one of Anthony Michael Hall’s buddies who placed a bet that requires that their pal to secure a pair of Molly Ringwald’s panties in the John Hughes teen comedy “Sixteen Candles.” Hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Consider that his sister Joan was reduced to playing “Geek Girl” with an awkward brace around neck.

SEEJohn Hughes movies: 12 greatest films ranked worst to best

It was uphill from there as Cusack, with his ironically humorous takes on leading manhood, became one of the more in-demand male stars for the next two decades, working with such top-notch directors as John Sayles, Rob Reiner, Cameron Crowe, Stephen Frears, Spike Jonze, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick and Mike Newell. Somehow, Cusack has been under the radar when it comes to be nominated for major awards as a performer.

For about 35 years now, Rob Reiner has been a director. For the first decade and a half, he was among the best in the business. Recently? Not so much. That being said, we’re focusing on the good today. Since he’s releasing a new film in the next few days, it feels apt to look at his best work. So, that’s what I’m doing. A full ranking of all of his movies is on the way, with special attention paid to his top features. I would argue that half of his output is good to very good, with five or six legitimately great works on his resume. This week, Reiner puts out his 20th feature, this time another political offering. It’s Shock and Awe, his treatise on the lies of the Bush Administration, namely in terms of going to war with Iraq. As per IMDb:...

Spooky Empire has announced that Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, and Wyatt Oleff from the new It movie will be special guests at the Orlando convention this fall. In addition to the It (2017) cast's attendance, the convention will also celebrate a special 30th anniversary of Joel Schumacher's The Lost Boys, and more:

Press Release: Orlando – Spooky Empire, who hosts one of the most coveted and recognizable thriller conventions in the nation, announces the reunion of the Hollywood classic, Sixteen Candles, with the attendance of Molly Ringwald, John & Joan Cusack and Anthony Michael Hall on October 27 – 29, 2017 at The Hyatt Regency Orlando. The convention will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of iconic American horror comedy The Lost Boys with the attendance of Billy Wirth, Jamison Newlander and G Tom Mac. The convention has also added an array of new activities for guests to enjoy including a Charity Casino Night,...

On September 25th, 1987, The Princess Bride hit theaters and although it was not a box office smash upon arrival, it has become one of the most beloved cult movies in history and now the cast and crew are looking back at 30 years of the romantic fantasy adventure-comedy. Rob Reiner directed the movie off of William Goldman's adaptation from his 1973 novel, The Princess Bride, and the movie has gone on to become a cultural touchstone for generations to pass down. The stars of the movie continue to have quotes recited to them on an almost daily basis and the movie may or may not have saved someone's life.

Rob Reiner recently shared a story about the cult favorite movie saving a woman's life. Reiner recounted a story where a woman came up to him at a restaurant and shared that she had been trapped in an avalanche while skiing along...

Author: Scott Davis

With word this week that Tom Cruise is set to begin production on Top Gun 2 very soon, news on another long-awaited sequel has arisen that could see a classic comedy get the follow-up it has already “suggested”.

In a recent Q&A with comedy legend Mel Brooks, which followed a special screening of his classic Young Frankenstein, the writer/director/producer spoke at length about the film and about his career on the whole and chat soon turned to another film in his repertoire – 1987’s Spaceballs.

The film, which co-starred Brooks, was a spoof of Star Wars and grossed just over $38million from a $22million budget and this isn’t the first time a sequel has been talked about. Indeed, in the film itself, the Yoda-spoof character Yoghurt speaks to Bill Pullman’s Lone Starr (aka Han Solo) and says the two may “meet again in...

The thing I miss the most about the heyday of the ’80s slasher movie is that there were so many of them that eventually filmmakers had to start finding ways to shake up the formula and continually introduce weirder and weirder stuff. That's not to say that all of these movies were necessarily "good," but that they managed to be distinctive within a sub-genre known for its sameness. For as good as horror is today—and we are in a really good place for horror—there is no one corner of the genre that is so prevalent as the slasher once was that inspires various permutations. We don't get a Sleepaway Camp or a Blood Rage much anymore. The reasons for this are ultimately positive and encouraging—the current crop of horror films are so vastly different from one another that we avoid this phenomenon—but it still makes me...

Simon Brew Mar 6, 2019

From Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride to Misery and A Few Good Men: we revisit director Rob Reiner's incredible hot streak...

One regular subject of conversation around here is directing hot streaks. That is the filmmakers who had a run of terrific movie after terrific movie, and one name has inevitably been cited: Rob Reiner.

Many directors have hot streaks, but what was incredible about the run of films that Reiner enjoyed between 1984 and 1994 was that the films not only received acclaim, but they tended to be successful too. Furthermore, Reiner wasn’t tying himself to an individual genre. He zipped from comedy to courtroom drama, to fantasy favorite to suspense horror.

Here’s that Reiner hot streak, film by film. And what becomes very, very clear as we go along is that Reiner knows his writers. That quality of the pen clearly matters to him,...

Simon Brew Nov 30, 2016

From Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride to Misery and A Few Good Men: we revisit director Rob Reiner's incredible hot streak...

On the rare occasions where we’re let out of our shed, and allowed to go and sit in places that serve beverages, the topic of conversation has a habit of veering towards movies. One regular subject is directing hot streaks. That is the filmmakers who had a run of terrific movie after terrific movie. Within half a pint of shandy and some slightly dated crisps, one name has inevitably been cited: Rob Reiner.

With good reason, too. Many directors have hot streaks. What was incredible about the run of films that Reiner enjoyed between 1984 and 1994 was that the films not only enjoyed acclaim, but they tended to be successful too. Furthermore, Reiner wasn’t tying himself to an individual genre. He zipped...

Aliya Whiteley Sep 4, 2019

John Cusack's winning turn in Grosse Pointe Blank stands as a compelling companion piece to his work in Say Anything...

There was a time when John Cusack was the go-to guy for smart, funny teenager roles that nobody but the audience were meant to like. It was a skilful trick to pull; in the 1980s Cusack, in great films such as The Sure Thing and Say Anything, touched a chord with those who considered themselves to be facing the same problems as the characters he played: unpopular, unlovable, unlaid. But the undeniable truth was that he was cool in his dysfunctional way, and we loved it when he didn’t compromise himself and yet got the girl on his own terms.

But what would have happened to him if he hadn’t got the girl at all?

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) is the older version of that John Cusack hero.

Chicago – John Cusack has never rested on his laurels, which are many in his film career, nor stood still as an artist or an actor. His latest film is the magnificent “Love & Mercy,” in which he portrays music legend Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys as a middle aged man, trying to break free of the circumstances in his life.

Written by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner, and directed by Bill Pohlad, “Love & Mercy” – derived from a Brian Wilson song title – is the story of two crucial phases in the songwriter’s life. The younger phase, portrayed by Paul Dano, checks in with Wilson as he puts together The Beach Boys’ album masterpiece, “Pet Sounds.” At this point, the dissolution of Brian Wilson as Rock Star is beginning, and as a result the older phase of his life comes into view.

And it is John Cusack who takes over...

All week long our writers will debate: Which was the greatest film year of the past half century. Click here for a complete list of our essays. How to decide in the grand scheme of things which film year stands above all others? History gives us no clear methodology to unravel this thorny but extremely important question. Is it the year with the highest average score of movies? So a year that averages out to a B + might be the winner over a field strewn with B’s, despite a few A +’s. Or do a few masterpieces lift up a year so far that whatever else happened beyond those three or four films is of no consequence? Both measures are worthy, and the winner by either of those would certainly be a year not to be sneezed at. But I contend the only true measure of a year’s...

The Sure Thing - Shout! Factory - Blu-ray Director: Rob Reiner Cast: John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Boyd Gaines, Anthony Edwards, Tim Robbins. Full cast + crew There are a few noteworthy big-budget releases from 2014 hitting store shelves this week, but before we get to those let's focus on an old gem that an entirely new generation should rediscover: The Sure Thing, directed by Rob Reiner. It was his second feature ever, and it came sandwiched right between This is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me. It's a brilliant, character-driven script with two great leads in John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga. It elevates '80s sex comedy material to some endearing levels, and the whole movie has aged remarkably well. Highly, highly recommended if...

Read More...

Welcome back to This Week In Discs! We were off last week due to SXSW 2015, so new releases from March 17th *and* March 24th are covered below. If you see something you like, click on the title to buy it from Amazon. The Sure Thing Walter (John Cusack) is only in his first year of college, but he already realizes that he’s flunking at life’s most important subject — love. Well, maybe that’s overstating things a bit, but he is lacking in the romance department, so when a friend on the West coast invites him for a visit with the promise of a sure thing in the form of a hot California girl jonesing to hook up Walter sets off on a cross-country drive. The one catch is the forced presence of Alison (Daphne Zuniga) on the road trip, but Walter’s willing to risk this hellish drive for a shot at female perfection. Surprise...

There are roughly 900,000 tribute pieces online this week about the 1985 John Hughes film "The Breakfast Club," and I understand the motivation. If you were the right age when the film was released (I was 15 at the time), that movie felt like a lightning bolt right to the face. Hughes treated teenagers like they were actual people with complex emotional lives worthy of respect, and while that would seem to be a logical approach to writing about any character, it certainly didn't feel average when he did it. He wrote about that secret world of teenagers with what felt like laser accuracy, and he basically created an entire industry of movies that tried to tap into that same audience. So certainly, there is much to celebrate when looking back at that particular film, but when I went to look at a list of the films that came out in 1985, a year...

He’s been a Hollywood star since his teens, when he starred in Class, Sixteen Candles and The Sure Thing, but thankfully John Cusack was never like the characters in David Cronenberg’s Maps To The Stars. A brutal satire about the players, wannabes and has-beens of Hollywood, Cusack plays Stafford Weiss, a self-help guru who peddles his therapies to the weak-minded. Father to the foul Benjie (Evan Bird), a rehab-hopping teen star of the ‘Bad Babysitter’ franchise, Stafford is just one of the soulless ghouls that haunts the Hollywood Hills in what is the Canadian Cronenberg’s first real foray into Tinseltown terrain.

For Cusack, it represents yet another impressive notch in a career that’s seen him work with Stephen Frears (The Grifters, High Fidelity), Woody Allen (Shadows and Fog, Bullets Over Broadway), Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), Terence Malick (The Thin Red Line) and Clint Eastwood (Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil...

This, perhaps the greatest romcom ever conceived with the male viewer in mind, sees puppy-eyed Cusack reinvented as a hard-edged hitman healed by his love for Minnie Driver – exactly the kind of guy my adolescent self couldn’t help but aspire to

Why I’d like to be … Dan Aykroyd in The Blues BrothersWhy I’d like to be … Scarlett Johansson in Lost in TranslationWhy I’d like to be … Cary Grant in Charade

I was too young to connect to the brimmingly sensitive John Cusack an entire generation fell for: I was but seven at the time of 1985’s The Sure Thing, and 11 when Lloyd Dobler raised his boombox to Ione Skye in 1989’s Say Anything. The Cusack I tuned into was the slightly bruised figure visible by the end of the century: the lovelorn Rob of 2000’s High Fidelity, a film engineered so as to rhyme with any...

Rob Reiner has gotten a bad rap. His latest film, And So It Goes, will not change that. From Reiner's very first feature, This Is Spinal Tap in 1984, the filmmaker has trafficked freely in genial, heartfelt, genuine sentimentality, as well as a frank nostalgia for days gone by. That matched the tenor of the times, especially for film fans who felt swamped by the growing blockbuster mentality being cultivated in Hollywood. His films were never as raw or incendiary as the independent films that were increasingly demanding attention, but The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, and A Few Good Men represent an impressive string of well-crafted, populist, mainstream movies In 1994, North was a major misfire,...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Chicago – Rob Reiner has lived two distinct show business lives. He played a major role in one of the most famous television shows in history, “All in the Family,” and broke out afterward as a classic American film director, with hits such as “This is Spinal Tap” and “The Princess Bride.” His latest film is “And So it Goes.”

The film stars Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, as an older couple discovering a connection that on the surface seems highly unlikely. This is Rob Reiner’s 15th feature film as director, after such classics as “The Sure Thing,” “Stand By Me,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Misery,” “A Few Good Men,” “The American President” and “Ghosts of Mississippi.” Michael Douglas last worked with Reiner when he portrayed the title character in “The American President.” Reiner himself performs a small supporting role in “And So it Goes.”

Michael Douglas (left) and Rob Reiner...

It feels like a really long time since Rob Reiner has directed a solid-gold classic, but his back catalogue is as strong as that of most any director you might mention. It could be argued that his best work and therefore his best years are behind him (indeed that could be argued for any number of directors who are currently on cruise control rather than stretching themselves), but he is still working and so might yet “do a Scorsese” and find his way back to former glory after a period in the wilderness.

As the ensuing list ably demonstrates, Reiner has covered a lot of ground, with comedy, romance, thriller and drama all finding space in the upper echelons of his resumé. What is also noteworthy is that a good number of his films are amongst the very finest of their type across the whole of film. There are perhaps...

Chicago – “The Way, Way Back” made a solid $21 million domestically but I kind of expected it to be an even bigger hit when I saw it back in January at the Sundance Film Festival. I saw several dozen films at this year’s fest and nothing produced a response like Nat Faxon & Jim Rash’s sweet, sentimental comedy. The audience I saw it with Loved it. And now that it’s on Blu-ray and DVD, I expect it to reach an even bigger audience through word-of-mouth recommendations. It’s a fun, clever movie with some great performances, including a supporting turn by Sam Rockwell that stands with the best of the year.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

“The Way, Way Back” doesn’t do anything particularly new. It’s a classic coming-of-age story in the vein of “The Sure Thing” and “Adventureland.” It’s the way the story is told, with a very entertaining...

Park City, Utah – Perhaps it’s due to the success of the Sundance hit “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and its story of a girl who was forced to grow up too soon or just the fact that it’s a common theme of independent cinema but coming-of-age stories dominated this year’s Sundance Film Festival. My final diary piece (although I’ll be back with a few wrap-up features) includes the one coming-of-age flick that will be the biggest crowdpleaser and box office hit from the fest, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash’s “The Way, Way Back”. This very funny, sweet, ’80s-esque comedy was already picked up by Fox Searchlight for at least $10 million and the studio has another “Little Miss Sunshine” or “Juno” on their hands.

Written and directed by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (Oscar winners for their work on “The Descendents” and known to many as Ben from...

Audiences might think of Rob Reiner as the director of classic comedies like This Is Spinal Tap and The Sure Thing but the 65-year-old filmmaker returned to the thriller genre for his next directing job. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Reiner signed on to direct You Belong to Me for Stone Village Pictures, the production shingle behind the recent hit The Lincoln Lawyer. David Murray wrote the script about a psychiatrist who breaks a professional taboo and talks abut himself with his patients, opening the door to trouble.

Audiences might think of Rob Reiner as the director of classic comedies like This Is Spinal Tap and The Sure Thing but the 65-year-old filmmaker returned to the thriller genre for his next directing job. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Reiner signed on to direct You Belong to Me for Stone Village Pictures, the production shingle behind the recent hit The Lincoln Lawyer. David Murray wrote the script about a psychiatrist who breaks a professional taboo and talks abut himself with his patients, opening the door to trouble.

The Weinstein Company has released an international poster for Lay the Favorite, arriving in U.K. theaters June 22, although a domestic release date has not been issued yet. Take a look at this one-sheet featuring "The Sure Thing" (Bruce Willis), "The Lucky Charm" (Rebecca Hall), "The Jinx (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and "The Long Shot" (Joshua Jackson).

Lay the Favorite comes to theaters in 2012 and stars Bruce Willis, Laura Prepon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rebecca Hall, Vince Vaughn, Joshua Jackson, Frank Grillo, John Carroll Lynch. The film is directed by Stephen Frears.

John Cusack has been given a special star by Hollywood for his 30-plus years in the business.

The star, who has somehow managed to combine indie credibility with teen heartthrob popularity during his long career, was flanked by acting peers Billy Bob Thornton, Jack Black, Dan Ackroyd and his actress sister Joan at the ceremony on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame.

Cusack has been a worldwide star since his success in teen rom-coms The Sure Thing and Say Anything, but always managed to find a very un-Brat-Pack-esque edge to even mainstream fare, something he continued with roles in High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank and Being John Malkovich.

Cusack, whose most recent film was The Raven, his own interpretation of the story of Edgar Allen Poe, revealed he'd be up for a sequel to Say Anything, but he wasn't holding his breath.

He told HuffPostUK on a recent visit to London that...

"Say Anything" was not particularly successful on its release. John Cusack was an established star of films like "The Sure Thing," but co-star Ione Skye was basically unknown, and director Cameron Crowe was, despite his writing credit on "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" eight years earlier, not a known quantity. As such, despite rave reviews, it only took $20 million at the domestic box office, and a meagre $733,000 internationally -- indeed, in many territories, like the U.K, it went straight to video.

But over time, partly thanks to the success of Crowe's later work like "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous," and partly because of the slow realization of its brilliance, the rom-com -- which follows the fledgling relationship between ambition-free aspiring kickboxer Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) and valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye), whose father (John Mahoney) is in trouble with the law -- has become one of the most beloved...

Thirty years after making his debut, John Cusack is still a Hollywood outsider. Now 45, the star of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven talks about mortality, his Brat Pack past – and why he wishes he could work a room

John Cusack is puffing on a fat cigar. It's incongruous, seeing him dressed all in cool, casual black, sucking on a Cohiba, like a goth who has crashed a Hollywood mogul's house party. "Yeah, maybe we shouldn't mention the cigar," he says. "I don't want people to think I'm this movie cliche. I'm certainly not a mogul – in fact, nothing could be further from the truth."

I don't think there's any danger of Cusack being mistaken for a movie mogul. But the cigar begins to feel somehow appropriate. The more he smokes it, the more at ease he becomes with it, until he owns that damn cigar and waggles it like a spare,...

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the awesome classic buddy cop film Lethal Weapon, The Huffington Post created a great supercut video edit of different movie characters who openly admit that they're "too old for this shit," a line of dialogue that was spoken most memorably by Danny Glover. Enjoy the video, and let us know if you're too old for this shit.

Full list of films featured:

"Lethal Weapon," "The Hurt Locker," "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey," "Aces: Iron Eagle III," "Unleashed," "Vampire in Brooklyn," "Frankie and Johnny," "Showtime," "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Stripes," "The Art of War," "Blade," "Blame It on Rio," "The Sure Thing," "Death Proof," "The Night Listener," "For Colored Girls," "Lethal Weapon 3," "The Yakuza," "Black Moon Rising," "Racing Stripes," "Ed Wood," "Ladder 49," "To Live and Die in L.A.," "Space Cowboys," "In the Line of Fire," "Father of the Bride Part II,...