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Juror #2 is a legal thriller drama film directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Jonathan Abrams. The 2024 film follows Justin Kemp, an ordinary member who is called upon to serve as a jury member in a murder case. However, when he realizes that the suspect is not really the murderer, he tries to sway the jury without telling anyone the truth without anyone finding out the truth, because if it comes out, it will destroy his life. Juror #2 stars Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, and Cedric Yarbrough. So, if you loved the thrilling courtroom drama, intense twists, and compelling characters in Juror #2, here are some similar movies you should check out next.

12 Angry Men Credit – United Artists

12 Angry Men is a legal thriller drama film directed by Sidney Lumet...

At the inaugural Academy Awards in 1929, native Pennsylvanian Janet Gaynor made history as the first American-born performer to win an Oscar by taking the Best Actress prize for her body of work in “7th Heaven,” “Street Angel,” and “Sunrise.” Over the subsequent 95 years, 215 more thespians originating from the United States won the academy’s favor, meaning the country has now produced 68.1% of all individual acting Oscar recipients. Considering the last decade alone, the rate of such winners is even higher, at 70.3%.

At this point, 96.8% of American-born acting Oscar victors have hailed from one of 34 actual states. Of those constituting the remainder, three originated from the federal District of Columbia, while four were born in the territory of Puerto Rico. New York (home to 49 winners) is the most common birth state among the entire group, followed by California (34), Illinois (13), Massachusetts (11), and Pennsylvania (11).

Bearing in mind our specific birthplace focus, the 16 states...

Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow came along at the tail end of film noir’s steady decline in popularity in the 1950s and just before the civil rights movement reached its peak in the ’60s. The quintessential male icons of these two distinct eras clash in the film through the extremely confrontational yet mutually beneficial collaboration between a virulently racist ex-con, Earle (Robert Ryan), and a slick, Black jazz musician, Johnny (Harry Belaafonte).

The unlikely pair are brought together by a disgraced retired cop, Burke (Ed Begley), who caught wind of a robbery that’s a sure thing. If something sounds too good to be true in a noir, it always is, but the weaselly Earle’s too macho to let his doting wife, Lorry (Shelley Winters), continue being the breadwinner. Meanwhile, Johnny’s gambling debts have caused him to be estranged from his wife, Ruth (Kim Hamilton), as...

Courtesy of Kino Lorber

by Chad Kennerk

Considered the first film noir to feature a leading black protagonist, Odds Against Tomorrow is a vital entry in the noir canon. Directed by legend Robert Wise and produced by star Harry Belafonte’s HarBel Productions, the gritty look at racial tension is also one of cinema’s most important films about prejudice. Created amidst growing disquiet in America, the film heralds the explosive events to come at the dawn of the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement.

The screenplay was based on the novel by William P. McGivern (The Big Heat) and secretly written by Abraham Polonsky, who penned the screenplays for films such as Body and Soul and Force of Evil. Polonsky had been blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, so Belafonte approached black novelist and friend John O. Killens to serve as the credited screenwriter. It would take until...

Chicago – Although Ed Begley Jr. has had hundreds of roles in TV and film, he is most likely best known as an activist for environmental and sustainability concerns. He highlighted his latest book, “To the Temple of Tranquility…and Step on It!” at the Fall 2023 Chicago Humanities Festival, and HollywoodChicago.com got the Exclusive Photos and Interview.

Ed Begley Jr. was born in Los Angeles, the son of character actor Ed Begley and Amanda Huff, who he later learned was not his biological mother. After graduating from Los Angeles Valley College, he began his acting career in the late 1960s. After several smaller roles on TV and films, he landed as a regular on the legendary cult show “St. Elsewhere,” as Doctor Victor Ehrlich. After the series ended memorably, he continued his run in TV and film, including as a series regular on “Gary Unmarried” and in Christopher Guest’s “Best in Show.

It’s hard to believe that six decades has passed since David Lean’s breathtaking epic “Lawrence of Arabia” was released. Nominated for ten Oscars, the landmark classic revolves about the enigmatic T.E. Lawrence, the British intelligence officer stationed in Cairo who helped the Arabs crush the Ottoman Empire. Lean, who had won his first Oscar five years earlier for the World War II drama “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” was the peak of his powers as a filmmaker. And he elicited dazzling performances from his uber-handsome stars, Peter O’Toole as Lawrence and Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali. The later is memorably introduced in the film with a long, slow shot of him travelling on a camel in the desert.

It was no surprise that “Lawrence” conquered the 35th Academy Awards which took place April 8, 1963 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium earning seven statuettes including film, director, cinematography, editing,...

When Debbie Reynolds died on Wednesday at the age of 84, she had been famous for more than 65 years. A multi-talented star who fixed her place in the Hollywood firmaments when she was just 19 years old (the same age that her daughter, the late Carrie Fisher, was introduced to the world as Princess Leia), Reynolds’ life was the stuff of Tinseltown legend, and she never seemed to grow tired of the spotlight. On the contrary, she was a force of nature until the bitter end, brightening almost every corner of showbiz at one point or another during her decades on stage and screen.

Read More: Debbie Reynolds’ Co-Stars and More Celebrities Mourn Her Passing on Twitter

A hit recording artist, an Oscar (and Tony)-nominated leading lady, a Las Vegas lounge sensation, and a dedicated collector of movie memorabilia (some of her most heroic efforts were dedicated to the preservation of...

Elia Kazan's third picture is a hard-hitting noir, a true story that honors the efforts of a noble States' Attorney when confronted with a murder case that was a little too open-and-shut. But a close read of the movie uncovers a miasma of social criticism, hiding behind the self-congratulating official narration. A great show. Boomerang! Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 88 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Sam Levene, Arthur Kennedy, Cara Williams, Ed Begley, Taylor Holmes, Robert Keith. Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Richard Day, Chester Gore Film Editor Harmon Jones Original Music David Buttolph Written by Richard Murphy from an article in The Reader's Digest by Anthony Abbot (Fulton Oursier) Produced by Louis De Rochemont, Darryl F. Zanuck Directed by Elia Kazan

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

In just his second movie, director...

Johnny Depp has been keeping a low profile since his divorce from Amber Heard, but the actor couldn’t resist making a surprise appearance at an event honoring his friend, Harry Dean Stanton.

Depp, 53, made an unannounced appearance Sunday night at The Ace Hotel Theater in Los Angeles, where a host of actors and musicians were on hand to celebrate the Vidiots foundation presenting Stanton, 90, with the first ever Harry Dean Stanton Award.

The event included appearances and performances by John C. Reilly, Kris Kristofferson, Father John Misty, Harper Simon, Inara George, David Lynch and host Ed Begley Jr. Depp made a surprise cameo,...

Warners knocks us out with a beautifully remastered Rko noir. Nicholas Ray's crime tale is like no other, a meditation on human need and loneliness. It's a noir with a cautiously positive, hopeful twist. On Dangerous Ground Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1952 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 82 min. / Street Date October 11, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond, Charles Kemper, Anthony Ross, Ed Begley, Ian Wolfe, Sumner Williams. Cinematography George E. Diskant Art Direction Ralph Berger, Albert S. D'Agostino Film Editor Roland Gross Original Music Bernard Herrmann Written by A.I. Bezzerides, Nicholas Ray from the novel Mad with Much Heart by Gerald Butler Produced by John Houseman, Sid Rogell Directed by Nicholas Ray

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

The Warner Archive is known for pleasant surprises, but this one is a real thrill -- one of the very best Rko films noir, reissued in a much-needed beautiful restoration.

Shelley Winters, Christopher Jones and Diane Varsi star in American-International's most successful 'youth rebellion' epic -- a political sci-fi satire about a rock star whose opportunistic political movement overthrows the government and puts everyone over 35 into concentration camps... to be force-fed LSD. Wild in the Streets Blu-ray Olive Films 1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date August 16, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring Shelley Winters, Christopher Jones, Diane Varsi, Hal Holbrook, Millie Perkins, Richard Pryor, Bert Freed, Kevin Coughlin, Larry Bishop, Michael Margotta, Ed Begley, May Ishihara. Cinematography Richard Moore Film Editor Fred Feitshans Jr., Eve Newman Original Music Les Baxter Written by Robert Thom from his short story "The Day it All Happened, Baby" Produced by Burt Topper Directed by Barry Shear

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Back around 1965 - 1966 we endured this stupid buzzword concept called The Generation Gap, a notion that there was a natural divide between old people and their kids.

Two written works—one by Edgar Allan Poe and the other by H.P. Lovecraft—come to life on March 29th in Scream Factory’s double feature Blu-ray of Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Dunwich Horror, and we’ve been provided with three Blu-ray copies to give away.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Dunwich Horror double feature Blu-ray.

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Dunwich Horror Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on April 1st. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

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From the Press Release: “A pair of...

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue and H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror comes a Scream Factory double feature with the same names. Ahead of the Blu-ray’s release on March 29th, a Blu-ray clip and trailer for both films have dropped, and we have them to share with our readers.

From the Press Release: “A pair of horror’s most famous authors – Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft – provide the inspiration for a most diabolical double feature. Scream Factory presents two terrifying tales from literary legends with the release of Murders in the Rue Morgue & The Dunwich Horror on Blu-ray on March 29th, 2016. These two American International Pictures classics are now finally available for the first time on Blu-ray, in a release complete with new audio commentary with author and film historian Steve Haberman, and a stage tricks and screen frights featurette.

Your first...

The works of two literary giants of horror (Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft) are getting their very own double feature! Scream Factory will release Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Dunwich Horror together on Blu-ray packed with special features on March 29th.

Press Release: A pair of horror’s most famous authors – Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft – provide the inspiration for a most diabolical double feature. Scream Factory presents two terrifying tales from literary legends with the release of Murders in the Rue Morgue & The Dunwich Horror on Blu-ray on March 29th, 2016. These two American International Pictures classics are now finally available for the first time on Blu-ray, in a release complete with new audio commentary with author and film historian Steve Haberman, and a stage tricks and screen frights featurette.

Your first frightening film is 1971’s Murders in the Rue Morgue. In early 20th-century Paris,...

Debbie Reynolds ca. early 1950s. Debbie Reynolds movies: Oscar nominee for 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown,' sweetness and light in phony 'The Singing Nun' Debbie Reynolds is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 23, '15. An MGM contract player from 1950 to 1959, Reynolds' movies can be seen just about every week on TCM. The only premiere on Debbie Reynolds Day is Jerry Paris' lively marital comedy How Sweet It Is (1968), costarring James Garner. This evening, TCM is showing Divorce American Style, The Catered Affair, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and The Singing Nun. 'Divorce American Style,' 'The Catered Affair' Directed by the recently deceased Bud Yorkin, Divorce American Style (1967) is notable for its cast – Reynolds, Dick Van Dyke, Jean Simmons, Jason Robards, Van Johnson, Lee Grant – and for the fact that it earned Norman Lear (screenplay) and Robert Kaufman (story) a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination.

Omar Sharif in 'Doctor Zhivago.' Egyptian star Omar Sharif, 'The Karate Kid' producer Jerry Weintraub: Brief career recaps A little late in the game – and following the longish Theodore Bikel article posted yesterday – below are brief career recaps of a couple of film veterans who died in July 2015: actor Omar Sharif and producer Jerry Weintraub. A follow-up post will offer an overview of the career of peplum (sword-and-sandal movie) actor Jacques Sernas, whose passing earlier this month has been all but ignored by the myopic English-language media. Omar Sharif: Film career beginnings in North Africa The death of Egyptian film actor Omar Sharif at age 83 following a heart attack on July 10 would have been ignored by the English-language media (especially in the U.S.) as well had Sharif remained a star within the Arabic-speaking world. After all, an "international" star is only worth remembering...

By Alex Simon

The Tennessee state House voted Wednesday to adopt the Holy Bible as the official state book. The chamber approved the measure 55-38. It is sponsored by Republican Rep. Jerry Sexton, a former pastor, who argued that his proposal reflects the Bible's historical, cultural and economic impact in Tennessee. In addition to the measure ignoring serious constitutional issues, it brings to mind a legendary legal case held in Tennessee nearly a century ago.

The Scopes “Monkey Trial” was held in the small town of Dayton, Tn. in 1925. A substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. The trial drew intense international publicity, as two of the nation’s most high-profile attorneys, William Jennings Bryan (prosecution) and Clarence Darrow (defense), argued the case, one of the earliest examples of Fundamentalist vs. Modernist...

Five first-time governors have been elected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors. In addition, eight incumbents have been reelected and four previous governors are returning to the Board.

The first-time governors are Kate Amend, Documentary Branch; Daniel R. Fellman, Executives Branch; Albert Berger, Producers Branch; Bob Rogers, Short Films and Feature Animation Branch; and Mark Mangini, Sound Branch.

The reelected governors are Annette Bening, Actors Branch; Lora Kennedy, Casting Directors Branch; Jeffrey Kurland, Costume Designers Branch; Rick Carter, Designers Branch; Michael Tronick, Film Editors Branch; Kathryn Blondell, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch; Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Public Relations Branch; and Phil Robinson, Writers Branch.

Returning to the Board after a hiatus are governors Caleb Deschanel, Cinematographers Branch; Edward Zwick, Directors Branch; Charles Bernstein, Music Branch; and Bill Taylor, Visual Effects Branch.

The Academy’s 17 branches are each represented by three governors, who may serve up to three consecutive three-year terms.

Eleanor Parker 2013 movie series continues today (photo: Eleanor Parker in Detective Story) Palm Springs resident Eleanor Parker is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June 2013. Thus, eight more Eleanor Parker movies will be shown this evening on TCM. Parker turns 91 on Wednesday, June 26. (See also: “Eleanor Parker Today.”) Eleanor Parker received her second Best Actress Academy Award nomination for William Wyler’s crime drama Detective Story (1951). The movie itself feels dated, partly because of several melodramatic plot developments, and partly because of Kirk Douglas’ excessive theatricality as the detective whose story is told. Parker, however, is excellent as Douglas’ wife, though her role is subordinate to his. Just about as good is Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Lee Grant, whose career would be derailed by the anti-Red hysteria of the ’50s. Grant would make her comeback in the ’70s, eventually winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her...

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

It seems certain directors have seen the future, and it’s HBO shaped. After Steven Soderbergh’s exceptional Behind The Candelabra screened here, another well-known figure from film-making unveiled his own HBO-made film.

Soderbergh said that he made Candelabra for the premium channel because it afforded him more creative freedom and less interruptions from a studio, and that film turned out to be a great thing, and similar hopes weren’t far from Stephen Frears’ made-for-tv portrait of the Supreme Court’s decision over Muhammad Ali’s infamous refusal to fight in the Vietnam War.

In all honesty, the two projects aren’t all that similar: Soderbergh’s film could have made it to the big screen, but Frears slower, more proceedurally-toned offering is perfectly suited to a premium TV channel. It is occasionally bogged down in the impenetrable (or at least not entirely entertaining) language of legislation,...

On paper, it's a tough sell: a black-and-white movie set in one room, with an all-male (and all-white) cast, with no action except for a heated war of words among a dozen guys. Indeed, "12 Angry Men" -- which opened 55 years ago last week (April 13, 1957) -- with its shoestring budget, was a financial flop, and while it was nominated for three Oscars (including Best Picture), it lost them all to the splashier, more colorful, wide-screen epic "The Bridge on the River Kwai." Yet today, "12 Angry Men" is considered a classic, not just for its riveting script and top-notch acting, but also for how it made a virtue of its stagy limitations. Adapted by Reginald Rose from his own 1954 TV play (back when live drama was a TV staple), the movie expanded the hour-long story of a deliberating jury into 95 minutes, but it didn't expand the confines of the setting: a single,...

The Stephen Frears-directed “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” has had no shortage of casting updates since things got underway back in February, with future “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” star Benjamin Walker joining the fold as Kevin Kennedy, a Supreme Court clerk who supported Ali and even wrote briefs that would help to maintain the boxer's status as a conscientious objector of the war, all in this tale of Ali’s trial following his arrest for anti-Vietnam sentiments and behaviour when drafted to serve in the war.

Well now Deadline has the word on a new onslaught of impressive performers, with Danny Glover, Barry Levinson, Pablo Schreiber, Ed Begley Jr., Bob Balaban and Kathleen Chalfant jumping in the ring with the self-proclaimed world’s greatest. You’ll remember that Ali will be presented in archival footage of the case, with Glover playing the legendary Justice Thurgood Marshall, who was the...

God Help The Girl

Elle Fanning and Olly Alexander are in negotiations to join the Glasgow-set musical "God Help the Girl". Belle and Sebastian lead singer Stuart Murdoch penned and will direct the film which begins shooting in Glasgow in June.

Alexander will play James, a cynical guitarist who becomes a mentor to Cass (Fanning), an American teen who tags alongside he and his singer bandmate as she learns to play the guitar. [Source: Variety]

Ali

Several more actors have joined HBO's upcoming original film "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" which dramatizes the boxing great's battle with the Supreme Court over his conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War.

Danny Glover will play Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Ed Begley Jr. is set as Justice Harry Blackmun, Barry Levinson as Justice Potter Stewart, Kathleen Chalfant as the wife of Justice Marshall Harlan (Christopher Plummer), and Bob Balaban as an advocate for Vietnam veterans.

Danny Glover, Barry Levinson, Pablo Schreiber, Ed Begley Jr., Bob Balaban and Kathleen Chalfant have boarded Stephen Frears’ HBO movie Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, which dramatizes the machinations of the Supreme Court as Ali pursued Conscientious Objector status. They join previously cast Christopher Plummer, Frank Langella and Benjamin Walker. Glover will play Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Justice to serve on the Supreme Court; Levinson will play Justice Potter Stewart, who was an unpredictable voter on the Court; Begley Jr. will play Justice Harry Blackmun, President Richard Nixon appointee to the Supreme Court; Balaban will play an Advocate for Vietnam Veterans who argues a case before the Court; Schreiber will play Covert Becker, a Supreme Court clerk who doesn’t hide his contempt for liberals; and Kathleen Chalfant will play Ethel Harlan, Justice Harlan’s wife. Written by Shawn Slovo, Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight is executive produced by Frank Doelger,...

Hawaii Five-0 fans wondering how leading man Alex O’Loughlin‘s impending hiatus will impact the series finally have their answer.

TV Guide Magazine has confirmed that O’Loughlin and his alter ago, Steve McGarrett, will only miss one full episode of the CBS cop drama — though, unfortunately, said installment happens to be Five-0‘s buzzy NCIS: La crossover event (airing April 30 and May 1).

A spokesperson for O’Loughlin announced earlier this month that the actor was seeking treatment for prescription pain medication, and would be taking leave from Hawaii Five-0 for an unspecified amount of time.

Ready for...

James Franco's Broadway debut will have to wait. Franco has dropped out of a planned revival of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman is still on board and so is director David Cromer. Sweet Bird of Youth revolves around an aging, hard-drinking movie actress, Alexandra Del Lago, who leaves town with an aging (35?), small-town escort/drifter, Chance Wayne. Wayne, in love with a corrupt Florida politician's daughter, wants Del Lago back in the movie game so he can have a chance in show biz as well. Elia Kazan directed Paul Newman and Geraldine Page in the original 1959 Broadway production, which earned Page a Tony nomination. Newman and Page reprised their roles in the somewhat watered-down 1962 film version directed by Richard Brooks. Page and Shirley Knight, who played Chance Wayne's love interest, were both nominated for Academy Awards as, respectively, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

Jean Hagen, Debbie Reynolds, Singin' in the Rain Debbie Reynolds on TCM: The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Singing Nun Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis (1953) A lovesick teenager searches for romance at college. Dir: Don Weis. Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, Barbara Ruick. Bw-73 mins. 7:15 Am I Love Melvin (1953) A photographer's assistant promises to turn a chorus girl into a cover girl. Dir: Don Weis. Cast: Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel. C-77 mins. 8:45 Am The Tender Trap (1955) A swinging bachelor finds love when he meets a girl immune to his line. Dir: Charles Walters. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne. C-111 mins, Letterbox Format. 10:45 Am Bundle Of Joy (1956) A shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling. Dir: Norman Taurog. Cast: Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou. C-98 mins. 12:30 Pm Tammy And The Bachelor...

Filed under: TV News

Laura Prepon will do her best Chelsea Handler in the NBC pilot for 'Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.' The former 'That '70s Show' star will play Chelsea Hanson, a fictionalized version of the real comedienne in the comedy pilot based on Handler's best-selling book.

According Deadline Hollywood, the project will follow Prepon's character, a young waitress who isn't afraid to share her opinions and love of drinking and sex.

Prepon recently popped up on 'Castle' and just sold her Web series, 'Neighbros' as a half-hour scripted comedy.

In other casting news ...

o. Peter Fonda will guest on 'CSI: N.Y.' Fonda will appear in two episodes this April as William Hunt, the former partner of Detective Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise). [Entertainment Weekly]

o. Ed Begley Jr. has landed a lead role in NBC's 'Brave New World' pilot. Begley, Nick Braun...

Sitting Pretty (1948) Direction: Walter Lang Cast: Clifton Webb, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Young, Richard Haydn, Louise Allbritton, Randy Stuart, Ed Begley Screenplay: F. Hugh Herbert; from Gwen Davenport's novel Belvedere Oscar Movies Highly Recommended Clifton Webb, Sitting Pretty In the late 1940s, the bucolic suburb of Hummingbird Hill is shaken in its tranquil complacency by the scandalous actions of two middle-aged, unmarried men. Each of these elitist, academic bachelors threaten the norm of twin beds, parlor games, and ladies who lunch. One escapes his overbearing mother in persistent eavesdropping and snooping; the other inserts himself as a platonic wedge between a husband and wife, usurping household authority with conceited pleasure. The couple eventually separates under the strain, while the community itself is exposed for its flaws and hypocrisy. The convention of the two-parent, heterosexual family and its corresponding social order is besieged from within by men who exist outside the tradition.

I started a spreadsheet this year to track all of the movies I watch. This includes just watching a movie out of the blue, at a screening, for DVD/Blu-ray review, etc. I've never done this before, but I've been wondering recently just how many movies I actually watch each year. So far, after 15 days I've watched 20 movies in 2011. In honesty, the number shocked me at first, but the more I thought about it I really don't think a day goes by that I don't watch a movie.

A movie usually serves as my night cap once the day is done and I'm ready to call it quits. I may not finish it that night, but by the end of the next day it's done. So the fact I've already seen five more movies in 2011 than there have been days isn't as surprising as it may seem. After all, it is my job.

Chicago – Image Entertainment released a spectacular Blu-ray release in September of “The Twilight Zone: Season 1,” an amazing set that will surely be mentioned when our year-end “Best Blu-rays of the Year” feature debuts in a few weeks. With “The Twilight Zone: Season 2” following quickly on its heels just two months later, the only concern was if they would drop the ball with the second release. Instead they have hit another home run.

Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

Of course, the primary reason to pick up both seasons is the quality of the program itself. It helped shape science fiction of all forms, not just television. It’s one of the most influential programs of all time and most episodes have held up incredibly well. There aren’t many programs from the early ’60s for which a shot-for-shot remake could air in 2010 and still be devastatingly effective. You can say that about...

“You finally made it, Frankie! Oscar night! And here you sit, on top of a glass mountain called success. You’re one of the chosen five, and the whole town’s holding its breath to see who won it! It’s been quite a climb, hasn’t it, Frankie? Down at the bottom, scuffling for dimes in those smokers, all the way to the top. Magic Hollywood!” This ripe narration opens the 1966 movie The Oscar, a cynical look at how an Oscar nomination goes to the head of its nominee and the lengths an unscrupulous man will go to win the coveted gold statuette. With an undeserved reputation as one of the lousiest Show-biz soap operas from the 60’s, The Oscar portrays Hollywood as a cesspool where you sell your soul and it’s certainly amusing for its campy dialog and sleazy situations. Sure, The Oscar is brainless tinseltown trash full of shameless clichés,...

Rachael Leigh Cook and The Deep End's Jonathan Tucker are set to star in the independently financed drama Stateside from writer-director Reverge Anselmo and First Look Media. Additionally, Agnes Bruckner, Carrie Fisher and Ed Begley Jr. are in talks to round out the cast. "Stateside" is about a rich, rebellious teenager (Tucker) who -- while on leave from the Marines -- falls in love with a young rock star (Cook) who is stricken with a mental illness. Robert Greenhut and Bonnie Hlinomaz are producing the film, which will shoot in North Carolina and New York beginning Nov. 9.