New Release Tuesday

My absolute second favorite Burt Reynolds movie, The Bandit finishes first.  As director and star this is Burt at his best as he plays a narcotics cop in Atlanta who's demoted to vice after a botched bust. In the depths of this lowly division, while investigating a high-dollar prostitution ring, Sharky stumbles across a mob murder with government ties, and responds by assembling his downtrodden fellow investigators, his "machine" to find the leaders and bring them to justice before they kill off all his partners and witnesses, including Sharky himself.   This is Burt’s Dirty Harry and this comes with the highest of recommendations.  Thanks to Warner Brothers for finally giving us a widescreen edition of this.

This is a great action, comedy that showcases Hollywood stuntmen and is directed by the late, great Hal Needham.  Burt plays aging stuntman Sonney Hooper and he is still on top as one of the best stuntmen in the business. But up and coming Ski (Jan Michael Vincent) is starting to do bigger and better stunts. Hooper has the experience to setup a stunt safely, and Ski lacks the common sense to know when a stunt is too dangerous. Maybe together, along with their fun loving buddies, they can do a stunt together that will surpass anything that anyone has done.  This features a great cast with Sally Field, Jan Michael Vincent, Brian Keith, and the late, great James Best.  R.I.P.  Thanks again to the WB for finally giving us a widescreen edition and this too comes with the highest of recommendations. 

In a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft but he has different plans.   This is a nice little sci-fi movie I discovered a couple of years ago and features a great turn by Bruce Dern and has some really cool robots.

In this remake of the classic 50s Sci-fi tale, a boy tries to stop an invasion of his town by aliens who take over the minds of his parents, his schoolteacher, and other townspeople. With help from the school nurse the boy enlists the aid of the U.S. Marines.  I prefer the original because it is more creepy but not bad for a remake.  This is from Scream Factory so it will look and sound great and it will be loaded with extras.

A group of twenty-something friends, most of whom live in the same apartment complex, search for love and success in grunge-era Seattle.  A Cameron Crowe film, back when it meant something.  This is a nice film with a good cast but the music is the star in this pic.

Sonic Highways commemorates the Foo Fighters 20th anniversary by documenting the eight-city recording odyssey that produced their latest, and eighth, studio album.  I love the Foos and I have really been wanting to check this out.  This is a group of musicians that plays their own instruments and makes kick ass music and that is becoming very rare in the music industry today.