A shadowy figure emerges from a darkened doorway. A SEAL Team member whispers to him “Osama! Osama!” and when the figure moves for an AK-47 the shadowy Bin Laden is shot dead when he stands. It is one of the most haunting scenes I have seen in years and it is at the heart of “Zero Dark Thirty” both in terms of its power and visual (and moral) ambiguity. “Zero Dark Thirty”, now on DVD, is the gripping account of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and it is as filled with moral ambiguity as it is high tension. The (more)

If you want a trip back in time check out “The Hobbit:  An Unexpected Journey” now on video.  This is not a trip back to a bygone era but back to just 10 years ago when “The Lord of the Rings” ruled supreme at the box office.  This is a journey back to an old and familiar place and “The Unexpected Journey” takes you there with the same magic as the original trilogy. Bilbo Baggins, recounting his “great adventure” 65 years earlier as a young hobbit is this time accompanied by a group of 12 dwarves and an old, familiar (more)

A murder at a nuclear power plant.  A dying lawyer in the 18th Century desperate to get home.  A literary publisher trapped in a nursing facility.  The cloning industry of futuristic Korea.  Life on post-apocalyptic Hawaii.  All of these stories and more are interwoven in the grand tapestry of cinema that is "Cloud Atlas". Now out on DVD "Cloud Atlas" follows the concept of the soul through birth, life, death and back again.  For fans of "there are no coincidences, everything is connected" storytelling this is first-rate stuff.  The interwoven lives of people past, present and future are well played (more)

When I think of silver-screen partnership, my thoughts are drawn to the greats: Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, Mynra Loy and William Powell, Bogey and Bacall, Ringwald and Mcarthy etc. And then I think of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The two English comic geniuses are adept at the spoof, most importantly, the ability to spoof themselves. The two first appeared on the television series Spaced, directed by Edgar Wright. The trio of Wright, Pegg and Frost went on to further collaborations, breaking through with 2004’s zombie-inspired, romantic comedy, Shaun of the Dead and the comedic, cop thriller Hot Fuzz (more)

I live for moments like these, and I can’t help my exuberance.  I’ve been left alone at the helm of the Robot, and like a little kid tearing a piece of wrapping paper, I’m on fire.  So, when I discovered that ALL THREE of the The Lost Boys franchise movies were available on Netflix ‘Watch Instantly,’ I was inspired to pull a stunt like this. Now, we’ve gained a lot of new readers since this ran on November 1st of last year, and I wouldn’t dream of leaving them out of the loop, especially if it has to do with Lost (more)

Hesher is a man of few words. And the ones that come out are lewd, inappropriate, quizzical and often disturbing. He is violent; ruled by a general hatred of human kind, and is consequently sociopathic in nature. But in the full-length, directorial debut from short filmmaker Spencer Susser, Hesher provides a superb vehicle for this darkly comical tale of salvation and gratitude. The story chronicles T.J. (played by Devin Brochu), a late adolescent schoolboy in the throes of a depression stemming from his mother’s death. He and his anti-depressant, pill-popping father (Rainn Wilson) have moved in with T.J.s grandmother (Piper (more)

In a psychological thriller worthy of Hitchcock himself, Ryan Reynolds is stuck in a coffin with very little time and no way out in Buried. The movie is as nerve-wracking as the premise would suggest. Reynolds plays Paul Conroy, a civilian truck driver working for the US Military in Iraq. When his convoy is ambushed in a remote Iraqi province he finds himself alive, unharmed, but stuck in a coffin thanks to kidnap and ransom specialists within the local Iraqi insurgency. We quickly come to realize that being trapped alive in a coffin will motivate a person to try to (more)

Happy New Year!  The holidays have passed, the egg nog has soured, and it’s back to the depressing reality of our day to day lives…so thank God for Netflix. Now, I know that this column is supposed to be about movies and shows that are flying under the radar, but I’ve gone ahead and included a few more popular TV serials this week because really I don’t watch a lot of TV, and they certainly weren’t on my radar. I’m also including a couple oldie but goodies. Anyway, let’s get it on… To recap the ratings system: 1 = I’m (more)