Can a young FBI analyst catch a Soviet serial killer before becoming his next victim?

In “The Double,” out this week on DVD, a U.S. Senator is assassinated in a style unique to a Soviet Cold War-era serial killer dubbed “Cassius.” Paul Shepherdson (Richard Gere) was the premier authority on Cassius back in the day and insists that Cassius is dead. Gere’s character is teamed up with Ben Geary (Topher Grace), a novice FBI analyst who has spent his entire career studying Cassius and is convinced the cagey assassin has returned.

Together they set out to track Cassius, assuming he’s still alive, before the killer strikes again. Will Geary discover the secret Shepherdson is keeping before Cassius can escape or come after him?

“The Double” conjures up all sorts of questions considering the premise of the movie and its title: double agent? double cross? However “The Double” is more of a psychological thriller than a spy movie or suspenseful mystery. The major twist/reveal happens in the first 30 minutes, which was initially disappointing. But the suspense of whether or not Cassius will be caught is carried throughout the rest of the movie so well that the patient viewer doesn’t feel robbed of a denouement.

Gere and Grace make an excellent team, sharing the spotlight with balance and only trying to outshine the other in understatement. Gere in particular is very convincing as the steely-eyed Shepherdson and at times downright scary.

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Actor/activist/committed Buddhist and Dalai Lama devotee Richard Gere showed up again on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about “religious freedom and human rights” in Tibet, Burma and North Korea.  

Why Richard Gere would be considered an authority on any subject besides the tango is a mystery to those who’ve had the opportunity to hear the man speak without a script. Then again, “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria does intermittently “brainstorm” with the President on border security issues. 

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Following his gripping testimony, Gere was approached by a reporter and asked: “Has President Obama, in your mind,” – which is where it gets tricky – “been tough enough on China regarding human rights?” 

On occasion Richard has been known to criticize Obama for treating his holiness the Dalai Lama dismissively. Like for example the time the esteemed Tibetan monk was secretly escorted in the dead of winter out the back door of the White House and forced to maneuver in flip-flops around White House garbage bags. 

This time, appearing flattered to be asked another question from someone seeking further insight from his vast pool of expertise, Gere, without mentioning China’s “Paramount Leader” Hu Jintao being feted like royalty at a state dinner, said “No, no, he [Obama] has a ways to go.  I think he’s finding his way of how forceful to be.”  

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As soon as you realize that the ringmaster barking out his greatest-show-on-earth spiel under the big-top tent is none other than Christoph Waltz, of all people, you begin to worry. You worry for Robert Pattinson. Waltz, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of the silky SS officer in Inglourious Basterds, is an actor of juicy resources—he operates expertly in an area just this side of hambone—and he commands our attention. Pattinson, on the other hand, despite the stardom he has attained in the Twilight movies, is among the least commanding of performers—in some of the films he’s made outside of the sheltering Twilight umbrella, he fades from memory even as you’re watching him.

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And so, sure enough, in Water for Elephants, a circus picture of which Pattinson is nominally the star, every time Waltz enters a scene, deploying his skittery intelligence and unsettling leer, Pattinson is reduced to the role of unhappy observer at an acting master class.

It’s not a good movie, but it’s not an especially awful one, either. It’s just long and dull. (When was the last time a story about running away with a circus gunned anybody’s engine?) The picture was adapted from a book by Sara Gruen—one of those worldwide bestsellers that nobody you know seems to have read. The filmmakers—director Francis Lawrence, screenwriter Richard LaGravenese, and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (who shot Brokeback Mountain and Biutiful)—have done what they can with the material, but the movie feels like a forced march.

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In “Sput Car – Part 2″  (part 1 is here), Flora and Fawna hit Melrose to test drive the latest eco trend in the hopes of being noticed by A-list celebrities.  Will their attention-getting plans succeed…or will they backfire with ghastly results?

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Two more webisodes to come!   Stay tuned for Gasbags Part 1 and Part 2. (more…)

On paper, aspects of “Brooklyn’s Finest” may sound like parts of a familiar cop film. The film focuses on the lives of three cops, one of whom is only a few days from his retirement. We have seen generic characters like him in films before who are trying to manage their last few days in a police uniform. However, this film builds a strong character out of the retiring police officer and the two other film leads as it injects them into an exciting and gritty movie that is well worth the price of admission.

The three main characters in the film are all New York cops, each of them facing difficult circumstances in their lives. Richard Gere plays the aforementioned retiring cop, Eddie Dugan. Ethan Hawke plays Sal Procida, a young cop trying to buy his family a new house because the materials from the walls of his current apartment are making his pregnant wife sick. Don Cheadle plays undercover cop Clarence Butler, who is trying to get promoted so he can complete his undercover duties. Each of these three characters is trying to break free of something, whether that something is the police force, a tough financial situation, or undercover work. The movie chronicles a few days in their lives as they work to escape from their own respective circumstances. (more…)

There are certain mysteries that place a stronghold on the world’s imagination. The existence (or lack thereof) of the Bermuda Triangle, Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and UFOs are primary among these questions, inducing shivers in those who would like to speculate about the possibility of strange life forms on our fair planet.

And then there is a different sort of mystery, one in which we know someone really existed and then suddenly, simply disappeared without a trace. The famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart was one of those people, the first woman to fly across an ocean who went on to attempt being the first woman to fly around the earth when her plane encountered a series of problems and likely – but not definitively – crashed, with her never to be found again. (more…)

With 1.3 billion people and the world’s second-largest economy, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) stands an insecure colossus: hyper-sensitive, moody, and quick to deploy diplomatic, economic or military muscle to silence critics of all stripes.  

Of all the forms of influence, the one the Chinese Communist Party wields most effectively is, ironically, money.  Money’s impact can be most clearly seen from Hong Kong to Hollywood and, surprisingly of late, Sacramento. 

The transfer of Hong Kong to mainland Chinese control in 1997 offers a clear case study.  Prior to 1997 and a few years afterward, reporters in Hong Kong would often break stories about official corruption in China, poor living conditions for average Chinese, riots and workers’ protests.  In 2002, Reporters Without Borders started ranking press freedoms worldwide.  Hong Kong rated 18th – the highest level of press freedom in Asia.  Then Chinese conglomerates closely connected with the Chinese Communist Party began buying media outlets in Hong Kong.  Reporters knew that, if they wanted to remain employed, they had to behave themselves by not writing stories critical of the Chinese government.  Press freedoms quickly plunged in Hong Kong, with its free press ranking slipping to 39th in 2005, then 58th in 2006.   (more…)