“Chain Reaction” came out in 1996, but the subject matter of the movie—a source of free energy—is as timely now as it was then. However, when first released, it didn’t make much of a splash. Despite having A-list talent, Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox, Fred Ward, and Rachel Weisz, the movie never performed any better than a B-grade thriller. One has to assume that only that assembly of starpower has brought the movie to a Blu-ray release. Keanu Reeves stars as Eddie Kasalivich, a blue collar worker turned physics prodigy. As always Reeves plays his role with wide-eyed intensity. He wears the boots, jeans, and plaid shirt over T-shirt of the working class and rides a motorcycle, but you never forget that it’s Reeves playing a role. We learn that he dropped out of university the first time after blowing up a lab, but we never learn how that happened, why he ...

  …and David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. “Hoosiers” is arguably the heavyweight champ of feel-good sports movies. The story is as much about the underdog, fundamentals and discipline as personal comebacks and second chances. The beauty of “Hoosiers” is that you don’t have to be a basketball nut to derive enjoyment. The film is story driven; basketball merely serves as a device that gives the characters a means of starting their lives over. However, if you’ve ever picked up a basketball, this film is sure to make you run for the nearest court to nail the game-winning shot with no time left on the clock. “Hoosiers” is also full of wonderful performances by Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey and Dennis Hopper. Hopper received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor ...

  “The Sentinel” is a familiar and sturdy piece of work put together by a good director and exemplary actors and actresses. The story of a decent man accused of a great wrong and chased by the very people/establishment he protected is an old tale, but one that always seems to engage an audience. Michael Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a Secret Service agent in the twilight of his career. Garrison took a bullet for Ronald Reagan back in the 1980s, so he’s something of a celebrity on the job. The story opens with Garrison starting his day at 4:00 in the morning, performing a series of conditioning exercises, having breakfast, and then getting on to work at the White House. Garrison is assigned to protect the First Lady, Sarah Ballentine (Kim Basinger). Garrison is playing with fire, however. Sometime before the film starts, he’s become romantically involved with Sarah. No one else knows. Kim Basinger ...

  “Pursuit of Happyness” is based on the real-life story of Chris Gardner (Will Smith), a one-time employee of Dean Witter, the stock brokerage firm. The real story, and the film, touch the heart. Parents and kids alike will find something in this movie that they can relate to. Parents who have worked extra hours and extra days just to make ends meet know exactly what Gardner had to do to succeed. Kids who grew up like young Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith), who watched their parents spend endless hours in almost hopeless frustration, know what the boy went through and how he felt. Every viewer will find someone here to identify with. There are those who will even identify with Linda (Thandie Newton), Gardner’s wife and young Christopher’s mother when she became so hopeless that she had to leave. Even though the movie only covers the “condensed” six months of struggle that Gardner ...

  People said, A sixth Rocky Balboa movie with a near-60 year old Sylvester Stallone? No way. Everyone figured it was a desperate dream on Stallone’s part, and that he’d dragged people along for the madness. But people forget that “Rocky” the original movie was such a long shot in the beginning too. Here was a no-name guy who had dreams of being a movie star with his fist wrapped around his own B-movie script that movie studios were trying to buy at a (then) reasonable price. By accepting the deal, he would have been able to move his family into a better home. Taking what was on the table would have changed Stallone’s life. But it wouldn’t have changed Stallone’s life forever. So he kept that big fist of his tight, closed his eyes to everything that was being offered, and focused only on what he wanted: to see the script he wrote realized ...