Murderers Among Us (1946)

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The setting is Berlin in 1945 after Germany's defeat in the war. The former military surgeon Dr, Hans Mertens (Ernst Wilhelm Borchert), returns home from the battlefield to find his home destroyed. He suffers from the terrible memories of the war and becomes an alchoholic. A photographer and Nazi concentration camp survivor, Susanne Wallner (Hildegard Knef), finds him living in her apartment as she returns home and they soon become friends and roomates.

Eventually, Mertens meets his former captain Ferdinand Bruckner (Arno Paulsen), who had been responsible for the shooting of 36 men, 54 women and 31 children on Christmas Eve of 1942 in a Polish village on the Eastern Front. He is now a successful businessman producing pots out of old German military helmets. On Christmas Eve, Mertens tries to kill him, but the beautiful Wallner stops him at the last minute. She convinces Mertens to have the evil Bruckner put on trial and the two start a new life together.

The most chilling scene of the film is when Bruckner, happily and nonchalantly chomps on a piece of breakfast toast while reading about millions killed at Aushwitz in the local newspaper. Paulsen chews the scenery as well and gives an amazing performance in this black and white flick.

The film was shot in the ruins of Berlin. Originally the film was supposed to be named Der Mann den ich totel werde (The Man I will kill) and Mertens was supposed to succeed in killing Bruckner, but the script and the title were changed because the Soviets were afraid that viewers could interpret that as a call for vigilante justice.

Murderers Among Us debuted on October 15, 1946 in the Admiralspalst, which was at the time the home of the Berlin State Opera, in the Soviet sector. Most of the reviews were positive, although some criticized the fact that the characters appeared in modern and trendy clothes, which did not reflect the reality of the living conditions of Berliners in the immediate post-war period.

"Somewhere"

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

From Academy Award-winning director Sophia Coppola (Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette), "Somewhere" is a witty, moving and empathetic look into the orbit of actor Johnny Marco (played by Stephen Dorff). You have probably seen him in the tabloids; Johnny is living at the legendary Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood.

He has a Ferrari to drive around in and a constant stream of girls and pills to stay with. Comfortably numbed, Johnny drifts along. Then his 11-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) from his failed marriage arrives unexpectedly at the hotel. Their encounters encourage Johnny to face up to where he is in his life and confront the question that we all must--which path in life will you take?

Scheduled to hit theaters December 24th, Somewhere stars Michelle Monaghan, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Ramsey and Robert Schwartzman in this haunting drama that will provide a once in a lifetime movie experience to viewers who are sure to find themselves taken on a journey to self discovery.

Sophia Coppola followed in her famous dad's footsteps by winning a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and said she hoped the prize would come as a boost to small-scale movies not shot in 3-D.

Other U.S. contenders failed to impress jury head Quentin Tarantino and his panel. They included "Black Swan" starring Natalie Portman as a mysterious ballerina and "Barney's Version," starring Dustin Hoffman.

Coppola recalled two other LA movies she loved--"Shampoo" from 1975 and "American Gigolo" starring Richard Gere from 1980--and said she was stylistically inspired by the 1960's French New Wave, particularly Jean-Luc Godard.

Elle Fanning, the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning looked stunning in a strapless blue dress as she posed for hundreds of photogs.

Katy Perry: 'Too sexy' for 'Sesame Street'

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Katy Perry is probably as famous for her seemingly endless array of skimpy, figure-hugging outfits as for her pop hits "I Kissed a Girl" and "California Girls." Even so, you might have expected her to put some clothes on for her appearance on "Sesame Street," that perennial favorite of pre-schoolers. But Perry dressed for her duet of "Hot and Cold" with Elmo much as she did for her music video with Snoop Dogg: In a cleavage-baring look.
The reaction? "Sesame Street" is supposed to be for toddlers, right?" asks Matt Cherette at Gawker. Was it really too much to ask "playmate" Perry to "cover up a bit more?" But Perry is a big draw for the "pint-size" set says Amy Graff at The San Francisco Chronicle. Even if she left parents "with a lot of explaining to do," her music is "candy for kids' ears." It's no wonder "Sesame Street" booked her.
Update: "In light of the feedback" they've received on their YouTube preview, "Sesame Street's" producers have opted not to air the Perry segment. "Too sexy" after all, says CNN's Marquee blog.

Austrian set to direct "The Amanda Knox Story."

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A celebrated Austrian film director will turn a convicted murderer's life story into a movie, it has emerged.

Robert Dornhelm is reportedly already engaged in pre-production preparations for a TV film project with the working title "The Amanda Knox Story."

The film--set to be screened next year--will be based on the life of US American exchange student Amanda Knox who was sentenced to 26 years in jail for the murder of her room-mate Meredith Kercher last year.

The 21-year-old victim's father John Kercher said: "I don't like the idea of a film based on Meredith's death. Seeing it graphically portrayed...is a horrible thought."

Dornhelm--a cousin of former Vienna State Opera director Ioan Holender--created acclaimed 2001 TV series "Anne Frank: The Whole Story" and a television adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" (2007).

The screenplay is being penned by Wendy Battles who has produced TV hits such as "Law and ORder."

Up and coming TV actress Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes") will star as Knox who always denied the killing.

Meanwhile it was also uncovered that Knox will star in a Christmas show for jail mates in Capanne prison on the outskirts of Perugia, Italy. Her music teacher told local media that the 23-year-old was set to sing a solo. "She's an outstanding soprano with an amazing voice," he said.

The Ten Commandments (1956)

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Legendary silent film director Cecil B. DeMille didn't much alter the way he made movies after sound came in, and this 1956 biblical drama is proof of that. While graced with such 1950s niceties as Vista Vision and Technicolor, The Ten Commandments has an anachronistic, impassioned style that finds lead actors Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner expressively posing, while hundreds of extras writhe either in the presence of God's power or from the Egyptian heat.

The Ten Commandments is one of the most financially successful films made, grossing over $65 million at the North American box office. In 1999, it was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (John P. Fulton), and it was also nominated for Best Art Direction, Color, Best Costume Design (Edith Head, Ralph Jester among others), Best Film Editing, Best Picture and Best Sound, Recording.

Critics have argued that considerable liberties were taken with the biblical story, affecting the film's claim to authenticity, but this has had little effect on its popularity. Neither has its nearly four-hour duration. For decades, a showing of The Ten Commandments was a popular fund-raiser among revivalist Christian Church while the film was equally treasured among film buffs for DeMille's "cast of thousands" approach and the heroic but antiquated silent-screen type acting. In the United States, the movie has traditionally been shown on television annually since 1973 on ABC around Palm Sunday, or Passover.

The Plagues: The film shows four of the Plagues of Egypt: Blood, Hail, Darkness and Death of the Firstborn, omitting the rest. DeMille could not figure out a way to enact the plagues of frogs, locusts and so on, without it coming out as unintentionally humorous, but they are mentioned in the dialogue between Pharoah and his advisers.

The Ten Commandments is still a grand biblical epic that's just a notch below "Ben Hur" in terms of its performances, narrative drama and special effects. An epic soap opera of an event, the running time is longer than any church service--that still impresses more than it amuses. Lastly, is there anyone who can picture Moses without thinking of Heston dramatically lifting his staff to part the Red Sea?

Memories of Murder

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Based on true events, director Bong Joon-ho's moody suspense thriller follows the investigation of South Korea's first recorded case of a serial killer. Over six years, a vicious psychopath has raped and murdered 10 women. Rural cops Park (Song Kang-ho) and Jo (Kim Roe-ha), are assigned to the case, but working with neither a precedent nor advanced forensic technology, they must rely on primitive methods to piece together the clues.

While a total body count was never mentioned in the film, a total of 10 similar murders were committed in the Hwaseong area between October 1986 and April 1991. Over 300,000 policemen took part in the investigation and over 3,000 suspects were interrogated. And as in the film, the actual murderer has not been caught. As the case grows closer to reaching the statute of limitations, Korea's leading Uri Party has sought to amend the law to give the prosecutors more time to find the murderer.

The film's cinematography, as well as Song Kang-ho's performance, earned it wide praise in South Korea. It was well received by both critics and audiences. The film won the South Korean film industry's 2003 Grand Bell Award for best film. By the end of the film's domestic run it had been seen by 5,101,645 people, making it the most watched film in South Korea.

"Mother," a great Korean thriller

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Mother is an excellent Korean film with plenty of plot twists to keep theater-goers on the edge of their seats.

A murder rocks a South Korean town and suspicion quickly falls on a reclusive, mentally challenged and alibi-free--young man (Bin Won). When an inept public defender botches the boy's case, his mother (Hye-ja Kim), sets out to prove her son's innocence.

Acclaimed director Joon-ho Bong (Memories of Murder), explores the lengths a mother will go to protect her child in this atmospheric crime thriller.

Bong Joon-ho is already one of the top directors in Korea, having helmed the 2006 monster movie smash "The Host," still the most popular film in Korean history.

His follow-up, Mother, has a much smaller scale than the creature feature, replacing a rampaging monster with a rampaging mother. Perhaps because of it's personal nature, Mother is the best-told of the director's career and top-notch mystery--full of twists, secrets, red herrings, dead ends, multiple suspects and shocking moments that play in stark contrast to the film's initial comedic elements.

Most admirably, Bong cast a Korean mentally challenged actor in the flick. One hopes Bong will make more films of this nature and keep audiences buying tickets.

The Town

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The Town is an upcoming action crime thriller starring, written and directed by Ben Affleck that is based on Chuck Hogan's novel "The Prince of Thieves."

The film follows the action of four Charlestown, Massachusetts bank robbers as they are pursued by law enforcement. Ben Affleck plays a professional thief who falls for a bank manager (Rebecca Hall) after a dangerous heist. He struggles with this newfound relationship whilst evading a tenacious FBI agent (Mad Men's Jon Hamm), looking to catch him and his crew before they rob another bank.

Proving a fine director of actors, Affleck delivers another potent, serious-minded slice of pulp set on Boston's meanest streets, where loyalty among thieves runs thicker than blood.

From Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" to the Dennis Lehane adaptations "Mystic River" and "Gone Baby Gone," the past decade has been a strong one for pictures set in and around certain violent enclaves of Boston.

The production began filming late August 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. The film received positive reviews from critics with many calling it one of the best pictures of the year.

El Superstar: The Unlikely Rise of Juan Frances

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Mexican character actor Danny Trejo is back (fresh from his hit bloody fun flick Machete), appearing in the new film "El Superstar: The Unlikely Rise of Juan Frances," coming out Friday.

A Beverly Hills born orphan is adopted by his Mexican nanny, raised with a love for ranchero music and becomes a singing sensation. Now this folks, is an original storyline and a chance for Trejo to show more of his comedy chops.

The film takes aim at stereotypes via its main subject, a balding white guy who was raised by a Mexican family. Born Jonathan French and raised by his nanny after the news that his parents died, Juan was "blessed by the virgin" with the gift of song. After being discovered at a talent show, he skyrockets to fame and fortune, only to face a crisis of identity.

Director Amy French co-wrote the script with her brother Spencer John French (who played the lead), based on their experiences growing up in the bilingual neighborhood of Echo Park. It's not surprising that the first exec producer is Norman Lear, who shocked and entertained audiences with sitcoms Sanford and Son and All in the Family.

Trejo, has a featured part as Juan's stepfather, with the usual understated flare moviegoers have come to anticipate. The film has secured limited theatrical release in Los Angeles.

Saudi diplomat seeking asylum: 'My life is in danger'

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A ranking Saudi diplomat told NBC News that he has asked for political asylum in the U.S., saying he fears for his life if he is forced to return to Saudi Arabia.

The diplomat, Ali Asseri, the first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles, has informed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials that Saudi officials have refused to renew his diplomatic passport and effectively terminated his job after discovering he was gay and was close friends with Jewish woman.

In a recent letter that he posted on a Saudi website, Asseri angirly criticized his country's "backwardness" as well as the role of "militant imams" in Saudi society, who have "defaced the tolerance of Islam." He has also threatened to expose what he describes as politically embarrassing information about members of the Saudi royal family living in luxury in the United States.

If he is forced to go back to Saudi Arabia--as Saudi officials are demanding--Asseri says he could face political persecution and even death.

"My life is in a great danger here and if I go back to Saudi Arabia, they will kill me openly in broad daylight." Asseri said today in an email to NBC.

The Saudis have been sharply condemned by the U.S. State Department and human rights groups for religious and political intolerance, including the treatment of gay people. The most recent human rights report on Saudi Arabia notes that in addition to denying political and religious rights to minorities, "under Shari (Islamic Law), sexual activity between two persons of the same gender is punishable by death or flogging."

In recent months, he said he has been living "in hiding" in the Los Angeles area.

"Words cannot express the anger I feel about how I have been treated." Asseri said.

The Social Network Movie

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The Social Network is about the founding of the social networking website Facebook. The film features an ensemble cast which consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Rashida Jones among others.

The film was written by Aaron Sorkin and adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 nonfiction book "The Accidental Billionaires." It's set for an October 1, 2010 release. None of the Facebook staff, including the founder Mark Zuckerberg, will be involved in the project.

Filming for the Social Network began in October 2009 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Scenes were filmed around the campuses of two famous Mass. prep schools, Phillips Academy and Milton Academy. Additional scenes were filmed on the campus of Wheelock College, which was set up to be Harvard's campus. (Harvard has turned down most requests for on-location filming ever since the filming of Love Story (Ryan O'Neal and Ally McGraw 1970), which caused significant physical damage to the campus. Filming took place on the Keyser and Wyman quads in the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University from Nov. 2-4, which also doubled for Harvard in the film. From Nov. 16-22, scenes were filmed at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The Cardin Courier stated that the film was about "greed, obsession, unpredictability and sex" and asked "although there are over 500 million Facebook users, does this mean Facebook can become a profitable blockbuster movie?"

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

This isn't your typical laugh-out-loud Woody Allen film. In fact it's more of a dramedy with a terrific cast that includes British character actress Lucy Punch, who steals the show, by playing a fast talking blond floozy.

The film follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones), and their daughter Sally (Naomi Watts), and husband Roy (Josh Brolin), as their passions, ambitions and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds.

After Alfie leaves Helena to pursue his lost youth and a free-spirited call girl named Charmaine (Lucy Punch), Helena abandons rationality and surrenders her life to the loopy advice of a charlatan fortune teller, forming a liaison with recent widower, Jonathan (Ashton-Griffiths).

Unhappy in her marriage, Sally develops a crush on her handsome art gallery owner boss, Greg (Antonio Banderas), while Roy, a novelist nervously awaiting the response to his latest manuscript, becomes moonstruck over Dia (Freda Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire), a mystery woman who catches his gaze through a nearby window. Despite these characters' attempts to dodge their problems with pipe dreams and impracticable plans, their efforts lead only to heartache, irrationality and perilous hot water.

The film is the fourth Allen has shot in London, England and premiered on May 25 at the Cannes Film Festival. Originally, Nicole Kidman was cast in one of the lead roles, but was replaced by Lucy Punch, much to the audience's delight.

"Matchete" and "The American" both a hit at holiday box office

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

George Clooney's hitman tale "The American" has captured the top spot at the box office with a $16.4 million debut over the long Labor Day weekend.

The 20th Century Fox revenge romp "Machete" and Sony's heist thriller "Takers" were in a duel for second place.

"Machete" led with 14 million from Friday to Monday. "Takers" followed with $13.5 million, thought the two movies were close enough that rankings could change once final numbers are released Tuesday.

"The American" stars Clooney as a hitman who finds unlikely friendship and romance while trying to lay low in Italy before doing one last job.

"Machete" features a cast including Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal and Lindsay Lohan in a bloody tale of a former Mexican federal cop (Danny Trej0), taking on crooks, dirty politicians and thugs by the score.

"Going the Distance" stars Drew Barrymore and Justin Long as a couple trying to maintain a coast-to-coast long-distance relationship.

With Clooney's appeal to adult audiences, "The American" dominated older crowds, while "Machete" was a hit with Hispanics, who accounted for 60 percent of the movie's viewers.

"The whole marketing campaign was thrust at the Latino audience and they have clearly responded and embraced the movie," said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox. "I would go so far as to say Danny Trejo is the first Latino superhero."

'Machete' star Danny Trejo lights up the big screen

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

'Machete' star Danny Trejo, a Mexican American character actor is amazing in this bloody, funny film which debuted Friday.

'Machete' gives ex-prison inmate Trejo, 64, his first lead role in a long career of mostly smallish parts as taciturn tough guys who choose their words carefully.

"Machete" has the same made-on-the-cheap outlandishly violent 1970's vibe, replete with yellow bubble subtitles and cartoonish sexy vixens with massive breasts and fire-arms. Even troubled child star Lindsay Lohan makes a brief appearance in the unusual flick and she's quite good in her brief but well acted role as a blonde bimbo with modeling ambitions.

Trejo's Machete doesn't talk much either, but he's a commandingly fun presence, a former Mexican federal cop working as a day laborer in Texas after left for dead by drug kingpin (Steven Seagal), who also killed his family.

Trouble follows Machete, who goes on the run after he's hired as the fall guy in an assassination attempt on a radically conservative anti-immigration state senator (a rollicking Robert DeNiro with big Texas drawl).

To clear his name and take sweet revenge, Machete goes on a rampage that puts him up against Seagal's Torrez, DeNiro's Senator, a slimy political kingmaker (Jeff Fahey) and a ruthless border vigilante (Don Johnson).

Allies rally to Machete's side--a right-minded immigration agent (Jessica Alba), a taco vender who moonlights as a revolutionary (Michelle Rodriguez) and Machete's priestly brother (a very funny Cheech Marin).

There are tons of clever wisecracks and the action, although over-the-top is fresh and inventive, if you don't mind blood and bodyparts flying in all directions.

But underlying all the cartoonish violence and super hero daring-do, lies a bitter kernal of truth, namely the widespread and deep corruption by politicians on the both sides of the border in whose interest it is to perpetuate the abominable conditions which exist on our border with Mexico.

Nazi-Hunter Wiesenthal Worked for Israel

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Simon Wiesenthal wasn't the one-man Nazi-hunting organization he was seen as, but a longtime agent of the Israeli secret service--who, contrary to what has long been believed, played an active role in locating Nazis, according to a new bio. Author Tom Segev, whose "Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends" hits shelves this week, says he interviewed the Holocaust survivor's Mossad handlers after discovering their names in his private papers, the New York Times reports.

Israel worked with Wiesenthal, an Austrian, from the earliest days of its creation, Segev says. He was provided with an Israeli passport and a monthly salary and tasked with finding Nazi war criminals and reporting on the activities of former Nazis in Arab countries. Segev says his findings call for a rethink of the view that Israel took little interest in tracking down Nazis before Adolf Eichmann's capture in 1960, or afterward. His book describes a failed attempt by Wiesenthal, working with Israeli agents, to capture Eichmann in Austria in 1949.