Movie Junction

Harvey Keitel began his career as the leading actor in Martin Scorsese’s “Who’s that knocking at my door?” (1967). Over the next few years Keitel appeared alongside Robert DeNiro in Scorsese’s “Mean Streets” (1973) and “Taxi Driver” (1976). The leading actor with immense acting talent was transformed to a supporting actor category in the subsequent years of his acting career. The 90s was the period where Keitel reinvented himself in trademark supporting roles in movies such as “Bugsy” (1991), “Reservoir Dogs” (1992), “Thelma & Louise” (1991), and "Pulp Fiction” (1994). Although these movies were hugely successful, Keitel has always remained an underrated and underappreciated gem in Hollywood. Keitel stars in Abel Ferrara’s “The Bad Lieutenant (1992)” as a nameless corrupt cop who is a drug addict as well as a gambler who lost a big bet in a baseball league match. He finds solace in drugs and in his drug addict friends. In this unforgettable film, we are given glimpses of ...

"Mad Men" Season 2 arrives on DVD with very high expectations after a smashing first season. Mathew Weiner’s Mad Men Season 1 won numerous awards notably bagging six Emmy Awards with Jon Hamm winning the best actor award for playing the central character of a high profile advertising executive, Don Draper. Through 13 episodes of Season 1, we saw various story arcs with a focus on developing the character of Don Draper and other supporting characters such as Peggy, an upwardly mobile secretary, Betsy, Draper’s suburban wife, and Peter Campbell, a junior but rival account executive. Does season 2 deliver on the high expectations built up after Season 1? Lets examine that. [SPOILERS AHEAD] Here is my rundown of significant narrative developments that happened in Season 2: 1) At the start of the season, Don gets a physical exam with a doctor where it is revealed that he has high blood pressure. Further, we also get more insight on Don’s past and the consequence of usin...

"Mad Men" Season 2 on DVD arrives with very high expectations after a smashing first season. Mathew Weiner´s Mad Men Season 1 won numerous awards notably bagging six Emmy Awards with Jon Hamm winning the best actor award for playing the central character of a high profile advertising executive, Don Draper. Through 13 episodes of Season 1, we saw various story arcs with a focus on developing the character of Don Draper and other supporting characters such as Peggy, an upwardly mobile secretary, Betsy, Draper´s suburban wife, and Peter Campbell, a junior but rival account executive. Does season 2 deliver on the high expectations built up after Season 1? Lets examine that. [SPOILERS AHEAD] Here is my rundown of significant narrative developments that happened in Season 2: 1)At the start of the season, Don gets a physical exam with a doctor where it is revealed that he has high blood pressure. Further, we also get more insight on Don´s past and the consequence of using...

Filmmakers over the decades have been fascinated by trains as a site because of the "unknown" and mystical space or realm that trains represent. More so, the relative ease with which a person can get off a train after committing a crime presents various scenarios for a thriller movie. A notable list of movies starting with Buster Keaton's "The General" (1927) and Alfred Hitchcock's "The Vanishing Lady" (1938) and "Strangers on a Train" (1951) to more modern hits such as John Frankenheimer's "The Train" (1964) and Sidney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) have all used trains as a backdrop against which the main plot of the film unfolds. After watching "Night Train," I could not help but see the similarities between this movie and Brad Anderson's "Transsiberian" (2008). The opening credit sequence of "Night Train" shows a man running through a forest with a box in...