Point Blank
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Fred Cavayé
Starring Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gérard Lanvin, Elena Anaya, Mireille Perrier, Claire Perot
Magnolia Pictures
Originally Released: December 01, 2010

Point Blank hits all-speed-ahead from the very beginning. It is unapologetically an action film, with a good dose of thriller elements and high suspense. Made in France under the title À Bout Portant, the movie is an enjoyable experience with some brilliant performances from some excellent actors who I hope we will see more of in future cinema experiences.

Get out your popcorn and don’t look for meaning, subtext, or symbolism – this is a pure action flick taking influence and structure from some of the most reliable and exciting stories of ages long gone.

For decades the Disney animated short films, starring the classic gang of Mickey and friends, dominated the screens with innocence and cheer. But that era is not one forgotten. Merely it exists in the past tense, just like the blockbuster musicals that made Disney, Disney. Nevertheless, Walt Disney Animation Studios is experiencing a period of re-growth, what some would argue could be the “third renaissance.” Tangled and the forthcoming Wreck-It Ralph are believed to represent that new beginning. In any case, the art of the short film within the studio is also undergoing a fantastic period of re-interest and ingenuity.

For much of the last decade, when Disney animation was arguably struggling in producing quality features, both in their theatrical and direct-to-video releases, developing short films was placed on the back-burner. Perhaps not intentionally, but they were relegated to little-seen pictures, film festivals, and bonus features on DVDs. The Annie Award-winning short Lorenzo, a charming little tale about a cat’s tail that takes over its life, is utterly creative. But where was this long-delayed piece played to audiences? Try the 2004 Kate Hudson romantic comedy Raising Helen, which underwhelmed at the box office. How was it decided that a short like this be paired with a PG-13 comedy starring Goldie Hawn’s daughter? Though each of these films is adorable in its own right, one must wonder why these were paired together.

IDW Publishing announced today that the first printing of the Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey has sold out, and that they are going back to print.

Now normally, I don’t give two figs when a comics publisher announces a new printing of a sold out book, but I had to show this off for a couple of reasons.

Hello, Do YOU Work Here?
Compiled/Designed by Peter Simeti
Story by Various Submissions
Illustrations by Michael Oppenheimer, Kelly Williams, Michael nelson, John Shaver, John Bulmer, Tom Kelly, J. Rozen, Daniel Thollin, Brian Beardsley, John Bulmer, Jeff McComsey, Kelly Williams, Dave Arhar, Kevin Christensen, Bret M. Herholz, Chad Storhl, Steve Black, Michael S. Bracco, Oliver Kirby, Michael Czerniawski, Gary Goodrich, Dave Arhah, Jeremy Massie, Andi Papelitzky, Douglas Draper Jr.
Introduction by Alex Robinson
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $7.99

I spent the summer of 2002 working alone at a local 24-hour convenient store doing the 4pm to midnight shift. On one particularly brutal night my manager got in to relieve me about 10 minutes early.

“Just give me a minute,” she informed me, as she took out her cellphone, “I’m going to check in on my daughter.”

Maggie, my manager’s daughter, was maybe 16, 17 years old and went by the name, I’m not kidding: Magical. This is the side of the conversation that I heard:

There’s a new international trailer for the kidnapping thriller Taken 2. The first Taken had Liam Neeson fighting off an underground human trafficking group that kidnapped his daughter. Now the tables have turned and its Bryan Millis and his wife who need to be saved from the very people he killed in the first Taken. The twist is, Bryan’s daughter (Maggie Grace) will be doing the saving. Check out the trailer below.

Well she won’t be doing it alone. This new international trailer shows how Bryan and his wife get kidnapped and how Bryan converses with his daughter over the phone is a slight nod to the original film. Other than that, there’s no new footage. We know that by killing off the group that kidnapped his daughter, Bryan has caused the father (Rade Sherbedgia) of one of his victims to seek out revenge.