“I'm not a doctor. I haven't been to medical school; I haven't even been to high school.”

A beautiful and moving film based on John Irving’s best-selling American classic The Cider House Rules deals with sensitive and controversial subject matters wrapped inside a captivating coming-of-age story. John Irving had second thoughts about trimming his huge novel into a two-hour film and only agreed to adapt the screenplay after the studio agreed to allow his son, Colin Irving, to be in the movie (He plays Major Winslow in a small role as a notifying officer delivering bad news).

“For what it’s worth, I read your first book. I'm not Jewish, but I liked it.”

In the spirit of disclosure, the first time I tried watching Bored to Death, I gave up early in the first season. The title described the experience of this viewer. Jason Schwartzman has never really clicked with me. His schtick always seemed a little too precious and self-aware for my tastes.  Pressure from friends who insisted the show got better in the second half of the season got me back. I did find myself falling into sync with the stoner-noir rhythm of the series and laughing out loud at writer/creator/inspiration Jonathan Ames’ absurdist humor by the final third of the first season.

When these 31 Nights of Terror started, I was pretty much set on spending time with both Condemned: Criminal Origins and the sequel Condemned 2: Bloodshot. As I got farther into researching the first adventure, I realized I rather keep on writing with the same material. There was certainly more story to tell and furthermore I liked what I was writing. Hopefully, you as the audience enjoyed it too. So here we go with the second part. Ethan's story has only begun.

Before I go ahead and continue with Part two, I do want to spend a few words on what I did with Part One. If you have not read it, please step back for a second and go back to Part One. Most will notice that for the most part, I followed the dialog word for word. However, I removed one character entirely. Lieutenant Rosa. Or as I like to call her, the cell phone character. Throughout the game, she analyzes crime scene data and gives Ethan all sorts of information. She was very much the epitome of a character created for a game. In a book or movie context, her role would be significantly reduced or perhaps even eliminated.

By Natasha Samreny

“General, he was stronger than the others. That's why he lasted so long. I don't know why General, but he seems to be getting stronger all the time.”

With the release of the new Pirates Of The Caribbean on DVD and Blu-ray, we thought we'd share some extra content with our readers. We all know that Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow is the hero of the Pirates films. But every hero needs a nemesis and for Captain Jack that man is Captain Barbossa. Continue reading for an interview with the talented actor:

Are you a fan of the extras that come along with DVDs and Blu-Ray disks?

The horror giveaways just keep on coming. Our very good friends over at 42 West are at it again. They have given us a gruesome, mind-bending thriller shot in a style reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project on DVD to giveaway as part of our 31 Nights Of Terror.  The film is Atrocious and you can win a copy of the DVD just follow these instructions.

Contest is now closed Winner was Douglas Houston

It’s willing suspension of disbelief time, folks, as this reality show chronicles the soap-operatic lives of a group of young lesbians. Cari and Kacy want a baby – will they find the appropriate sperm donor? Romi and Kelsey are are having trouble with their sex life. Whitney is having all sorts of girl trouble, while Sajdah (whose name oddly does not end with “y” or “i”) is seeking her first relationship.

And on and on and on we go. Can eyes glaze and roll at the same time? You’ll find out before too many minutes of this season have passed. Who the hell is this show aimed at? The flashes of nudity and coupling, not to mention the box cover art and uniformly attractive cast (I’m sorry, subjects) smack of catering to male fantasies, but is that audience going to sit through the oversharing psychodramas? Is anyone? (Apparently, I guess, since this is the second season.) Years ago, there was a moment in House where the titular doctor announces that he’s off to his office “to watch The L Word with the sound off.” I keep thinking of that line in connection with this show. It feels like nothing more than comic fodder for another program’s punchlines.

It is that time for more cartoon goodness from the people at Nickelodeon. As we have seen, I seem to attract odd cartoons to review. Let’s see, there is a dude with a football as a head, a beaver with a surfer voice or perhaps a monster who has to carry his own eyeballs. This time I lay witness to a Cat and a Dog conjoined at the stomach devoid of tails or hind legs. What sounds like a bad science experiment might be full of cartoon love.

CatDog started out as a sneak peek cartoon before the Rugrats movie. In April of 1998, forty initial episodes were ordered. When it was all said and done, it would last half a dozen years and sixty eight episodes. It was not an overly strong cartoon but it would go on to accumulate a fairly quiet fan base and some minor nominations for an Annie as well as a Kid’s Choice Award. One might think with this mediocre run that the cast of voice actors was mediocre. That would be completely wrong.

There are some things in life I will never be able to relate to. Famous sports athlete, sorry missed out on that boat when I walked off the baseball team in high school. President of the United States, I need more than the votes of my wife and parents. But there are other things on a smaller scale I can’t relate to either. Like children. I will never how it is to have my own children. While I have certainly accepted this fact and I am okay with it, sometimes movies come along with themes that are foreign to me. Enter Beautiful Boy.

We open up to some home videos at the beach. A family can be seen in what would be their last vacation together before the son would eventually go off to college. We slowly pan in to Sam (played by Kyle Gallner) who is reading his essay to a very disinterested class. Dejected, Sam finishes and sits back down. Life is difficult at the new college and Sam is finding it hard to adapt.

"Now children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin..."

A good ghost story is actually pretty hard to pull off. Unlike a typical slasher or monster movie, ghost stories can't really depend on visual elements to carry the burden. Certainly, there have been those films where apparitions take on some pretty creepy forms, and that can go a long way. The Asian horror market has explored that world often enough. Still, some of the best ghost stories make their impact on what you can't really see. It's the tale and the telling that makes a film like The Others come to life. It's a film that hasn't really gotten the attention or credit it has deserved over the years. Perhaps with Lionsgate's new Blu-ray release of the 2001 film some of that can be corrected.