Tom Selleck stars in this 1989 comedy, along with Paulina Porizkova. Selleck, who currently stars in the hit TV series Blue Bloods, has had a long career and became a pop culture icon in his long-running series Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988). Her Alibi shows off Selleck’s comedic abilities as well as his dramatic talent when he plays a bumbling writer of detective novels (ala Richard Castle) who gets involved in an international dilemma.

Phil Blackwood (Selleck) has writers block. If he doesn’t come up with a new story soon, his career as a novelist might be at an end. Then, while searching for a new story, he sees Nina (Porizkova) who is being charged with murder. Feeling she is innocent, he decides to be her alibi, telling the police that they are having an affair and she was with him at the time of the murder.

The alibi is enough to get Nina out of jail and she moves into Blackwood’s lush Connecticut house. Then little by little he starts to have doubts about Nina’s innocence. What if he was wrong? What if she actually is a murderer? Is he in danger?

When things start happening around his house, Blackwood gets jumpier and jumpier. There is definitely something Nina is not telling him. But even as he gets more nervous, he finds himself falling in love with this beautiful woman. As things start happening it gets funnier and funnier.

Nina is the muse that restarts his writing. Blackwood uses his experiences with her for his new novel. He bases himself as the model for his hero, however he changes his behavior to a suave, sophisticated, and able character instead of the awkward, clumsy man that he is.

This is definitely a movie filled with plenty of fun and a lot of humor, mainly from Selleck. He is definitely not the man he writes about in his detective novels, yet he does admit he uses himself as the basis for the character. Ha. They are as different as night and day. But even though women adore his fictional character, Blackwood is definitely more fun and entertaining. And who could resist Tom Selleck?

If you are in the mood for a fun and enjoyable film, Her Alibi fits the bill.

Her Alibi is part of the Warner Archive Collection and is available from their website www.wbshop.com. The movie is rated PG.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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Danielle Panabaker, Matt O’Leary, and George Finn star in Time Lapse, a sci-fi movie about three people who find a camera that takes pictures of their future. The three friends discover knowing what will happen in the future is both exciting and unsettling.

Callie (Panabaker) and her boyfriend Finn (O’Leary) share an apartment with their friend Jasper (Finn). Callie is an aspiring writer currently working as a waitress to pay the bills. Finn is an aspiring painter who is currently finding it difficult to concentrate on his canvases. And Jasper is a low life gambler with no scruples and lots of drugs.

When they discover a camera that takes Polaroid photos of their apartment they are concerned. Then they see the photos are of the future. They also find the creator of the camera dead in the storage room of the apartment complex. But instead of calling the police they decide to use the information about their future for personal gain.

The trio discovers that knowing what happens in the future can also tear apart their present. The tension and disturbing images of what is about to happen to them threatens Callie and Finn’s relationship. And Jasper’s arrogance raises the curiosity of his bookie.

The film is often confusing and viewers probably won’t find themselves invested in the characters, who are not appealing in any way. The premise, however, is interesting. What would you do if you knew what the day ahead held in store for you? Do you feel it is possible to change your destiny? That is what the trio must wrestle with every day when they see the image of what is about to occur.

The bonus features include deleted scenes and a look at how the story and film was created.

Time Lapse is not rated however it is not suitable for children due to an abundance of violence and drug use.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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The Last Unicorn is a beloved animated family fantasy film from 1982 with an A-list cast providing the voices. This Enchanted Edition includes a Blu-ray and a DVD as well as a Digital Download and some interesting bonus features. “When I wrote The Last Unicorn I had no idea that my story would someday have so many devoted fans,” said Peter S. Beagle, the author of the novel and subsequent screenplay. “The ‘Enchanted Edition’ is the best home video version of The Last Unicorn ever, and I am thrilled to share it with the world.”

When an inquisitive unicorn (Mia Farrow) hears that she is the last unicorn, she is confused. Then a fun little butterfly (Robert Klein) tells her the other unicorns were the victims of a mysterious Red Bull. So the unicorn sets out on a quest to find out once and for all what happened to the others of her kind and if they might still be alive. She leaves her forest – where it’s always spring – and is determined to discover what the reality is about the world’s unicorns.

Along the way she is captured by the evil owner of a carnival (Angela Lansbury) and is rescued by a bumbling magician named Schmendrick (Alan Arkin). The unicorn and the magician team up on the quest, and are soon joined by a woman named Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes). The trio learns the Red Bull works for the evil King Haggard (Christopher Lee). The king has gathered all the unicorns and held them captive in the ocean. To keep her safe from the Red Bull and the king, Schmendrick turns the unicorn into a human woman.

The trio finds the castle then takes up residency with the king and his son Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges). This mysterious young woman enamors the prince. And yes, they do fall in love.

The movie is filled with fantasy and magic. There is a talking skull (Rene Auberjonois), a magic clock, and plenty of imagination. The unicorn is sweet and innocent. At the end it comes down to a combination of magic from the unicorn and heroism from the prince.

The soundtrack is filled with original songs from America, a band that had many hit records in the 70s and 80s – “A Horse With No Name”, “Sister Golden Hair”, “Ventura Highway”, “I Need You”, “Lonely People”, “California Dreamin’”, “Tin Man”, and “You Can Do Magic” just to name a few. The title song is both haunting and beautiful.

A bonus feature describes the film as “pure magic.” Peter S. Beagle talks about how he came up with the story and how it evolved.

The Last Unicorn – The Enchanted Edition from Shout! Factory is rated G for all audiences.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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This 1966 film won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Scofield), Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Screenplay based on another medium (Robert Bolt), Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design. A Man for All Seasons stars Scofield as Sir Thomas More, a man of honor and deep passions.

The story pits Thomas More against Henry VIII (Robert Shaw). More was dedicated to the true meaning of the law and the rules of the Catholic Church. At the time Roman Catholicism was the church of the country. However, when the king wanted to divorce his wife Catherine to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn for the purposed of producing a male heir to the crown, More and his friend Henry clashed to the end.

This was the pivotal time in religious history in Britain. This was the time when Henry VIII decided that if he could not get what he wanted from the Roman church, that being a divorce from his wife and the declaration that his marriage was actually null and void, he would declare his own version of Catholocism. Therefore, the Church of England was founded with the king as the head of this new religion.
More, being a scholar and a devout Catholic, couldn’t bend to the new order. He was a man of honor and stood by his beliefs. This was a true man of conscience. He loved to read and learn new things, however he couldn’t bend to rewriting laws for personal gain, as the king had done.

The film is an interesting look at the times and the historic figures, and definitely will inspire admiration for More from all those who view it, however to gain the most out of the story I feel the viewers should have some previous knowledge of the men and the situation. While it is explained in the movie, a previous understanding of the situation would definitely help viewers enjoy the film better than not knowing anything about this actual historical event.

The new Twilight Time Edition includes an interesting documentary about Thomas More, in which viewers get a deeper understanding of the man who was an important figure in British history. More lived from 1478 – 1535. He was canonized in 1935 and in 2000 the Pope declared him the “Heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians.” This man who stood up for his beliefs, made a tremendous impact on history, and this film shows a small part of his life and the impact he made.

The new Twilight Time edition of A Man for All Seasons is an interesting look at this critical time in history and the people who made it so. The movie is rated G for all viewers.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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We’ve all thought about time travel. What if you could go back in time and do something differently? What would you do? Would you win the lottery? Would you go to that concert you missed? Would you change something about your relationship with someone? The high school students in Project Almanac do just that and more, but they discover any changes to the past have serious consequences on the present.

David (Jonny Weston), Quinn (Sam Lerner), and Adam (Allen Evangelista) have been friends since they were young. They are tech geeks and even in this age of high tech, they are definitely considered true “geeks” in their school. David’s sister Christina (Virginia Gardner) is getting bullied by some of the girls at school. And Jessie (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is one of the “hot” girls in the school. They find themselves in an interesting and monumental alliance when David discovers the plans for a time machine and along with his two best friends sets out to build it.

In the beginning David simply wants to make something that would impress the admissions and scholarship committees at MIT, but what happens is more than what he ever imagined.  With his sister documenting everything on video, David and the boys, along with Jessie who accidentally stumbles on their project, actually put the machine together and even improve the original plans. Instead of being able to go back in time for a short timespan, they tweak the technology and create the ability to go back over a decade.

The premise of the film is intriguing and will have viewers wondering what they would do if they could go back in time. But the changes to his current life have David obsessed with changing things in his past. He starts off as the most level- headed of the group, but ends up being lured by the power of time travel.

The beginning of the film is a bit slow and even lackluster but hang in there because it does improve. This is definitely something teens will enjoy. The film is meant to look like it was filmed as a documentary on the life of David and then the “jumps” with the machine, so it is something young techies will see as interesting.

The consequences of time travel are front and center in the movie as the team continues to change and tweak their pasts, which change their lives in the present. But what happens when their past selves and their present selves meet? This is the conundrum of time travel. And what about the ripple effect? If you change one thing from the past, several things in the present will be different.

It’s an interesting idea to think about. The film is offered in a single DVD with just the movie, and a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD Combo pack. The Blu-ray includes some deleted scenes and an alternate opening, as well as some alternate endings.

Project Almanac is rated PG-13 for some language and sexual content.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook