In the 1982 drama Five Days One Summer, Sean Connery stars alongside newcomer Betsy Brantley in a haunting story of love. The story is like an onion, with many layers that come off as the film progresses.

Douglas Meredith (Connery) is a doctor and part owner of his family’s shipyard. He has preferred to leave that business to his family and focus on his medical practice. Kate (Brantley) has been overseeing aspects of the shipyard. The film shows their past in flashbacks and viewers see their relationship through the years. Having known each other all their lives, they have a special bond. Kate is young enough to be his daughter. But she isn’t. She is his niece.

Their incestuous love doesn’t keep them from being together and the two take a mountain climbing trip to the Swiss Alps, a location that provides plenty of splendid scenery for the film.

The issues between the couple are many. First of all, he is middle aged and she is quite young, but definitely mature. The fact that he is married deeply concerns Kate and causes her plenty of tears. When Douglas asks her if she is happy, she says at that moment she is very happy. But there are times when she is quite sad. He tells her he wishes he could do something about that, but he really cannot.

Away in the Alps they get some privacy and are able to enjoy being with each other. But the facts of their relationship and their love start to gnaw at Kate.

Douglas is a charming and caring man. He introduces Kate as his wife. He doesn’t want to cause her any more discomfort. They maintain the charade of being a married couple, and seem extremely happy. However when Kate gets reflective and her deep thoughts cause her anguish, the relationship is in for a rocky ride.

The film is a bit slow and until most of the layers are peeled away, viewers don’t get the full understanding of the characters, however fans of Connery will see him as the same, sexy, man they have come to know and enjoy watching on screen.

Five Days One Summer is part of the Warner Archive Collection. It’s rated PG.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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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My Fellow Americans is a fun film with two entertainment icons. Jack Lemmon and James Garner star as two former Presidents of the United States from opposing parties. They have always been enemies but find themselves in a situation where they must work together. What a novel idea – a democrat and a republican actually working together for the good of the country.

Republican Russell Kramer (Lemmon) won the presidency against democrat Matt Douglas. Four years later Douglas ousted Kramer. Then four years after that Kramer’s VP, William Haney (Dan Akroyd), ousted Douglas. Now it’s three years into Haney’s presidency and things are about to blow up – literally.

Haney is about to be exposed for an illegal payoff. He and his staff decide to deflect the situation and frame Kramer. But Kramer and Douglas know this isn’t right. Soon they are on a trek for the truth and find themselves in the crosshairs of a rogue NSA agent who wants them killed.

The two men decide to work together to stay alive and also find evidence linking Haney to the crime and exonerating Kramer. They travel by train, car (even though Kramer hasn’t driven himself in decades), and helicopter. All the while the NSA is on their trail.

The dialogue is amusing and the two characters are entertaining as they travel together for a common purpose but trade barbs every step of the way. It’s a fun story made even more so by Lemmon and Garner. The pairing of the two actors is golden.

A fun aspect of this film is the opening when viewers learn the campaign between Kramer and Douglas was the most vicious of any previous presidential campaign. This was made in 1996 so the filmmakers hadn’t yet experienced the presidential campaign of 2016!

The bonus feature on the DVD is a reel of bloopers. Jack Lemmon had a hard time keeping a straight face. He obviously enjoyed making this movie.

John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Lauren Bacall, Sela Ward, Esther Rolle, Conchata Ferrell, Everett McGill, and Bradley Whitford costar.

My Fellow Americans is definitely a fun film with continual laugh-out-loud scenes. It’s rated PG for salty language and innuendo and is part of the Warner Archive Collection.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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

Twilight Time has just released the first Blu-ray edition of the 1990 film The Russia House. Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer star in this screen adaptation of the John le Carre novel. Tom Stoppard wrote the screenplay.

Connery plays Barley, a British publisher with a love of Russia. He travels to Russia frequently on business and has an affinity for the Russian people. On one trip he meets a man named Dante (Klaus Maria Brandauer) who is intent on listening to Barley espouse ideas about countries, patriotism, and the new Détente between Russia and the west.

When Katya, (Pfeiffer), a Russian woman gives a manuscript to a friend of his to be delivered directly to him, it isn’t. Instead it is given to the intelligence community who read the notebooks, which are filled with information about the state of Russian warfare. Namely, they learn that Russia isn’t as advanced as they say they are.

But who wrote books and why was it sent to Barley? Barley is immediately picked up and brought in for questioning. He is then asked to help them determine the authenticity of the claims made in the notebooks. Reluctantly, he agrees to be a “spy” for them.

Upon returning to Russia he meets Katya and they form a bond. They actually form more than a simple bond. As time goes by they fall in love. This presents a difficult situation for Barley as he knows Katya is stuck in the middle between Dante, the scientist who betrayed his country, and the Russian government.

The Russia House is a slow-moving drama that is only elevated by the marvelous music by Jerry Goldsmith. Carre penned wonderful novels like “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,” “The Little Drummer Girl,” “The Tailor of Panama,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” and many more. The movie was shot on location and the outside scenes in Moscow, St. Petersburg (Leningrad), and Lisbon add greatly to the story. The crew was allowed unprecedented access to film around the cities and as they describe in the bonus feature, they often just went out on the streets to film since it was easier than setting up a shot with extras and cameras. They simply went out and acted while being surrounded by average Russians.

The movie is an interesting story of love, country, and espionage. It isn’t Carre’s best film adapted story, however Connery increases its enjoyment, and the scenery in Russia is a memorable aspect of the film.

The Russia House is rated R for language.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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

1880’s Kansas was a lawless region. Traded is a film set in that time and produced in the style of the old westerns, with plenty of blood and shoot-em-ups. Michael Pare stars in this gritty story of a man’s love for his family and determination to get revenge.

Clay Travis (Pare) is a former gunslinger with a checkered past. He is now a loving husband and father, and rancher. His family means everything to him, so when his 17-year-old daughter Lily (Brittany Elizabeth Williams) is abducted, he sets out to find her and bring her home.

This is a time when women were thought of as property and used as sex slaves for the raucous men who were living in the wild region. These underground sex rings were part of life in the towns. Lily was taken for this purpose however Clay learns she was “traded” to another man for a bell. Is your blood pressure rising yet? It should be. This story is a haunting one.

Clay continues to put the clues together in his hunt for his daughter. Along the way he meets a sensitive bartender (Kris Kristofferson) who tells him everyone has two wolves inside of them – a loving and forgiving one and an evil and revengeful one. The one that survives is the one that is fed.

Country Music Hall of Famer Trace Adkins plays the creepy man who traded Lily for a bell for his truck. Martin Kove and Tom Sizemore play some of the other lawless and uncaring men who cross paths with Clay.

This is truly a gritty western in the old Sergio Leone style. It’s interesting to see Pare in this role and he pulls of the character of a tough sharpshooter with a heart. He never flinches when he shoots someone, and he does shoot a lot of men. He is convincing as a father who will do anything to get his daughter back, which he just about does.

Kristofferson is downright loveable, if you can say that about a hard-nosed man with feelings, as he watches what unravels before him then finally takes a stand.

The bonus feature on the Blu-ray is a look at the cast and the making of the film. The actors discuss working with each other and especially working with icon Kristofferson. The filmmakers discuss the story and the location shoots. There are also two deleted scenes.

Traded is not rated however it is not for young viewers. It is bloody, gruesome at times, has plenty of unsuitable language, sex, a little nudity, and an adult theme.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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

His birth was a national event. From the moment he was conceived John F. Kennedy Jr. was a public figure. I Am JFK Jr. is an insightful look at the man who went through his entire life in the public eye having every move he made scrutinized in the press and always hunted by paparazzi and Kennedy-fans.

He was a man who knew he had a responsibility to his family, his country, and more importantly, to himself. Having been born into America’s most famous family and having the name of a beloved slain president was something that never left his mind. He knew he was expected to do something great. The country looked up to him. But JFK Jr. also knew he had a responsibility to be himself at the same time.

So, how did he manage to balance expectations with his inner drives and desires? Thanks to his mother, Jacqueline, he and his sister were given the tools and self-confidence they needed to live their lives as their own people as well as “Kennedys.”

This documentary includes clips from the life of John Kennedy Jr. as well as interviews with those who new him. College roommates, family friends, colleagues, and personal friends talk about his life and his interactions as well as his inner turmoil. He said being who he was wasn’t really a “burden,” but he did have a weight he lived with and always had to run the gauntlet of paparazzi and fans throughout his life, and after chosen People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” he had a personal persona as well as a public one to balance.

He didn’t follow many of his family members by going to Harvard. Instead he chose Brown. But he did bring his father’s presidential chair to his fraternity. He was indeed his father’s son, but also very much his mother’s son. Jacqueline was responsible for his upbringing and she protected him as much as possible.

This documentary is not a movie about the Kennedys. It is a film that is meant to educate viewers about the man who was considered “America’s Prince.” His loyalty to his friends, his closeness between his mother, sister, and himself, his interest in others are what made him who he was.

John Kennedy Jr. went into publishing, which was his father’s second choice for a profession. Would he have used that as a launching pad for politics? We’ll never know. But because of the in-depth interviews in this film, the public knows more about the man who touched the world as a three-year-old by his farewell to his father with one salute. Who was he? What was he like? What did he have to endure being John F. Kennedy Jr.? These are addressed in this film.

I Am JFK Jr. comes to Digital HD on August 2, 2016. The DVD will be released On August 12.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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