A pumped-up remake of the same-named 1984 vampire horror-comedy, “Fright Night” represents a well oiled machine of goosed senses that unfortunately has no clearly defined motivating purposes, even within genre confines of its own story. Fun and engaging performances carry the movie a great distance, but it eventually bogs down courtesy of loosely defined stakes (no pun intended) and poorly incentivized action. The story centers on Las Vegas high school senior Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin), who lives with his single mom real estate agent, Jane (Toni Collette), and has successfully pivoted away from his geeky past enough to bag a popular girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots). Things get turned upside down…

Title: Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Director: Jose Padilha Starring: Wagner Moura, Irandhir Santos, Andre Ramiro, Pedro Van Held, Maria Ribiero, Sandro Rocha, Milhem Cortaz, Andre Mattos, Seu Jorge A sprawling tale of power, sleaze and ambition in the vein of “City of God,” ”The Departed,” “Infernal Affairs” and “The Wire,” writer-director Jose Padilha’s “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within” is a howling, labyrinthine lament against the brawn and fraudulent self-protection of entrenched institutions that could and perhaps should well find a welcome audience amongst #OccupyWallStreet cineastes. Brazil’s official Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film submission, the movie — which is set in Rio de Janeiro and unfolds at the intersection of drugs, crime and high-level governmental corruption —…

Title: Pulp Fiction Director: Quentin Tarantino Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Amanda Plummer, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Tim Roth, Maria de Medeiros and Christopher Walken. Running time: 154 minutes, Rated R, available on standard DVD Miramax and Lionsgate has released Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 Palme d’Or Award winning (also Oscar winner for best Screenplay and seven Oscar nominated) masterpiece Pulp Fiction on Blu-ray. A shuffled story line intertwining two hit men, a mob boss, the mob boss’s wife, a boxer, two diner robbers, a gold watch and a mysterious glowing briefcase – along with some other memorable side characters set to a…

Title: Jackie Brown Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Starring: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton and Robert De Niro Running time: 154 minutes, Rated R Jackie Brown is a small-time airline flight attendant who gets caught smuggling cash and coke for Ordell, a gun runner. The feds tell her to make a deal, but Jackie doesn’t want to risk going back to jail and having to start her life over, so she enlists the help of bail bondsman Max Cherry to do one final run in order to score half a million dollars. I feel a personal connection when I watch a Tarantino film. One reason…

Title: The Entitled Directed by: Aaron Woodley Starring: Kevin Zegers, Ray Liotta and Victor Garber Running time: 91 minutes, Rated R, available on standard DVD Struggling college student Paul Dynan is working a dead-end job while trying to help support his family, when times just keep getting harder. When he’s out of options, he devises a plan with the help of two friends to extort $3 million out of the parents of the more privileged students who don’t take their education and futures as seriously. When the plan goes off track, Paul has to improvise while still staying in control. Every few years or so, a caper movie like this…

Back when he was busy being a figment of Russell Crowe’s imagination in “A Beautiful Mind,” no one likely would have much expected Paul Bettany to be an ass-kicking action hero. Of course, folks would have said the same thing about Liam Neeson too, and look how that turned out. While wrestlers-turned-actors like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other muscle-bound he-men in the vein of Jason Momoa still fit the mold for a certain breed of action flick, there are other movies that don’t require the correlative “Men’s Fitness” magazine cover, per se, and in the slick streamlined “Priest” — a sort of vampiric re-telling of the classic Western “The…

Title: Born To Ride Directed by: James Fargo Starring: Casper Van Dien, Patrick Muldoon, William Forsythe and Theresa Russell Running time: 90 minutes, Not Rated Mike and Alex are friends and motorcycle enthusiasts who decide to go on a road trip to Sturgis when they somehow get tangled in a plot involving political blackmail and corruption. After stopping to visit Mike’s mom and some fellow bikers, they are unknowingly slipped some evidence from the blackmailers that could possibly get them killed Casper Van Dien and Patrick Muldoon are back together again after 14 years since Starship Troopers. Their acting has shown improvement, but unfortunately they’re doing straight to DVD fare…

Title: Blu-ray Review: Original Sin Directed by: Michael Cristofer Starring: Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie, Jack Thompson and Thomas Jane Running time: 118 minutes, Unrated MGM has released the 2001 steamy thriller Original Sin onto Blu-ray. It is the story of a wealthy Cuban coffee merchant in the late 19th century that orders an American mail-order bride whom he had only communicated through letters and photographs, and when she arrives she is not the same person. She alleges she sent false photographs so he would not be captivated by only her beauty. Their early days as man and wife are passionate, however he soon discovers it was all just a ruse…

Title: Elephant White Directed by: Prachya Pinkaew Starring: Kevin Bacon, Djimon Hounsou and Jirantanin Pitakporntrakul Running Time: 90 minutes, Rated R, Available on Blu-Ray An assassin is hired to kill sex slave traders who murdered a girl in Thailand. Djimon Hounsou is Curtie Church, the assassin and Kevin Bacon is a sly arms dealer Jimmy the Brit. One of the most excruciating scenes besides watching Hounsou repeatedly shove a gigantic dirty rag into a Thai prostitute’s mouth as she’s going through heroin withdrawals is hearing Kevin Bacon’s version of a British accent. What the hell happened to Kevin Bacon? He used to be a bankable actor, but now he’s fallen…

Sci Fi Channel is teaming with Will Smith for “Unfinished Business”, a new crime procedural/drama about an ex-cop who starts seeing flashes of memories from the recently deceased, and then, compelled by them, begins helping lost and wronged souls take care of unfinished business. Sci Fi/Syfy plans to initially air “Business” as a 2-hour movie, that also will serve as a series pilot. It isbeing produced through Overbrook Entertainment, with Smith, James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz executive producing. Sally Robinson (“Iron Jawed Angels”) is writing the pilot, and Mikael Salomon (“Band of Brothers”) is attached to direct. Both Robinson and Salomon are also attached as executive producers. No release date…