Like all New Yorkers, Edward Burns loves his corner of the world. Unlike most New Yorkers, however, Burns gets to share his love of the Empire State with hundreds of thousands of people around the world. His first movie, The Brothers McMullen (1995), which launched his career as actor, writer and director, was shot in Long Island on a minimal budget. Lauded by critics everywhere for his resourceful commitment and lucid take on working-class Irish-American lives, Burns went on to play a number of handsome nice-guys in compelling movies such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Life or Something Like It (2002) and 27 Dresses (2008).

The filmmaker in Edward Burns, however, is still drawn to explore relationships from the other side of the lens. His latest movie, Newlyweds, will be released everywhere digitally on-demand December 26^th, making it the triple-aesthete’s tenth feature-length film. In all ten of his movies, New York is the extra in the background, wordlessly pulling the characters to each other or away from each other. Sometimes, New York’s multi-faceted landscape simply exists seemingly to enchant the audience without them even knowing it. Newlyweds continues Burns’ charming formula of mixing romance and milieu, except for three major details. This time around, and quite unlike most movies in general, its mode of narrative is the mockumentary, it is being distributed digitally on-demand, and it was shot on a $9,000 budget in eighteen days. Those three details alone are enough to get tongues wagging, and for independent filmmakers, at the very least, it’s enough to start asking some bigger-picture questions.

Opening in theaters on December 16th is a new documentary based on the life of legendary producer/director Roger Corman (The Wild Angels, Death Race 2000) called Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel. In addition to making over four-hundred movies as a producer and/or director, Corman is also responsible for introducing the world to some of the most influential actors and filmmakers of all-time. 

The documentary is directed by Alex Stapleton and features interviews with Academy Award-winners Robert De Niro (Raging Bull), Martin Scorsese (The Departed), Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), as well as William Shatner (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), Peter Fonda (Easy Rider), Bruce Dern (Black Sunday), Pam Grier (Jackie Brown), Joe Dante (Gremlins), Peter Bogdanovich (Paper Moon), the late Irvin Kershner (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), the late George Hickenlooper (Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse), the late David Carradine (Kill Bill: Vol. 2), and three-time Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Terms of Endearment, As Good as it Gets). 

IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick recently had an opportunity to sit down with Hollywood legend Roger Corman, as well as documentary filmmaker Alex Stapleton to discuss the making of Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel. The two filmmakers talked about the process of making the documentary, Corman's impressive career and the people he has influenced, how Stapleton obtained interviews with the A-list talent that appears in the film, Jack Nicholson's emotional breakdown, how filmmaking has changed since Corman began; and the secret to his amazing longevity. 

The unknown and mysterious is, pretty much without exception, way scarier than the known and explicit.  This makes it somewhat odd that the trailers for so, so many thrillers and horror films rely on heaping helpings of exposition, would-be jump scares, and an excess of assaultive quick-cuts.  By comparison, the first teaser trailer for Red Lights is refreshingly simple and ominous.  It consists of a few title cards and one creeping shot crawling towards the back of Robert De Niro, then finishes with a clean, intriguing little surprise regarding his character. 

It's a simple trailer that creates an aura of mystery around De Niro as Simon Silver, a world-famous psychic who may be a fraud but also might just be the real deal, with his finger on some serious goings-on.  The film is written and directed by Rodrigo Cortes, the Spanish director who made an impressive debut last year with Buried, which took place almost exclusively in a simple box underground as Ryan Reynolds' character was, as the title suggests, buried alive.

With a clean efficiency and no-frill literalism, the title Killer Elite lets audiences know that the film in question will not be a staid costume drama, but a balls-out actioner in which people who excel at killing others pummel each other ceaselessly and fire many a gun.  Even sporting a title like that, though, the second trailer does not mince around, but gets right to the point as Jason Statham lines up his knuckles as an unparalleled ass-kicker and ex-special ops soldier who must come out of retirement to rescue his mentor, played by Robert DeNiro, from a evilly mustachioed Clive Owen.  Like the first trailer, this one is set to The Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane," which clarifies any confusion as to whether or not Statham will rock you like a hurricane. 

Go here to enter to win the Limitless experience of a lifetime in Sin City. All you have to do is submit your name and email address at the Limitless Facebook page and you will be entered to win a trip to Las Vegas to live the Limitless experience. How cool is that?

If you win, you will have your airfare covered and receive one night's accommodations at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

And while you're at it, if you've not seen Limitless, be sure to see it now on DVD, Blu-ray, and On Demand!

Did you enter to win the ultimate Limitless experience?

In the intelligent action-thriller Limitless, Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a misanthropic writer who lucks into a stash of NZT, a superdrug that unlocks the full potential of his mind and sets him on the road to untold wealth and power that is, well, limitless. 

Right now, your Blu-ray collection, no matter how vast and demonstrative of impeccable taste, is lacking something special, just like Eddie was.  Your collection obviously lacks Limitless, which will provide an NZT-style boost to your library that may not lead to riches and power, but will definitely provide hours of unique entertainment.

It took a few years, but with Killer Elite, British action machine Jason Statham finally has a new film with a more literal title than Death Race.  In the new film, Statham plays an ex-special operative who must bring his fists out of retirement when his mentor (Robert DeNiro) is kidnapped by an unsavory mustachioed villain, played by fellow British badass Clive Owen.  Open Road Films released the first trailer for the actioner, and based on the title, cast, and synopsis, you'd think it will bring the testosterone, but you surely didn't anticipate that it would include the Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and DeNiro confidently throwing down.

One of the most discussed events at the 64th Cannes Film Festival – aside from Lady Gaga performing on the Croisette, Woody Allen debuting a film everyone agrees it pretty damn good, and provocateur Lars von Trier making a bad joke or two – was last Monday's premiere of The Tree Of Life.  The film from venerated auteur Terrance Malick was intended to premiere at last year's fest, but Malick was busy fine-tuning his opus, which stars Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, and Sean Penn.  At the closing ceremony on Sunday, Malick's latest was awarded the festival's highest honor, despite less-than ecstatic reviews.

Right now, while you're inhaling a whole bag of Fritos and watching The Voice, movie stars, musicians, and all manner of wealthy, good looking people are living it up in the French Riviera, reveling in the cinematic possibilities of the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival.  Don't fret, though, because IAR will be offering a daily recap all the glamorous goings-on at Cannes, allowing you to experience the Cote d'Azur from the comfort and convenience of your own home.  On the opening day of the festival, Lady Gaga threw down as only Gaga can, Woody Allen premiered his new film Midnight in Paris to ecstatic reviews, and Bernardo Bertolucci is given a long overdue award.

Netflix's streaming Watch Instantly service is fast becoming America's favorite way to watch movies.  The library of available titles is so vast and mutable that you, the avid instant watcher, could no doubt use a guide as you navigate the streaming frontier.  Luckily for you, we'll be here every Tuesday to update you on the latest titles available for instant-watching, as well as bringing attention some gems and even some enjoyable calamities out there in the instantly watchable wilds.