It's the first November of 2009, which means it's time to pull that lever, touch that screen or figure out whatever newfangled contraption your district has provided: today is Election Day, so cast that vote!

I put that exclamation point in there not because I'm excited to vote in New York's mayoral election, but because Election Day gets me thinking about what a rich topic elections have been for cinema. Combining intrigue, corruption, passion and the odd sex scandal, politics in general and elections in particular have made for some big screen gems over the years. Here are my favs. Read more...

Call them "cult classics." "Guilty pleasures." "Comfort movies." We all have a mental rolodex of flicks that may not be terribly popular but, for one reason or another, they resonate in a very special way. Maybe you saw it at the right moment. Maybe you just see gold where everyone else sees feces. Whatever the case, these are the special favorites that you keep stashed away for sick days. Here are some of ours.

If I could redo my college thesis, I'd skip over the deformed-step-child-of-Hemingway creative writing project and undertake a comprehensive analysis of the time travel movie genre in Hollywood. In lieu of some assistance from a Flux Capacitor-equipped DeLorean or a George Carlin-provided phone booth, I think my only viable option is to devote my first Sick Day Stash to an underrated gem of the field: Jean-Claude Van Damme's bundle of schlocky goodness, "Timecop." Read more...

I report the following with a mixture of sadness and pleasure. After years of rumors and suspect IMDB updates, Jean-Claude Van Damme, hot off an honest to goodness fine piece of acting in "JCVD" (check it out if you want to watch the "Bloodsport" star cry and I mean a lot) just told me he's in for the third "Universal Soldier" movie. Er, or is that DVD?

"I don’t know if they want to make it a video release or theatrical," he said. Actually there are a lot of question marks, like is he really starring in the film or is this a glorified cameo? "I'm just going to do 10 days." Hmm, so what about Dolph Lundgren? He's back, right?!? "I told them, guys bring in Dolph! They said there’s no more value [to cast him]. I said, 'it will have value with me!'"

So much for that reunion. But there will be a familiar Van Damme collaborator joining the franchise on this go round. As has been rumored in the past "Timecop" director Peter Hyams will serve as director of photography for the film. In fact, that confirmation just happened. "Peter Hyams just yesterday called me to say he’s going to DP my film," Van Damme said excitedly. Read more...