Theater 7

Review: Piranha 3D

2010-08-30T21:06:00.003-04:00

It is spring break, and Lake Victoria is filling up with booze soaked frat boys and bare breasted women. Little do they know that unfortunate seismic activity has opened a rift under the lake creating a pathway to a second subterranean lake. This second lake is teaming with a prehistoric breed of piranha that are overly aggressive and driven mad by their new found freedom. It is up to the sheriff, her deputies, and a brave geologist to save the day,

Piranha 3D has a better cast than actually necessary. As a big fan of Adam Scott thanks to the cult hit "Party Down," he proved to be a more than capable action protagonist along with Elizabeth Shue who performed equally well. With great character actors like Ving Rhames and Jerry O'Connell and likable hotties like Kelly Brook rounding out the cast, the absurd plot and tone safely lean on their shoulders. The cherry on top is Christopher Lloyd as a borderline mad scientist. And of course, Richard Dreyfuss in a familiar cameo is sure to tickle fans.

The movie knows is incredibly self-aware. It is full of graphic violence, gore, and nudity all of which is completely unnecessary and gratituous, but that is the fun in it. Never taking itself too seriously allows the film to succeed where similiar B-movie fare fail. It allows it too have personality and charm. It also has balls not afraid to kill off any characters making it feel genuinely like a "no one is safe" scenario.

I hate to be too nitpicky, but the movie is far from perfect even for a film that is as self-aware as this one. For one, you'd think being self-aware would let it lean on its gore and nudity more so than it did. The movie is never better than when there is complete mayhem on the screen. Its attempt at teenage dramedy and mom on a mission seem to cheapen the whole thing. It too quickly kills key cast members thus truncating the chaos rather than progress it further. Considering the 3D effects were made through the conversion process, the only thing it adds are dollars to the ticket price. The 3D is pretty sloppy, but at least there was more of an effort than usual to depict things directed towards the audience. I appreciate what they were trying to do, but the last few seconds were unsatisfactory.

It was not the most entertaining movie of the year, but it isn't the heaping pileof dogcrap that moviegoers have come to suspect from contemporary horror remakes.

6/10

Review: The Other Guys

2010-08-30T20:02:00.005-04:00

Mark Wahlberg is Terry Hoitz, an ill-tempered disgraced cop for shooting a beloved ballplayer. Will Ferrell is Allen Gamble, a mild-mannered transfer from forensic accounting. When not at each other's throats, the two are desperately clawing their way out of the shadow of the city's two hero cops. These two loser cops must put aside their differences to take on a high profile case involving shady business dealings and financial fraud.

I am not a fan of Will Ferrell. His zany voice pattern and overly animated body language has never been funny despite being accepted by the general audience. That said, I loved this movie. Ferrell is hilarious in his subtley playing straight man to Wahlberg's overly animated comedic lead. Ferrell should be more restrained more often. His poor man's Jim Carey impression has been spread even for the once very friendly general audience. Wahlberg deconstructs his tough guy image into a brilliant parody of it. Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson both have memorable turns. Steve Coogan plays dim witted to a "T." Eva Mendes chews some of the scenery, but she seems comfortable in her surroundings. Between this and Toy Story 3, Michael Keaton proves that he has not lost a step despite an unfortunate turn in his career. Keaton is in desperate need of a comeback.

Adam McKay surprises here with his very competent action-oriented direction. The Other Guys is one of his more coherent and straight-forward stories to date. With help from the keen performances, the movie rises above its use of buddy cop cliches. The interesting and topical master crime pushes the story in compelling and seemingly fresh directions. The most interesting scene of all involves the mismatched duo finally finding common ground and going out for a few drinks in a beautifully shot 360 stop-motion technique. When the credit roll, it may very well be the most terrifying cinematic experience this year, but it is not what you think.

Where the movie really fails is between the jokes where Ferrell and Wahlberg awkwardly stumble through the material despite already proving they can handle drama at least in the simplest form. These moments of weakness cause the movie to occasionally sag, but when the jokes and action hit, they leave an impression. A positive one.

The actors and director all perform well. The story wants to say something relevant, but cannot wade through its cliches and simplicity enough to make a lasting intellectual impression. Nevertheless, it is a funny and entertaining broad comedy.

7/10

Top 20 Favorite Directors

2010-08-24T21:19:00.006-04:00

20. Darren Aronofsky
Best Movie: The Wrestler

19. John Carpenter
Best Movie: The Thing

18. Jason Reitman
Best Movie: Up in the Air

17. Judd Apatow
Best Movie: 40 Year Old Virgin

16. Ridley Scott
Best Movie: Blade Runner

15. Jon Favreau
Best Movie: Iron Man

14. Guy Ritchie
Best Movie: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrells

13. Kevin Smith
Best Movie: Clerks 2

12. Danny Boyle
Best Movie: Sunshine

11. David Fincher
Best Movie: Fight Club

10. Stanley Kubrick
Best Movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey

9. Edgar Wright
Best Movie: Shaun of the Dead

8. Clint Eastwood
Best Movie: Unforgiven

7. Guillermo Del Toro
Best Movie: Pan's Labrynth

6. Terry Gilliam
Best Movie: The Fisher King

5. Christopher Nolan
Best Movie: Inception

4. The Coen Brothers
Best Movie: O Brother, Where Art Thou

3. Quentin Tarantino
Best Movie: Pulp Fiction

2. Martin Scorsese
Best Movie: Taxi Driver

1. Steven Spielberg
Best Movie: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Review: Centurion

2010-08-20T19:18:00.004-04:00

It is 117 A.D. and the impressive Roman army is struggling to contain the Picts, the Celtic inhabitants of the Scottish highlands. One centurion, Dias (Michael Fassbender) is captured during a raid on a Roman outpost. He is later saved by The Ninth Legion who are making their way through the highlands using a Pictish guide, Etain (Olga Kurylenko). Once they are deep enough, Etain makes her move. She and her tribe descend on the army and deplete their ranks with ease. The remaining soldiers must brave the winter Scottish landscape and the increasingly deceptive Picts with their ever-improving guerrilla tactics to make it home. If only they knew where home was?

Michael Fassbender has a steadfast resolve fitting the soldier archetype but adding a kindness behind his eyes necessary for a likable protagonist. He is balanced out by Dominic West's smug swagger regardless of its fleeting nature. Olga makes up for the loss of her tongue with a quiet ferocity. The soldiers had great chemistry. Like real brothers, these brothers-in-arms are blunt and rude, as is the story. The cold landscape is covered with mud and blood. The violence and gore constantly reminds you that a successful horror director is behind this period piece showing no mercy to the victims of battle. While Fassbender and his love interest, Imogen Poots, perform admirably as individuals, their "love at first sight" relationship never feels genuine.

The movie dares to ask the question "where is home?" Dominic West and his men feel most comfortable in war, but Fassbender doesn't. They all have the same bravery and nobility, but I felt Fassbender was always looking to lay roots. Despite being bullied by Picts, Poots never leaves her home on their land, while Etain fights her way out of Roman hands to get back with her people. For roaming soldiers, such a question could be very deep, but it is never fully explored.

The Centurion has a decent premise with a fascinating question to answer, but seems wasted on violence and hamfisted Hollywood romance. It is still an entertaining thriller with some really great looking visuals and consistently performing actors.

6/10

Review: Splice

2010-08-19T22:32:00.004-04:00

Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are young scientists working on synthesizing a special protein by genetically engineering a new species to produce it. During their studies and with their funds in jeopardy, they cross moral boundaries to add human DNA to the experiment. Soon, the new species beings to grow at an exponential rate. The older it gets, the more human it becomes eventually being named Dren. Soon, it becomes a surrogate child to the 2 scientists who are constantly questioning her existence.

Adrien Brody excels as his sometimes sarcastic, sometimes cynical scientist who begrudgingly crosses the moral boundaries and holds the weight of that decision around his neck even in his more joyful moments with Dren. Sarah Polley on the other hand confidently makes and lives with the decision. She makes the first connection with Dren where the mother-daughter relationship is very clear. As time goes on, Elsa becomes obsessive and over-protective, like a stage mom but for a freak of nature that they need to keep hidden. Her actions become cold and colder towards others to a strange point. It was either a bad performance or a genius direction. Either way, it was too distracting as your mind grapples between the two variables. As Dren gets older, the line between predatory mammal and feminine human becomes blurred. The three eventually become a Freudian nightmare as sexual tension becomes increasingly volatile.

The movie starts as a mind-boggling and interesting science fiction tale. The family unit felt very sincere and real, and the evolution of the Dren creature, while fantastical, was impressively realistic. It was a tragic story that tugged at a number of heartstrings. Its initial moral dilmena is compelling, and their constant struggle the dilmena causes is ambiguous enough to continue engaging. Unfortunately, the movie goes of the tracks in the third act. After the demented Cronenbergian twist between Clive and Dren, the story becomes a run of the mill monster flick. Dren loses her remaining humanity, and Clive and Elsa withdraw into faceless victims of any contemporary slasher film.

Splice had an interesting premise with the potential to be a great science fiction contribution to a genre that is overflowing with spandex-clad supermen, but it fails to tie up the loose ends in the same compelling manner that it started with.

5/10

Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

2010-08-19T19:31:00.006-04:00

Scott Pilgrim is an amateur bassist looking for love in the magical land of Canada, when he isn't hopping from rock club to rock club catching up on the latest indie underground music. After a particularly depressing break-up, Scott rebounds with a 17 year old, but soon meets the girl of his dreams literally. Ramona is a rollerblading punk chick who finds instant attraction with Scott, but in order for them to be together, Scott must first defeat her 7 evil exes. Scott, who is rather timid and meek under most circumstances, finds himself fighting for love in a world that is reacting in a very video game like manner.

Michael Cera started out as a promising upstart comedic actor, but he has been circling the drain with a series of way too similar roles. While Scott Pilgrim was not conceived as a "Cera-esque" character, I feel he was forced into the mold. The cast is comprised of very competent individuals, but the script provides far too much melodrama to connect, except for Ramona. Ramona not just literally but also figuratively skates through the picture never living up to the "she rocks" reputation that Scott's peers seem to credit her with. She has zero personality and makes almost no emotional progression despite the fact that it is her skeletons in the closet that are attacking, not Scott's. While each scene has an endearing sense of chaos, the scene to scene transition was sloppy severely hurting the pacing of the film. Edgar Wright's usual brand of subtle humor is substituted with in-your-face site gags and softball laughs. For his first attempt without the pinpoint delivery of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, I hoped he would do better.

Of course, there are bright spots. Michael Cera landed a few well-timed jokes. I appreciated the use of '90s retro style and garage band rock (somehow its indie rock nowadays), even if it is far too associated with hipsters (a subgroup I have very little tolerance for). The credit sequence felt very nostalgic with the likes of SLC Punk and Empire Records even though visually they have little in common, it was more about the energy and music they conveyed. The video game characteristics peppered through the film were a welcome addition to what could have been a very bland film without them. Unfortunately, it became distracting that every sound effect neeeded a visual counterpart. Two bright spots in the cast were Kieran Culkin and Johnny Simmons. Wallace and Young Neil have just the right amount of deadpan and goofiness respectively to break up the underwhelming line reading.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World is an ambitious attempt at mixing geek chic mediums, but all the ingredients never blend together to make an appetizing cinematic experience.

4/10

Review: The Joneses

2010-08-19T18:42:00.004-04:00

The Joneses are a seemingly perfect family who have just moved into a suburban neighborhood. The only thing Steve (David Duchovny) loves other than his family is golf. Kate (Demi Moore) loves to host parties bringing the whole neighborhood in for a good time. Both their children, Jenn (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth), are instantly well liked by every clique in school. Behind their sparkling smiles and successful livelihood, is a deep secret about why they are there. SPOILER: They are salesmen implanted by a large corporation to show off the newest products to their wealthy neighbors so they too will purchase them.

David Duchovny is the ultimate everyman. He is instantly likeable in almost every role. This one is no different. There is a cold and a "manufactured" quality to the other three family members that Duchovny does not share. Usually, this would be a bad thing, but here, it is a calculated move empahsizing their true nature and Duchovny's rookie status. Their neighbor, played by Gary Cole, is the ultimate tragic suburban hero. He would do anything for his wife including continuing a facade of higher social standing than they can actually afford.While the family drives the story, Cole drives the drama.

The filmmakers did not bury the lead. The twist regarding the family's true nature is revealed very early on to the audience. Withholding the reveal could have added some interesting character interactions that would be darkly funny and maybe even disturbing, but ultimately could have dragged the movie immensely. Instead, the movie becomes about how these people relate to each other within the structure they have been implanted in.

There is something to be said about consumer culture in this movie. The philosophy that "he who dies with the most toys wins" comes under fire as Cole desperately tries to keep up with the ever changing possessions of The Joneses despite his struggling finances. It almost seems admirable to make such allegations in a country run by its capitalist economy. Any attempts at being interesting seems clouded by the obilgatory Hollywood love story the emerges between Steve and Kate. They were an honest attempt at depicting what really matters, but there chemistry never seemed to evolve beyond co-workers.

The Joneses is a decent made dramedy that tries to stay socially relevant, but it falls short on its message and unsatisfying conclusion.

6/10

Review: The Extra Man

2010-08-18T23:19:00.004-04:00

After being laid off from a cushy university position, aspiring writer, Louis (Paul Dano), moves to New York. He sublets a room from an eccentric failed playwright, Henry (Kevin Kline) who develops a mentor relationship with Louis. Henry teaches Louis how to be an "extra man." Henry hires himself out as a romantic company to rich old woman making sure that the seat order at swanky gathering remains boy-girl-boy etc (hence extra man). While under Henry's tutelage, Louis meets a number of other eccentric people including Henry's neighbor, Gershon, and an environmentally conscious co-worker, Mary.

Dano and Kline play both their characters like outcasts of a Fitzgerald novel. Their melodramatic voice patterns and 1920s vocabulary help create two of the most irritating characters put on film in a very long time. This does not help the audience relate to them in anyway. Kline's smugness and Dano's naivety come off as glaring personality flaws instead of charming personality quirks. They are both upstaged by John C Reily, who barely says a word and when he does it is high-pitched, and Katie Holmes, who awkwardly makes her way through each scene.

The fine line between quirk and eccentricity blurs forcing the comedy to sound overly smug and aggressive. This in turn pushes the simple indie story into preposterous territory. It is hard to believe even the most eccentric people act this way. They take "The Odd Couple" routine to new heights, but crash and burn on reentry. Even worse, Louis is saddled with a crossdressing subplot. His interest in lingerie is clear from the beginning, but as the story progresses it gets more and more involved. Considering his 1920s gentlemanly attitude, it comes off completely out of character and a cheap ploy to add edginess to a painfully boring film.

The Extra Man is like the guy at the party who is constantly cracking wise, but never realizes that he is not getting any laughs. He just continues to throw jokes out hoping one will catch while the rest of the party finds him increasingly annoying.

1/10

Review: Jonah Hex

2010-08-18T22:43:00.005-04:00

Jonah Hex is a former confederate soldier who has started a family and tried to live a peaceful life. Eventually, Quentin Turnball, a former commanding officer, catches up with him seeking vengeance for the death of his son, which Jonah inadvertently caused. Killing his family and scarring his face, Jonah is left for dead, but is helped by neighboring Native Americans. After his recuperation, he finds he now has supernatural abilities, which help him in his new craft, bounty hunting. The U.S. government now needs his help to stop Turnball and the doomsday machine that he is building.

Despite Jonah Hex's appearance in the comic Weird Western Tales, he is not actually known for his supernatural powers. Hex in the film is able to talk to the dead by touching them. Apparently, after they perish they, become omniscient towards the people they knew while alive. He also seems immortal. He sports a collection of gunshot wounds yet is still walking. Part of the appeal of Jonah Hex is similiar to Batman. He is just a normal guy with normal abilities. Armed with his six shooters and his ugly mug, Hex faces down insurmountable odds and comes out the otherside victorious. Granting him powers makes Hex bigger than the normal man. Whatever humanity could boil over his col, dark facade becomes completely untethered from the character when you realize he perpetually has one foot on the other side.

Josh Brolin is near perfect as Jonah Hex. His blunt cynicism matched with his gruff attitude make for an especially badasss cowboy archetype. He is surrounded by an impressive cast including John Malcovich, Michael Fassbender, and Lance Reddick. Fassbender is delightfully sadistic, but Malcovich plays it mostly straight leaving his villain with very little personality. Megan Fox plays the primary love interest. She does a little more than sleepwalk through the film relying on her looks, which she has done in the past. I thought she found a softness behind her cold prostitute's eyes. Michael Shannon is criminally underused given one scene where he just yells, and Will Arnett steps up in a dramatic role without chewing the scenery too much, like he is known to do in comedies.

Clocking in at 81 minutes, the run time is a welcome change to the 2.5 hour run time these summer comic book adaptations usually are. It is written as a short and sweet western actioner, and while there was plenty of potential for fun, the movie just falls flat. The amateur directing of Jimmy Haywood leaves the film with very little personality. Despite decent performances from Brolin and Fassbender, none of the actors seem to gain enough momentum to really sell their characters. At times, the film attempts to be surreal, depiciting Hex and Turnball fighting on red clay during their real-life encounters. While I appreciate the attempt, it does nothing to progress the characters or story in anyway. It is just an unnecassary set piece. The film also skirts the concept of steampunk, a form of science fiction set in Victorian England or Frontier America where the primary energy source, steam, is used to power advanced technology in context of the time period. The movie never takes full advantage of this concept. Turnball's doomsday device is only used once while being tested and remains mostly secretive for the rest of the film. I barely recall if it is ever truly revealed. This makes for some interesting visuals, but attracts far too much compariosn to the big time flop, Wild Wild West.

Brolin performs admirably, but this movie is bland and dull. It is almost as if it refuses to show you anything amazing, just teases you that something amazing could happen. It is too bad though. The western genre is dying, and could have used some vitality. Brolin was such a perfect fit for the role and Hex had such potential as a character, this film just feels like a waste

4/10

Review: Paper Man

2010-08-16T19:42:00.004-04:00

Richard (Jeff Daniels) is a struggling writer and husband. He rents a house in Long Island in order to be alone while he writes his new novel. Occasionally visited by his unhappy wife, Richard spends most of his time with his superhero imaginary friend, Captain Excellence (Ryan Reynolds), and a local with her own problems named Abby (Emma Stone). Both Richard and Abby learn to grow together while his imaginary friend holds on to the remaining dependency Richard feels for him.

Jeff Daniels is absolutely charming as the man child, Richard. He lives to make people laugh and entertain them with stories, even tragic ones. Writing is obviously his life, but he is plagued by obsessive compulsions. Emma Stone is equally charming and witty. Wise beyond her years, she makes easy friends with Richard. While their age might imply a certain level of creepiness, there time together never felt sexual or insincere. Besides a few moments of comic relief, Ryan Reynolds' Captain Excellent was not as big a bright spot as I had hoped. Well known for his sense of comedic timing and superhero attitude, Reynolds did not do much to distance himself from his role as Richard's moral compass. I guess it might be a little hard to expect depth out of an imaginary friend though.

The story is lighthearted and charming. It is a look at how people learn to grow, especially how we need others to help us grow, whether they be real or imaginary. Both Richard and Abby are in relationships lacking any kind of support. With Abby, a cheating scumbag boyfriend cripples her confidence, while Richard's nagging, cold wife seems to rip everything Richard finds fun out of his reach. Even worse, is that she seems to be very supportive of his floundering career making her initially empathetic. Two very different animals, but both contribute to the same problem. It forces them both to look to imaginary friends, Abby's being more mysterious than Richard's.

The pacing is slow but strong. Its tone is a bit all over the place though. The comedy is off balanced and never produces an impressive amount of laughs. The drama is not very compelling, but is fairly genuine, if not occasionally cheesy. The cinematography is very basic with a few well shot Captain Excellent gags.

Paper Man is far from a perfect film, but is an easily accessible coming of age story for any age. Despite its moments of tragedy, it still manages to be a happy movie overall, a welcome addition an age of depressing and tragic storytelling.

7/10

Review: Clash of the Titans

2010-08-16T19:20:00.004-04:00

Perseus is a demigod cast down from My Olympus. He was found and raised by a humble fishing family. As he got older, the world around him got spiteful and angry at the gods. They believed they were better without them so they began to blaspheme them. Zeus was unhappy, and under the misguided influence of his brother Hades, started a war with the humans. Forced to take arms, the strongest and bravest army go on a quest to stop the horrors of the underworld from wreaking havoc on Earth, and to retrieve the head of Medusa to stop Zeus' most powerful weapon, The Kraken. Upon finding Perseus, they forced the demigod to embrace his power and take arms with him.

Sam Worthington has found himself as one of the most sought after talents in Hollywood, if you can call it talent. Between Avatar and Terminator: Salvation, his work has not really been up to the expectations that the hype has implied. This was the last straw. Worthington further proves that his only impressive feat is wrinkling his brow and throwing a lot of energy into action scenes. His supporting cast does very little to help him. Even with Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Danny Huston playing the top gods, they hardly come off with any ounce of gravitas. The only person who comes close to offering anything more than bland dialogue delivery is Mads Mikkelson.

Fortunately, most of the special effects fantastic, 3D formatting not withstanding. The make-up effects on the Stygian Witches and Djinn were as like like as could be. I appreciate the attempt to even use prothestics, an ever dying art in Hollywood thanks to computers. Thankfully, Clash of the Titans makes good use of their CGI as well. Hades' flying minions and Perseus' pegasus looked almost seamless. The scorpions were also impressive enough, but the medusa was surprisingly awful. Compared with the rest of the mythological creatures, the medusa looked so plastic and lifelike, it couldn't possibly strike any kind of fear like the original version's reputation implies.

The story was bland and the performances were worse, so not even the greatest special effects could save this big budget blockbuster from being anything but an unneccesarily polished extravaganza.

5/10

10 Actors I Wish Were in The Expendables

2010-08-15T19:06:00.005-04:00

Considering The Expendables is a who's who of action tough guys, it is bound to get fans minds spinning about all the other action tough guys who could have been or should have been in the movie. Of course the likes of Jean Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Kurt Russel, and Wesley Snipes were offered roles, but nothing came of any of it. Here are 10 other actors I would have loved to see in the movie.

10. Olga Kurylenko
Pedigree: Casino Royale, Centurian, Hitman
Role: Token female ass-kicker

9. Michael Chiklis
Pedirgree: "The Shield"
Role: Competing merc field leader

8. Luke Goss
Pedigree: Tekken, Hellboy II, Blade 2
Role: Suave and sophisticated European baddie

7. Michael Biehn
Pedigree: Terminator, Aliens,. Tombstone
Role: Mr. Church's partner

6. Gerard Butler
Pedigree: Gamer, 300, RocknRolla
Role: Local flavor when the gang is in Europe

5. Kevin Durand
Pedigree: "Lost," Smokin Aces, Walking Tall
Role: Bad guy's sadistic hired muscle

4. Harrison Ford
Pedigree: Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Jack Ryan
Role: Authority figure who can reign down hell for Barney, Mauser, or Church.

3. Tom Hardy
Pedigree: RocknRolla, Bronsan, Inception
Role: Baby-face hot shot who is still wet behind the ears but very competent

2. Dwayne Johnson
Pedigree: The Rundown, Walking Tall, Faster
Role: Punch-drunk soldier turned boxer overly eager to help

1. Danny Trejo
Pedigree: Con Air, most Robert Rodriguez movies
Role: Mexican immigrant who helps hide the team

Review: The Expendables

2010-08-15T17:41:00.005-04:00

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) leads a charismatic bunch of mercenaries. This group includes Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Ross' second in command and expert knife thrower, and Yin Yang (Jet Li), a martial artist with a Napoleon complex. They all have varying skill-sets and personality quirks, but share one characteristic: balls of steel. They are hired by a mysterious "company man" to overthrow a South American dictator who has aligned himself with a rogue CIA agent. But there turns out to be more than money incolced with this mission. It might just be their shot at saving their collective souls.

The Expendables is the action movie to end all action movies. Stallone has gathered the coolest names in action, written them a kick-ass script, and continued to shoot the hell out of it. Right from the get-go, the movie promises to deliver on intense action relying on a number of different disciplines: martial arts, marksmanship, and demolition. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. It boats one of the best and thrilling climatic finales an action movie buff could ask for. With explosions setting off left and right, the one black mark on the entire film is the horrible computer rending of the still burning fire.

The cast is better than to be expected for an action movie. Stallone and Statham are front and center as the two main protagonists. They are both proven talents not just in the arena, but otuside of it as well using their screen presence to their advantage. This pushes Randy Couture and Terry Crews, one of the more charismatic stars, till the end shootout. David Zayas chews a bit of the scenery, but Eric Roberts lightens the mood with his smooth rogue agent. Giselle Itie was surprisingly well-done. The two best actors of the bunch are Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis, both of whom have very little screentime.

Rourke plays a handler for the gang. He obviously has experience in the field, but his confidence has been dragged through the mud. He gets a very compelling anecdote that poetically drives Barney's moral compass. Bruce Willis plays the mysterious "company man" who hires the boys. To finally see not just Stallone and Willis face off, but to add The Govenator as well, was a sight to see. The machismo filled pissing contest begins and never lets up. Like Deniro and Pacino in Heat and Walken and Hopper in Truce Romance, this face off will go down in the cinematic history books.

The Expendables is a rough and tough action extravaganza that plays to Stallone's creative strengths and the rest of the casts on-screen strengths. This movie knocks the teeth out of the modern action movie in the face, and hopefully sets a new standard. It is far from the perfect movie, but it takes pride in its flaws.

8/10

Review: Dinner for Schmucks

2010-08-14T23:56:00.004-04:00

Mild-mannered Tim (Paul Rudd) gets put up for a promotion, but there is a catch. Once a month, his boss and his associates host a dinner where they invite idiots and make fun of them. Against his own judgment, Tim participates in the dinner and invites his new friend, Barry (Steve Carrel). Barry turns out to be a bigger idiot than seems possible and threatens to indirectly end Tim's relationship with his girlfriend.

Paul Rudd has been on a hotstreak. He has been partnering up with the funniest actors and directors in the business. This time he finds himself reteaming with Steve Carrel, a very funny actor on the top of his game. Unfortunately, they both fall short. Rudd's character seems so much more mild-mannered in the beginning. His nice guy attitude seemed almost unbearable based on first impression, but as soon as Steve Carrel's character is introduced, like a flip of a coin, he becomes a jerk. Carrel's natural showmanship almost saved the entire production, but eventually his own idiocy becomes so out there that he loses much of his sincerity. Fellow morons Zach Galifinakis and Jermaine Clement both perform admirably, but neither are used to their full potential and fail to elevate the material. Other great actors like Bruce Greenwood and Ron Linvingston are also underused, and newcomer Lucy Punch successfully creates a very unlikable female antagonist.

The premise sounds great and had a lot of potential. It could have been a great stage for the like of Carrel and Galifinakis to shed restraints and really show off. Unfortunately in the end, the series of moronic site gags do not amount to much other than mildly humorous entertainment. The plot had very little to offer. The dinner did not start until the last half hour of the movie leaving Carell and Rudd to get into antics that barely moved the plot forward. Rounding off the story is the obligatory romantic story involving Tim and his disapproving artsy girlfriend. The actress, Stephanie Szostak, is very likeable, but Rudd's clumsy juggling of issues makes it very cliche and run of the mill.

Dinner for Schmucks is a very flawed film. It feels like safe, over-processed wares with no sight of edginess or originality to back up the more than capable performers.

4/10

Top 10 Sylvester Stallone Movies

2010-08-14T19:22:00.004-04:00

In honor of the action movie to end all action movies, The Expendables, I have put together this list of the best movies made by their fearless leader, Sylvester Stallone.

10. Demolition Man

At first look, this is a pretty vacant action/sci-fi flick. Wesley Snipes chews the scenery and at some points the new utopia is too happy go-lucky, but Stallone's charm and wit take center stage. Stallone actually sounds genuine between punching people in the face.

9. Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger is a genre favorite, but mostly due to John Lithgow's manic villain. Stallone's ability to keep up is probably one of his more impressive feats.

8. Tango and Cash

A very different character than we are used to seeing Stallone play. He is intelligent and sophisticated, but he brings the pain as much as he ever has. Pairing him with Kurt Russel's gruff slob make for a perfect partnership.

7. Daylight

Stallone is out of his element with this survival story. The plot gives him more puzzles to solve than bad guys to punch.

6. First Blood

Stallone's first time as John Rambo cements himself as an action great. His world-weary and war-torn ex-soldier runs through a psychological gauntlet when tracked by an ill-tempered sheriff.

5. Rocky IV

Easily one of the more memorable installments in the Rocky series. Stallone depicts the famous boxer softened by his fame and money as he goes up against one of his toughest opponents. Any movie where a punch drunk boxer can end the Cold War has my attention.

4. Rambo

The most recent installment in the First Blood series is also its most violent and bloody. A more relaxed, docile Rambo comes out of retirement to save a group of would-be missionaries. Between killings, Rambo pontificates on the meaning of life, courage, and nobility.

3. Rocky Balboa

The one two punch that is Rock Balboa/Rambo cements Stallone's career as a writer/director. His surprisingly poignant,simple stories are easily relatable. Stallone somehow finds the heart among the muscle.

2. Cop Land

Stallone has never been this good as a NYPD wash out turned small town sheriff who despite his hero complex usually keeps his head low. He's finaly had the last straw and crawls his way through corrupt cops to establish justice.

1. Rocky

The first of the Rocky series and quite possibly Stallone's most memorable role, Rocky is by far the greatest sports movie of all time.

Review: Inception

2010-08-14T18:08:00.006-04:00

Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the world's greatest extractor. He has the ability to enter, navigate, and manipulate people's dreams. He is also a fugitive from American justice, so when he is given the chance for a clean slate, he jumps at the opportunity. He is hired to perform "inception," the planting of an idea inside someone's dream so later they believe they came up with it themselves.

The movie boasts an all-star cast including Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marion Cottilard, Tom Hardy, and Ken Watanabe. Cillian Murphy's mark's character arc is the face of a movie. Essentially, the film works as a visual depiction for Murphy's emotional healing after the death of his father, although the audience knows there are interlopers pushing the plot forward. DiCaprio and Cottillard pull ahead from the pack. Their grief stricken relationship serves as the emotional backbone of this thriller that at times comes off very blunt and cold, as do many of the characters. Their development is not well defined, but their personalities and roles are instantly recognizable and relatable from the get-go.

What it lacks in impressive character structure, it more than makes up for in crafty story-telling and dazzling direction. Inception has the body of a big budget blockbuster getting all they can out of gunfire, explosions, and some very surreal moments of destruction and has the mind of an independent art-film as it descends through dreamscape levels depicting incredibly cerebral motifs. The ever changing gothic architecture is absolutely stunning. The surreal nature of the cityscapes keeps your eyes glued to the screen. These two very different genres are woven elegantly together making an intelligent neo-noir with the feeling of a heist flick, except they arn't stealing anything, they are planting something.

With any complex science fiction story, it is important to introduce the set of rules that dictate the premise. Nolan's seems like his will be very complicated, but the script does well to explain them in a clear and well-paced manner. Ellen Page's addition as the new member of the group allows DiCaprio to basically lecture her on the aspects of this dream-entering procedure. It is much more simple and concise than its confusing reputation implies. The last scene will have you scratching your head long after the credits are finished rolling.

Christopher Nolan has raised the bar for the rest of the year. His seamless crafting of cerebral intelligence and exciting visuals is what makes Nolan one of the finest directors working today. Inception has treat for both the eyes and the mind delivering something for everyone.

10/10

Review: Operation: Endgame

2010-08-09T22:01:00.004-04:00

Operation: Endgame takes place in a secret underground government facility where 2 competing groups of secret agents keep the balance of war and peace in the world in favor of the United States security. When their mutual boss is found dead in his office, the facility goes into lockdown and the 2 teams find themselves at each others' throats.

The acting is better than could be expected. Odette Yustman and Joe Anderson perform well as the protagonists for newcomers. Ving Rhames, Maggie Q, Adam Scott, and Zach Galifiankis add memorable moments, even Ellen Barkin who tends to chew the scenery performed well. Rob Cordry is the surprising performance here. As the has-been assassin who has turned to booze and self-doubt, he is funny and abrasive, yet sincere in his drunken stupor and oddly competent abilities. Unfortunately, some of these characters do not last long just as we get to know them. Given the cat and mouse game associated with the premise, it should be no surprise, but most of the actors leave you wanting more than you got.

The movie also dates itself as it takes place during President Barack Obama's inauguration. What some may pick up on as Obama worship, seems like more dissapoint in the last administration than high hopes for the next. It certainly never becomes preachy, but obviously attempts to take a stab at government secrets.

The film ends up being a mildly entertaining farce with a better than necessary cast, but I find it hard to believe that this will be remembered as anything other than a guilty pleasure with a few creative death scenes.

6/10

Review: The Killer Inside Me

2010-08-09T21:33:00.004-04:00

Casey Affleck plays Lou Ford, a West Texas deputy sheriff. He is an active member of the community even though he sometimes comes off as slow or boring. Under his unassuming facade, he harbors a dark secret. He has a killing tendency, and gets more than he bargains for when he kills a prostitute and a well-known member of the community.

The movie is already making controversey with its approach to violence. It is gritty and unapologetic. It refuses to turn away when most films would fade to black. I would not call it overly graphic, but the intensity of the violence is mostly directed at women and is bound to ruffle feathers. Of course, the killing is few and far between with a slow paced psychological thriller connecting the dots, but it never seems to drag.

Casey Affleck is amazing. His character, Lou Ford, is like a shark. He drifts through scenes seemingly docile but ever ready to attack that leaves you hanging from the edge of your seat. He is surrounded by some surprising performances. Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba reach up and claw there way out of romantic comedy hell. Matthew Maher, who is usually cast as a funny side character, shows off some decent drama chops.

The film itself is very low-scale. Ford is very unimaginative and soon runs out of places to hide and people to prey on and manipulate in a small town. While his cold, souless personality makes for a decent killer, he isn't fooling anyone on the other side of the coin. Also, it seems everyone already suspects Ford, but nothing ever comes from it offering very little in the form of character interaction or progression past a certain point.

The ending is entirely unsatisfying and casts a shadow on the rest of the production. Regardless of its flaws, the film is made to get the most out of its actors and does so with flying colors.

5/10

Review: Toy Story 3

2010-08-09T20:47:00.004-04:00

Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang are back again. This time Andy is all grown-up and ready to move to college. He has all but forgotten about his old toys. Desperate for attention, the toys find themselves donated to a day care where they find it hard adapting to new kids and new toys. Woody refuses to give up hope on Andy, but he cannot leave without his friends. The group go on a crazy adventure trying to find their old owner.

The voice cast slips back into place effortlessly. It is as if they never left. For a cast with such recognizable voices, they find a way to divorce themselves entirely from their previous iconic characters. Ned Beatty and Michael Keaton make for equally strong additions. Beatty slips between evil mastermind and cuddly buddy with such ease, and Keaton's low self-esteem Ken doll tries to put on a brave face comically. Whoopi Goldberg even swoops in low under the radar for a brief role. Blake Clark admirably steps in for the late Jim Varney as Slinky Dog. Its hard to tell a new person was even recast.

The plot is surprisingly intense. It is a testament to Pixar's storytelling talent that they can dig up such emotions with a simple family film. The movie never forgets the heart though either. The friendship between the toys keeps them likeable and their love and loyalty to Andy are still the major motivation progressing the plot and characters forward. Their simplicity of character reminds the audience of the simplicity of childhood and its fleeting and evolving nature is depicted by this new adventure. This added intensity and heart take precedent over the comedy.

The comedy is seriously lacking in comparison to the previous installments, but the story is so engrossing that it is almost never forgotten. Not to say it is nonexistant. Much of the laughs revolve around Buzz Lightyear. Buzz goes back to his routes believing himself to be a real spaceman and even has a short-lived Spanish alter ego. The day care working as a metaphor for a retirement home grants a number of sight gags, but the politics of the toys already there quickly directs the tone back into drama.

In the end, a new status quo is met. The memories will live on forever, and new memories will be forged. But you will never forget crying over the fate of a plastic cowboy. The closest cinema will ever get to a perfect film.

10/10

Review: The A-team

2010-08-09T20:05:00.003-04:00

Col. Hannibal Smith and his team of eccentric heroes specialize in off-the-wall and usually non-violent mission strategies. On a very covert mission involving money counterfeiting, they are framed for the death of a superior and the theft of the bill plates. After escaping prison, the four go on a mission to clear their good names and be rightfully reinstated as Army Rangers so they continue to feed their hero-complexes.

Liam Neeson was an odd choice for this kind of flick, but he performed as to be expected, as did Bradley Cooper who was as corny and funny as the original Face. Rampage Jackson left much to be desired. His Mr. T clone brought very little to the table, especially considering his UFC persona is very animated. He did very little to make the role of Baracus his own. Overall, it was Sharlto Copley who stole the show. He was sincerly competent, funny, and quick-witted while staying very crazy and unpredictable. Patrick Wilson and Brian Bloom did there best to keep up with the collective screen presence of the foursome, but only ever scratch the surface if at all. Jessica Biel is competent yet replaceable, but it is Gerald McRaney who rises to the likeability of protagonists.

The script is very funny, charming, and climatic, but constantly has its tongue securely in cheek. This allows for a very over the top and very playful tone, and a rather quick pace. It easily garners the title of "most entertaining summer flick." Even the flying tank scene seems reasonable within the context of the film.

Of course, sometimes its cheesiness is hard to swallow, but the cast does well in lightening the mood. By the climatic finish, the special effects take on a very cheap appearance, and Copley's Murdoch has a very diminsihed role effectively removing the strongest part of the film. This endangers the focus of the audience. The plot tries to be semi-intelligent, but it is onyl ever a vehicle to the next action sequence.

The A-Team has a pretty good cast with a lot of laughs. It never tries to be anything it is not, and with low expectations, it should surprise most viewers.

7/10

Review: Unthinkable

2010-08-09T19:37:00.003-04:00

A white American Muslim is arrested for threatening the country with three hidden nuclear weapons. Federal agents try to interrogate him, but eventually a black-ops specialist is brought in to torture and use any force necessary to find the locations of the explosives. No matter how much physical and emotional pain the suspect endures, it becomes clear that he is playing them as much as they are playing him.

This dialogue heavy picture allows for some really fantastic performances to make it on the screen. Carrie Anne Moss excels in her role, while Samuel L. Jackson leaves everything on the reel. His mysterious "shadow man" is hard to read. His actions are evil, but his intentions seem good. Stephen Root proves why he is such a great character actor, and Michael Sheen continues his reign as one of the most consistently performing actors working today. Sheen is equal parts empathetic and disgusting. He loses the audiences sympathy as quickly as he earns it with every turn.

The movie presents a number of questions and never gives clear-cut answer. It allows the audience to come to its own conclusion. Is torturing effective? Is it morally right? What if it is for the continuing safety of the country? Can you trust the information? Who is evil? The story presents these questions and than plays with the answers pulling at different heartstrings and social norms.

For a movie that is so ambiguous and is set almost entirely in one location, it draws you in and scares you to the core. I would not call it propaganda, but it will make you step back and reassess your values and the values of this country as this scenario is an obvious reflection of our society's current fears: a Muslim attack from within in an unnamed city that is all too recognizable.

9/10

Review: Iron Man 2

2010-08-09T19:04:00.001-04:00

Iron Man 2 follows the continuing exploits of millionaire industrialist, Tony Stark, and his superhero alter ego, Iron Man. After revealing his identity, Stark is plagued personal problems involving deteriorating health and legacy issues. Pressure form the government and the media force Stark down a dark alley, while jealous and powerful forces join together to take down Stark and rip-off the Iron Man technology.

Robert Downey Jr. is on top of his game. He is overflowing with charm keeping Stark likable and empathetic even in his darkest moments. Downey carries the weight of the entire movie from start to finish in a full on sprint. Unfortunately, his supporting cast was not as up to snuff as himself. Scarlett Johannsen and Sam Rockwell seemed replaceable, surprisingly so for two very memorable performers. Mickey Rourke's stoic Russian bad guy stiffles any ounce of cool Rourke could bring to the table. Paltrow was criminally underused after a really strong performance in the previous installment, and Cheadle's chemistry with Downey seemed forced and off except in the last scene. It wasn't as natural as it was with Terrance Howard.

The story was very weak as well. The action scenes were very anti-climatic. The endless supply of second-rate Iron Man's to throw in Stark's way become a nuisance. Rourke's Whiplash never proved to be a big enough threat, especially after he was delegated to "data monkey" in the middle of the movie. Stark's research and meditation on the past and his relationship with his father was interesting, but slowed the pacing to a crawl psuhing his relationship with his cohorts out of the picture entirely. In one of the biggest mistakes they could have made, they basically glossed over his alcoholic years, one of the more interesting and dramatic moments in Iron Man continuity, as a single moment of weakness.

In the end, Downey's on-screen charisma and Favreau's slick directing elevate a weak story to a decent one. Iron Man 2 plateau's the quality of the first installment, and leaves you still excited for what The Avengers and Iron Man 3 have to offer despite not being overly memorable on its own merits.

6/10

Review: The Losers

2010-04-25T21:29:00.004-04:00

The Losers is the story of an elite military outfit framed for the murder of a terrorist and the innocent children that were currently with him. After being presumed dead, the group meet up with Aisha, an unknown operative, who has special information on the man who framed them: Max. The group travel back to America to take down Max, a rogue CIA operative bent on starting a new World War.

It is pretty much your average PG-13 revenge flick. And as with most PG-13 revenge flicks, the protagonists are much more charismatic and likable than in their R-rated counterparts, where they are usually troubled and intense. Casting actors such as Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, and Columbus Short make this much easier. The actors naturally have that kind of appeal the filmmakers are looking for. Zoe Saldana, Oscar Jaenada and Idris Elba bring a much needed intensity and melodrama to help balance out the rest of the cast. Fortunately, the strength of one trio is not the weakness of the other. Morgan, Evans, and Short are not without their moments of intensity and melodrama, and vice versa. It is set to be one of the year's best ensemble with such great chemistry that everything clicks. They perform admirably in their attempt at elevating the material, but it was never meant to be incredibly ambitious.

The story itself is glitzy and energetic. Of course, they take full advantage of slo-mos and speed-ups burying itself under action cliches. It has just enough over-the-top action sequences to entertain, yet not so much to roll eyes, except for the antagonist's ultimate weapon which made me sigh out loud. Max, played by Jason Patric, is a take' em or leave' em kind of antagonist. He seems to be channeling Gary Oldman circa Leon, but just never gets it right. He is certainly a familiar espionage villain. He has a big picture outlook and is looking to do good by doing bad. The only problem is he never seems very concerned with the "good" part. Except for a throwaway line explaining his motivations, he seems far more driven by his own sociopathic nature.

The Losers is a literal comic come to life on screen. Energetic, thrilling, light-hearted, and a little bit cheesy. It is lacking in a number of areas specifically with its writing, but it is bound to entertain.

6/10

Review: Kick-Ass

2010-04-18T21:54:00.005-04:00

Kick-Ass is the story of Dave Lizewski, a mild-mannered highschool geek. His only escape from his mundane life are the stories he reads in his weekly comics. Eventually, Dave takes hold of his destiny and becomes one of the masked crime-fighters he admired for so long. Becoming Kick-Ass, he quickly gains much notoriety, but soon finds himself in way over his head. The film makes two promises: 1) to satirize the genre in a post-modern way and 2) to show what it would be like for real people to be superheroes. If fails at both.

The beginning scenes offer a lot in terms of satirizing the genre. It's self-reflective nature turns most of the contemporary elements on its head. Dave's evolution to hero is not driven by a specific traumatic event, but rather an unflinching desire to end suffering. It is an almost wholly unselfish act. In one scene where he is being mugged for the umpteenth time, he notices a by-stander ignoring the crime. He notes that anyone else would act the same way and that is a despicable thing. As the movie progresses it stops satirizing and begins spoofing by taking genre standards and making them outlandish and humorously juvenile.

The second promise, showing realistic heroes, is not an original premise. Watchmen. Unbreakable. The tv series "Heroes." Even Batman, all take a stab at it. It is a concept still yet to be fully realized in my opinion. At first, Kick-Ass is a very real superhero. He loses his first fight. In his second, he is beaten mercilessly, but he ends the fight tending to a wounded stranger and staring down three large muggers. It is an effectively dramatic scene. Unfortunately, with the introduction of Hit-Girl and Big Daddy, the film becomes a living cartoon throwing out all it original intentions and slowly fading into unjustifiable absurdity.

I'm not entirely sure what I expected. I hoped for a very Edgar Wright like movie that takes the genre very seriously, but can equally find the humor in it, rather a straight forward spoof. In the beginning, the intentions seem very clear. That direction was admirable and ambitious, but it only ever nears "good," settling on chasing its tail with genre cliches and overly zealous ridiculousness. For a realistic, post-modern look at superheroics, I would recommend Special or Defendor instead.

4/10

Review: The Crazies

2010-03-05T19:24:00.005-05:00

Based on a George Romero original, the inhabitants of Ogden Marsh are acting strangely. There lethargic nonsense soon evolves into violent insanity. Soon after, soldiers and other government employees show up to quarantine the town. The sheriff trying to rescue his wife from the soldiers uncovers a conspiracy revolving around a crashed plane. The plane was carrying a chemical weapon causing the symptoms, and they soon realize that the military is not going to let any of them survive.

Horror movie cliches are abound. It has all the elements of the average horror film, practically a text book example. The trailer promised a slow-moving but creepy pace, but the film has a much faster, action and gore motivated pace. It takes full advantage of "jump scares." The music bangs as something or someone quickly appears on the screen. It makes you jump (hence the name) out of your seat, but it leaves no lasting impression. No real sense of fear, just a fleeting startle.

The infected also showed very inconsistent symptoms. It all starts with a complete loss of inhibition. Anything and everything seems possible, and the infected's delusions drive them to desperate feats of violence. This is where it gets fuzzy. Some infected become zombie like leaving all aspects of their personality and memories behind. They become practically faceless, while others retain them. They reach back and dig up their darkest memories to justify their obviously unstable behavior. One character even goes as far to not show a single symptom until it is the most convenient. Even more absurd is that it happens after a "rule" is explained that basically proves that he should okay.

This is unfortunate because as I watched the original The Crazies, I thought that this movie would make a very good remake. Getting better acting and gore would have made the already impressive story great. Unfortunately, this lacks the social awareness of the original. Romero had the Kent State shooting on his mind where the Ohio National Guard opened fire on some student protesters. The analog worked perfectly, but nowadays, it is far too trendy to vilify the U.S. military. A serious opportunity has been missed considering that just 5 years ago there were accusations of National Guard abuse in the Louisiana Superdome during the Hurricane Katrina relief attempts. Keeping the film to a confined space would certainly accentuate claustrophobic paranoia from both the trigger happy military and the potentially sick.

The movie is not without its moments of tension. Most of the beginning and a certain carwash scene was notably well directed, and the acting was very good. Timothy Olyphant, Joe Anderson, and Radha Mitchell made for a great cast. They were easily relatable and likable. This allows the movie to succeed where so many modern horror movies fail, you are truly rooting for the protagonist. The audience has no iconic killer and entertaining death scenes to cheer for, nor are the characters vapid high school students focused solely on losing their virginity played by CW soapopera stars.

The caliber of the cast is not enough to rise this mediocre film and missed opportunity to greater heights. This is nothing more than a mildly entertaining horror film.

5/10

Review: Crazy Heart

2010-03-02T21:38:00.004-05:00

Bad Blake is a washed up alcoholic has-been musician doing small gigs for loyal fans between binges. At one such gig, he meets rock writer, Jean Craddock. The two start a long distance affair as Blake continues to tour struggling to get out of the shadow of his much more successful protegee. Blake, not getting any younger, learns the hard way about how difficult life can really be.

Just like The Wrestler mirrored Mickey Rourke's film career, Crazy Heart mirrors Jeff Bridges'. Jeff is a seasoned veteran. He has been in the spotlight for so long. He has inspired generations of actors, yet an Academy Award and big dollar paychecks have alluded him so far. Bridges is easily one of the most underappreciated talents in Hollywood. Now with this grand slam of a performance, his Oscar win seems within reach, and he is every bith worthy of the praise and recognition he garners for this role. Stirring emotions when numbed by alcohol is no easy task. The scene in the mall where Blake loses Jean's son is incredibly tense. The old codger limps around on his bad leg sweating profusely words spilling out the corner of his mouth.

Colin Farrel gets by on his own in this picture, but it is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who has performed so fantastically in the past, who just kind of falls short. She melds into the background so easily and becomes a piece of the set like a lamp or a chair. Her starry eyed rock writer quickly becomes a starry eyed rock groupie falling for all of Blake's corny tricks and ends up for a short period being apologetic of his faults until the last straw. This may seem more like a writing problem byt Gyllenhaal's inability to transcend them certainly halts any empathy from developing. But then again, it is not her show, its Blake's. Her eventual rejection of him is what sets him on the right path.

This is just a taste of the bigger problem. The story is flat, slow, and completely uninspired. Its elements are those that have been seen over and over again in these over the hump stories of redemption. It is usually unmemorable to do its minimalist approach. Often, it feels tenuous to go through so much turmoil with little balance in the opposing direction. Just stacking problems one on top of the other feels ingenuine. The progression is obvious and causes the viewer to check out with only Bridges to reel you back in.

The soundtrack is great. I am not usually one for country music, but this is not the twangy "She Thinks My Trailer's Sexy" country nor is it bubblegum pop with a southern accent. This is the Southern-inspired rock and roll a la Johnny Cash. Steeped in blues, where the musicians wear their emotions on their sleeve and believe in the unlimited power of love.

This is obviously a role handcrafted for Bridges and his inevitable Best Actor win. The role allows him a lot to do, but the plot is to thin for him to really get anywhere.

6/10

Top 20 Movies of 2009

2010-02-27T20:37:00.008-05:00

20. Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans
Nic Cage descent into addiction and his struggle to keep his mind straight is surprisingly engrossing with a top notch supporting cast. Director Werner Herzog puts a lot of style in behind the camera trying to craze the audience at the same time as Cage.

19. Where the Wild Things Are
Turning a six page children's book into a feature film is no easy task. Spike Jonz makes it look easy with this revealing look at a temper tantrum through a child's very vivid imagination.

18. World's Greatest Dad
Robin Williams' best role since Good Will Hunting. He plays a the father of a meddlesome, completely unlikable child. Directed by Bobcat Goldthwaite, this film is easily the biggest surprise of 2009.

17. Bronson
The movie that will shoot Tom Hardy to stardom. It is a crazy and manic movie and title character, but it is not without its gravitas and creativity. Truly an original work resembling the great gritty, mentally unstable anti-heroes of the 70s.

16. Brothers Bloom
The follow up to the very stylish highschool set neo-noir Brick, this adventure story follows 2 con man brothers as they trick an eccentric heiress out of her millions, but as usual life gets in the way. It is a fast-talking and witty style, but it is not without its heart.

15. Antichrist
Lars Von Tier's trippy, surreal journey through grief follows a couple on their therapuetic trip to a cabin after the loss of their child, but it all goes horribly wrong. Woman's manipulative husband and study material is unable to distract her from oncoming madness.

14. Sherlock Holmes
A new take on the fictional detective goes back to its gritty literature roots in Guy Ritchie's first installment to what is hopefully a long franchise. Downey Jr. cements his comeback status with this beautifully scored and set action/mystery.

13. Adventureland
Based on director Greg Mottola's real life summer job experience, a teen witty beyond his years finds himself in a love triangle with an equally witty young woman and his poser mentor, played ultimately charming by Ryan Reynolds.

12. Pontypool
A horror movie flying safely under the rader looks to rewrite the infected/zombie subgenre with this plague passed on through words taking place exclusively in a radio broadcasting booth. Verteran character actor Stephen McHattie is really memorable in his shock jock role.

11. Watchmen
The adaptation of Alan Moore's deconstruction on the comic medium takes few liberties yet keeps all the heart and meaning of the source material. Brilliantly casted and stylishly shot, it is great sister material to Moore's novel.

10. Star Trek
The revived science fiction franchise gets itself a new inspired cast and a sunglared direction by J.J. Abrams. It promises a long future.

9. (500) Days of Summer
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordan Levitt perform excellently and carry this inntriguing not-love story to the finish. The final moment is a little weak, but it is ultimately heart-warming even in its most depressing moments.

8. Zombieland
Following the succees of Shaun of the Dead, this new zombie comedy pits an unlikely group of survivors against the legion of undead that is currently owning the planet. A very charismatic cast with some decent action and gore do not amount to the greatness of Shaun.. but they come damn close.

7. The Boat that Rocked
aka Pirate Radio. A comedy about the romance between man and his music enlightens and inspires a deep passion for the art of songwriting with the best ensemble cast of the year.

6. District 9
A science fiction metaphor for apartheid throws an average joe office drone, a breakout role for Sharlto Copley, in the middle of a corporate conspiracy and Kafka-esque transformation. It pulls the curtain back on race relations and discrimation.

5. The Hangover
One of the best comedies in years, The Hangover follows 3 groomsmen on their search for the groom in Las Vegas after their wild night leaves them with no memory of the events. Breakout roles for Zach Galifinakis and Bradley Cooper, who both now have projects lined up around the block.

4. Up in the Air
A talkative movie about the interconnectedness of people rests safely on the shoulders of George Clooney and his ability to deliver dialog. Jason Reitman is proving to be one of the best young directors out there.

3. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino's ode to spaghetti westerns and WWII movies creates this oddball epic about a group of Jewish-American soldiers who reak havoc on the Nazi soldiers plaguing the land.

2. The Hurt Locker
One of the most tense movies this year, and possibly the decade. Like its subject matter, it is a slow burning fuse that could blow at any minute keeping the audience consistently at the edge of their seats. It does so not just through action and omenous music, but through real emotion from the soldiers. A truly unbiased Iraq War movie that focuses on the effects of war on the human condition.

1. Moon
Soon to be considered a science fiction classic, this film hits all the right beats. Sam Rockwell gives his greatest performance yet, and is easily the greatest performance of 2009.

Review: Shutter Island

2010-02-23T18:19:00.004-05:00

Set during the 1950s, US Marshall Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck, travel to the remote Shutter Island somewhere in Boston Harbor to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients from a hospital for the criminally insane. From the very instance Teddy sets foot on the island, the doctors running the institution seem out to get him. Little do they know that Teddy is more concerned with a rumored conspiracy and taking vengeance on an inmate who's crime caused a traumatic event in Teddy's past.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio seem to have found their niche, depicting a relatable and empathetic leading man who spirals into instability. It started with The Aviator, fine tuned in The Departed, and has come to fruition in Shutter Island. This is easily one of DiCaprio's finer roles. The level of distraught and stress he carries with him throughout the series of events adds so much more tension than any other element of the story.

Like a lot of movies now a days, there seems to be a growing use of great actors in small supporting roles who leave you wanting more: Patricia Clarkson, Ted Levine, Max Von Sydow, and Elias Koteas participate admirably. It is amazing to me the Jackie Earle Haley was not getting consistent work before Little Children, or that he has been tapped only to play wackos and perverts. He does more with his one scene than any of the other actors in the movie do.

The score is underwhelming. It resembles classic thriller music, hard hitting notes and lots of bass tones. Unfortunately, it seems shoe-horned into the film. It always seems out of place and ultimately distracting. It never synced up to the plot or provide any hits or beats. The theme in Jaws was a warning and built tension as it neared its completion accentuating the scare even though you knew it was coming. This does the opposite. There is no happy ending when the score ends. I also found that the score ends unexpectingly sometimes. I noticed the same thing in The Departed where the rock track list just seemed to end.

The plot ending has roots in the cliche and many suspected it from the very beginning. Yet somehow it still feels somewhat fresh. When it comes to these types of movies and these types of endings, it is usually in the details and how they fit together looking back over the film that makes or breaks how plot is received. I suspect that this film will be much better over a second viewing.

6/10 This may be one of DiCaprio's best, but it is not Scorsese's.

Review: A Serious Man

2010-02-22T21:46:00.004-05:00

Larry Gopnik, a lowly Jewish physics professor, is fighting to keep his life together. His children are picking up deviant behavior, including illegal drugs and stealing money from his wallet. They seem more interested on their material things than their family or religion. His wife is leaving him for a socially superior peer. One student is trying to bribe him for good grades while another sends hostile letters trying to sabotage his chances at tenure. All the while his socially-inept brother becomes a bigger and bigger burden as time goes on. Larry's attempts at counsel with three seperate rabbis has been unfruitful and his son's Bar Mitzvah is approaching.

The Coen Brothers are probably one of my favorite filmmakers. Their obsession with human suffering and mortality and the humor that lies within have been endlessly entertaining in their past work. It has never been more clear than in this film. It is obviously very personal evoking much of their own religious faith and tradition, but unfortunately esoteric. As universal as some of the themes are, a lack of knowledge in Jewish tradition certainly hinders some of the effect and makes it much less accessible thana general existential plot.

Of course, as a movie described as a comedy, it fails on a fundamental level: it isn't very funny. In fact, most times it drags and settles on an incredibly slow pace. Many of its attempts at humor come from repetetive actions. The running jokes are certainly overkill. The obnoxiously grim narrative causes a major disconnect from the cast and leaves very littel empathy. The acting si impressive enought to turn a few heads, but the unbalanced tone gives the characters nothing to hope for or laugh at thus making them all incredibly intolerable.

Yet ultimately, the ending is incredibly satisfying. The rarely seen but often spoke of rabbi makes an appearance. He spouts off words of wisdom ripped from a Jefferson Airplane song. Larry is left talking on the phone mid-conversation. Danny is left staring at an on-coming tornado. There is something profound here somewhere. More effectively than any element of the story, the audience is left with questions to ponder about the bigger picture than just way to specific problems of a single individual.

It is ahrd to imagine that any of this bodes well for the Coen's preconceptions when they depict so much ugliness during this rather bleak search for the meaning of life. For isntance, religion seems practically useless in the face of all these problems. One rabbi is too young to relate to Larry. The other spouts off an anecdote that he is well known for recycling in the face of any problem. The last, and most respected, rabbi makes no time for Larry, yet all he can give Danny is a lyric.

4/10. The Coen Brothers' regular themes and filmmaking techniques are abound, but their storytelling methods are inferior to their past attempts. They fail to keep interest going over the course of the film, but it seems obvious that this was more of a film for them than us.

Review: Legion

2010-02-20T17:59:00.003-05:00

God has lost faith in humanity. He has ordered his army of angels to exterminate us, but one of his most faithful, the Archangel, Michael, disagrees. He flees heaven, loses his wings and halo, and precedes to arm himself in order to protect a pregnant woman who's child could save humanity. Michael holds up in a rickety diner and garage run by cliche rednecks and visited by cliche out-of-towners, where said pregnant woman happens to work.

The movie has A-list effects working through a B-movie creative process. A lot of time and effort seems directed at the action and design. There's explosions, gunfire, and some pretty excellent gore. A small amount of survivors fight off an ever-growing horde of angel-possessed people zombie apocalypse -style. There is an intense one on one between Archangels Gabriel and Michael, Gabriel armed with some medieval mace/chainsaw thing that was kind of cool looking. The spectacle of the movie was very entertaining even if just in a cheeseball way, but it falls just short of being watchable B-movie fare.

The dialog during the downtime between action scenes is horrendous. The screenwriters show no real knack for natural speech. Everything sounds forced and wordy and worst of all, scripted. The likes of Dennis Quaid and Charles S. Dutton, who have proven themselves capable of compelling work, even Kate Walsh's time on television has proven she has some acting chops, fail miserably with the dialog. With zero expectations from Lucas Black and Adrianne Palicki who have never been impressive, there is very little to save the dramatic elements.

Of course there is Paul Bettany and Kevin Durand. Bettany brings in a very memorable role. On the action side, he proved to be an effective hero, something I was always skeptical about on his part. On the dramatic side, he was able to show a special type of earnestness derived from a being not capable of free will yet still disobeying a direct order from his master anyway. Durand on the other hand does a lot with what little screentime he has. His loyalty to God and eagerness to obey even when pitted against his brother evokes genuine emotion. His snarls and attacks read of anger and determination, but his eyes read of sadness and remorse.

Plot holes are abound. The true nature of the child is never revealed. Christ-Reborn? Anti-Christ? Something else altogether? It is an agonizing lack of information. For all its Christian theology, the concepts of God being omnipotent and omniscient seem completely lost. A group of untrained strangers fought off his army for an impressive amount of time when God could have snapped his fingers and sent them to nonexistence, and Michael's attempt to prove to God that not all humanity is selfish and evil and that they are still worth fighting for seems useless in the face of a being with all the answers. Then again if these plotholes were addressed than the movie would be much shorter.

There are strong attempts to make a guilty pleasure cult classic here, but no amount of gun-toting fallen angels could save the completely flat storyline. My own interest in Christian mythology kept me mildly interested to see it finish, but if you want to see a good movie about angels, see The Prophecy instead.

3/10

Review: Edge of Darkness

2010-02-20T17:09:00.005-05:00

Tom Kraven is a Boston Police detective and widower. Since his daughter graduated from college and found a decent job, he has not heard much from her. On the day she finally comes to visit, she seems to be ill, but before they can get to the hospital she is gunned down on his father's footsteps. As the investigation begins, all signs point to a disgruntled collar of Tom's, but he soon realizes that his daughter had become entwined in a conspiracy involving the company she has been interning for.

A remake of director Martin Campbell's British television mini-series of the same name, Campbell has imported the story across the pond to Massachusetts and has enlisted down-on-his-luck screen legend, Mel Gibson. Quite an obvious choice when one thinks about it. When it comes to righteous anger, no one does it better than old Mel. There is a ticking time bomb behind Mel's eyes that is truly frightening, yet he stays relatively calm throughout the whole investigation, a determination motivated by finding peace for his daughter, the only family he seemingly has left. Practically anyone can relate, the loss of a loved one, let alone a child, is instantly empathetic.

This quiet and waiting to explode variation of Mel Gibson is directly tied to another problem to the film. What was marketed as a fast paced action picture full of vengeance and payback was a whole lot slower, but effective, allowing a mystery to unfold to a conservative finale for an action flick. Mel Gibson was certainly not channelling Martin Riggs wholly, but digging deep to the silent depravity of Mad Max and well-directed melodrama of Tom Mullen (of Ransom) as well. With a script with a 50/50 shot at sounding cheesy, Mel delivers on some truly excellent lines.

Ray Winstone brings out a lot of the best in this movie. He is the exception to a lackluster supporting cast (one that even included Danny Huston). His character is a cliche, a spy used as a blunt instrument turned repentant when he faces his own mortality, yet Winstone's performance raises the bar and keeps it fresh. Like a predator, he seems poised to attack at any second keeping the audience at the edge of their seats. His mentoring ways and pearls of wisdom put Mel on this path, and Winstone's natural charm color him more of a sage than a puppet-master.

In the end, Edge of Darkness is not Mel Gibson's triumphant return, but it reminds us how great he has always been, personal issues aside. Campbell reiterates an effective thriller and mystery, but the comparisons to the original, namely being inferior to it, are inescapable.

7/10

Review: Smokin Aces 2: Assassins' Ball

2010-02-16T20:28:00.004-05:00

A prequel to the Joe Carnahan's original picture, Walter Weed is a senior analyst desk jockey at the FBI who becomes the target of a considerably large bounty. He is taken under protective custody headed by Agent Baker who is protecting him against a motley crew of lethal assassins, including a master of disguise, a femme fatale, and an extended Tremor family.

For a direct DVD sequel of a decent theatrical release, Smokin' Aces 2 is a surprisingly effective shoot'em up thriller. It is very reminiscent of its predecessor: A young FBI agent is assigned to protect the target of a high profile bounty that is targeted by the best and most violent assassins. Maybe to a fault. It could have struck out on its own a little more. Although the intention of the first one to be an analog of the Iraq War becomes much more clear in this installment. A series of mis- and disinformation results in a bloody and violent outcome. The clarity is helped by the Walter Weed character being an old-fashioned Conservative red-blooded American who's loyalty starts and stops with what is the best for his country no matter how misguided he might be.

Clayne Crawford does not have the same charisma and presence as Ryan Reynolds, but he is a solid leading man. Calm and clear-headed under pressure. Tommy Flanagan and Maury Sterling return to their respective roles. As a master of disguise more actors played Flanagan's role than he did, but Sterling is given considerably more to do. Adding the likes of Michael Parks and Autumn Reeser to the Tremor family, the latter of which gives an entertainingly manic performance, allows them to keep up with Pine's humor and Durand's intensity that made the family so memorable in the first flick. Vinnie Jones is added to the mix, and for an athelte turned actor, he easily charms the pants off any audience no matter how incredibly evil his character may be. Rounding out the cast is Tom Berenger, a seasoned veteran, as the marked man who gives a great performance as a paranoid man never at ease but with a big secret sitting in his back pocket.

The action looks funny at times. Circus midget cannonballs never look not cheesy, but for what I assumed would be a low budget DVD level flick, the spectacle looks better than one would expect. I question whether the expectations made it look better or if it actually was good. There is no lack of blood letting and bullet flying, so any action junkie should be at least content with the viewing experience.

If you liked the first Smokin' Aces, there is a good chance you would enjoy this one as well. Of course if you hated the first one do not even bother with the sequel. Ultimately, Aces 2 is entertaining enough for a night in.

6/10

Review: Youth in Revolt

2010-02-16T19:53:00.005-05:00

Nick Twisp is a teenager clever beyond his years and a hopeless romantic trying to live a normal teenage sex life implied by pop culture. When his mother's new boyfriend has to lay low, they take a trip to a lake where he meets and falls in love with an equally clever teenage girl. When his nice guy ways turn her off, he creates a Tyler Durden-esque alter ego in order to impress her.

It gets some credit for not wallowing in too many teen sex romp cliches. Its humor is powered mostly by quirk and wit than shock value and vulgarity. Yet, it only delivers a few genuine laughs. The embarassing moments get too embarassing resulting in pure awkwardness. The attempts at romance in the midst of sexual encounters seems forced and ingenuine. The plot is too episodic like watching a series of shorts in a row. A series of animated segues do the pacing no favors. With the back up of a great cast and successful original material, it is hard to imagine a movie would fail so badly.

Michael Cera needs a new role quick. Something that is not a quick-witted but soft spoken geeky nice guy. It is getting kind of tired. Not even his cliched bad guy alter ego could save him. He was completely unconvincing and ultimately annoying. Both Cera and co-stars seem too long-winded, speaking more important than they actually are. The pretentiousness is hard to stomach, and hinders many of the characters from being relatable. Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi, Zach Galifinakis, and Fred Willard make memorable turns, but all are extraordinaryly underused in favor of less funny leads. By the end of the feature, I felt very little for any of the characters. I had completely checked out of the film.

This is easily one of the least memorable films of all time.

1/10

Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

2010-02-16T19:19:00.004-05:00

Doctor Parnassus is the leader of a traveling theater troupe. He is in a constant struggle with the Devil, known as Mr. Nick. They are collecting souls, Nick tempting them with false desires while Parnassus uses the wonder of their own imagination. If Parnassus does not get more followers than Nick he loses his daughter to him when she turns 16. In desperation, the troupe turn to an amnesic man they saved from a noose who gets them into all sorts of trouble.

Terry Gilliam is probably one of my favorite directors, but his self-indulgent directing style drags this movie down considerably. Mr. Nick is overtly an analog for the Devil. This starts a constant search for religious analog throughout the film. You can definitely find some, that is the genius of Gilliam's multi-layered work, but it becomes a chore. It is distracting trying to figure who is the analog for God or Christ or whoever.

The character of Tony is very interesting, but the acting changes I think hurts whatever kind of evolution the character could have naturally. Heath Ledger's performance was decent, but it was never ground-breaking. It saddens me that this is his last performance. Johnny Depp excels easily channeling Ledger the most. Jude Law was kind of bland, certainly not memorable. Colin Farrell falls flat on his face flipping the character without an ounce of subtlety and ignoring all the charisma that made Ledger's enigmatic riffraff likeable in the first place.

Like all Gilliam's films, Imaginarium's strongest element is its visual flare. This time there is an obvious throwback to his animation days with Monty Python with it's exaggerated showmanship and surreal landscapes. His eccentric fashion and character depictions out-do his past attempts. Another really strong element is the way his story mirrors that of his own journey through the film industry. Gilliam is Parnassus, a wide-eyed film-maker with a great appreciation with imagination and expects the same from his audience, but he is constantly tempted by the studio system (Mr. Nick) which seduces the audience with more of the same safe elements they already know they love rather then venturing into new territory. This leads to Parnassus/Gilliam's fall and rebirth working outside the studio system. Prepare to see more from Gilliam in the future as he becomes comfortable in his position within the industry.

A visual testament to Gilliam's filmography and his truly imaginative mind, but Gilliam's over-indulgence gets the best of him.

5/10

Review: The Lovely Bones

2010-01-11T21:58:00.003-05:00

The Lovely Bones takes place in Everytown, USA, during the early '70s where the murder of young girl breaks a family apart and rocks a small town. Little do they know, their daughter is just beyond the ethereal plane, but not yet heaven, watching over them trying to guide them to her killer. Her killer being an unassuming neighbor with dark secrets and hidden past.

The Lovely Bones is a big heap of disappointment. What seemed like a poignant, other worldly thriller never could find its pacing or tone bouncing back and forth between genres. At one point, a murder mystery where a desperate father is trying to find clues that would lead him to the evil slayer who is so close. At another point, it is an introspective family drama where the pieces caused by this tragic loss are clumsily put back together. Last but not least, is the fantasy world just beyond reality where Suzie Salmon's (the victim) imagination comes to life. Separately, they are mildly effective in their intention, but together they are a poorly constructed final product undermining Peter Jackson's grand reputation.

The cast looks great. Young up and comer Saoirse Ronan showed promise elsewhere, but her she trips up on the narration. She never feels invested in the plot. This is especially problematic when the plot revolves around her character. Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon are proven professionals, but they never seem to find rythm here. Sarandon's goofy montage midway through the movie was a tension killer on the same scale of "Raindrops Falling on my Head" in Butch and Sundance. I find it ironic that I just assumed they would perform admirably, but it was Mark Wahlberg who performed past expectations considering he is more known for being loud and violent. As the emotionally bruised father, he adds a level of sympathy that no one else could. And then of course there is Stanley Tucci, as the sick, perverted killer. He excels in spades. His dark, calculating villain is one of the more fearsome villains in years. Like a shark in open water. Most of the time, you would never see him coming until it is too late. This is why when he makes his move on Suzie and the most important clue is found and seems neither cunning or calculating, undermining his character completely.

The ending is completely unsatisfying. It puts far too much faith in childhood crushes, and the epilogue involving the final fate of the killer, years later, seems tacky and unnecessary.

Wahlberg and Tucci perform awesomely, and the visuals are very striking, but the rest of the talent struggle to the end, and the plot and pacing never finds its balance.

4/10

Review: Up in the Air

2010-01-11T20:44:00.006-05:00

George Clooney plays a traveling business consultant hired to terminate employees for other companies and ready them for the path of job hunting. Clooney plays a relic, so to speak, fighting for his job against the ever evolving state of technology. Clooney decides to partner up with the young revolutionary, played by Anna Kendrick, taking her on a cross country trip to see how his job is done and teach her about the finer things about living on the road. Together they share life experiences and relationship advice.

George Clooney is an old-fashioned Hollywood player. He brings an incredible amount of charisma, grace, and machismo to the screen, and hits all his beats. If the movie was to rest solely on his shoulders it would be equally good. This is one of many roles Clooney was born to play. His profession has evolved to this point, a relic of the old ways being forced out by the corporate culture yet hangs on by a thread only to come out on top every time. He is a lovable jackass, but one that shows just the right amount of heart at the right time for us to never give up hope for him. He quietly evolves into something he never thought he'd be.

Luckily, Clooney does not have to go it alone. He has been surrounded by one of the better supporting casts this year. Anna Kendrick shows immense potential past her teeny bopper vampire flick. Vera Farmiga is completely relatable making her eventual resolution that much more surprising. Jason Bateman, Zach Galinfinakis, J. K. Simmons, and Sam Elliot make memorable turns. Maybe just because of their familiar faces, but none the less. Danny McBride really surprised me making a short but poignant cameo with the right amount of humor. More interesting is the inclusion of real life unemployed people given the opportunity to say whatever they wanted to say to those who fired them into the camera. Real emotions from real people.

The message is simple. The people we love and trust are a bigger part of our lives than we will ever realize. The value of human connectedness is not trivial. This is the film's greatest strength. Not the message itself, but how it depicts it. Never is there a lecture on the message, in fact, the lectures in the film seem to be for the total opposite. Clooney preaches the freedom of living on the road, meeting new people. He reminds me of Edward Norton at the beginning of Fight Club with his "single serving friends." But then there is the glaring realization written all over Clooney's face. An epiphany that lasts a second where Clooney stops talking and the message becomes so evidently clear. It lacks a lot of the pretentiousness that we have come to expect from Hollywood, due in part to what should be an unsatisfying ending feeling quite the opposite.

The movie is well-paced and light-hearted. It's silent moments are just as engrossing as its talking points. Clooney continues to prove that no one is quite as capable of carrying a screenplay as he is, yet the supporting cast and Reitman's keen eye keep up more than effectively. The setting and America's present economic climate will make this a film that defines the decade as a whole.

9/10

Review: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

2010-01-11T19:04:00.004-05:00

Nic Cage plays Terrance McDonagh, a bad cop working in a post-Katrina New Orleans. He does not start off so bad since he does jump into the dirty water flooding the precinct to save a nobody junkie from drowning in his holding cell. This brave act gives him a promotion, a medal, and a back problem that eventually leads to a pain killer addiction that starts a slippery slope into more drugs, sex, and violence. A real rock and roll lifestyle.

Wrongfully considered a remake of Abel Ferrar's own Bad Lieutenant, a gritty cult classic with an incredibly visceral performance from Harvey Keital, Nic Cage dials in an equally visceral performance, both depressingly honest and figuratively naked. Being known for no longer picking good movies or giving a good performance, Cage scratches at the surface of recovering from such a bad reputation. He performs admirably, his sulking, lurking strut and nihilistic attitude is pitch perfect for the content, yet there is a time in the movie where like a coin, he flips taking the edge and cheesiness up a few notches. His weird voice pattern and twitchy face become distractions, but it only lasts for a short time. Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer have similar reputations nowadays, but both deliver decent enough performances, even though they are used sparringly. Character actors Jennifer Coolidge, Brad Dourif, Michael Shannon, and Fairuza Balk come and go leaving surprisingly memorable turns leaving me wanting more from them.

The writing is a bit too tongue in cheek, and the cinematography takes daring risks that just do not pan out. The handheld camera shots hugged up to lizards added very little and left me scratching my head. The pacing was characteristically slow, but the content mixed with Cage's character make it seem appropriate. The ending was ultimately dissapointing. We got to watch a pre-junkie Cage begin his life of drug use twisting and turning his psyche to the point of inevitable disaster, yet the story just kind of fades away rather than the explosion that was promised.

Nic Cage gives an almost career saving performance that he can hopefully run with. The movie itself is not without its flaws, but it is a more than decent enough drug-fueled gritty crime yarn with a decent enough character piece.

6/10

Most Anticipated Movies of 2010

2010-01-05T23:20:00.007-05:00

20) Tron Legacy
The effects look pretty nifty and Jeff Bridges is friggin' awesome. The first was a cult classic and I have enjoyed most of these sequels of throwback flicks.

19) The Other Guys
I'm not sold on Cop Out. The trailer was a bit iffy. With this one Will Ferrel is supposedly playing a by the book, paperwork loving forensics officer so hopefully he'll be WAY more reserved and allow Wahlberg to play the big mouth this time. Opposite The Rock and Samuel L Jackson as the much better duo should be fun.

18) Green Zone
Matt Damon is channeling his best Bourne in this kick-ass looking politically infused espionage movie.

17) A-Team
Thought about The Losers, but I am looking forward to A-Team more. I like Joe Carnahan and the 4 guys are cast almost perfectly. The only thing that would make it better is if Terry Crewes was Baracus instead of Rampage Jackson.

16) Jonah Hex
DC comics pushing their lesser known characters for smaller budget features is a good idea. Brolin as Hex is even better. Add John Malkovich, Michael Shannon, and Michael Fessbender and it is even better. Not even Megan Fox could ruin my anticipation.

15) Predators
Racking up a decent cast, including the very underrated Walton Goggins of "The Shield" fame, Robert Rodriguez, king of junk food cinema, is producing.

14) Edge of Darkness
Mel Gibson shines again, and this time in a Boston based crime thriller (my favorite kind).

13) Cemetary Junction
Ricky Gervais is an excellent comedic talent and helming his first flick about "dudes hanging out" pretty much makes him a British Kevin Smith but even funnier.

12) Paul
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are like the new Laurel and Hardy. They have excellent chemistry and work off each other perfectly. Not these 2 geeks play the ultimate geeks who find an alien on their way to Comic-Con.

11) The Expendables
With so much testosterone on the screen, this movie is easily in the running as greatest guy movie ever. Mixing Sly and Dolph of the old days with Statham and Li have the new, this is bound to be one of the greatest '80s action movies not filmed in the '80s.

10) Robin Hood
Robin Hood is constantly trying to be revamped to be more realistic and more down to Earth. The combination of Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott is bound to make magic. Plus Kevin Durand is in it.

9) The Fighter
Taking place in my hometown, Lowell, MA, about the hometown hero of Mickey Ward, a small time boxer who is coached to the big time by his older half-brother who couldn't make it due to drug issues. One of Wahlberg's passion projects and featuring Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

8) Clash of the Titans
Remake of the stop-motion classic, it boy, Sam Worthington, gets another shot at proving himself since he is yet to prove to me that he is worth all the hype surrounding him.

7) Due Date
Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifinakis, and Jamie Foxx starring in Todd Philips follow up to the awesome The Hangover.

6) Toy Story 3
C'mon. Who isn't looking forward to this?

5) Black Swan
If Natalie Portman/Milla Kunis lesbian scene doesn't make you interested, how about Aronofsky supernatural thriller starring Portman and Kunis.

4) Tree of LIfe
Terrance Malick's delayed family drama starring Brad Pitt and narrated by Sean Penn.

3) Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese directing Leonardo DiCaprio in a Dennis Lehane adaptation. SOLD!

2) Iron Man 2
One of the greatest superhero flicks' sequel adding the awesome Mickey Rourke, the sexy Scarlet Johannsen, and the underrated Sam Rockwell.

1) Inception
Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight follow up that may in fact be one of the greatest, most original movies in a long time. Our at least since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Review: Sherlock Holmes

2010-01-02T16:36:00.004-05:00

The famous investigator, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr), and his trusty medic sidekick, Watson (Jude Law), have just completed an investigation involving Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) and his odd human sacrifice rituals. Blackwood some how survives his execution, but Holmes is already on the case since it crosses over with a missing person investigation, an investigation that a former flame, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), has hired him for. The myestery continues as Adler's hidden benefactor needs something from Lord Blackwood and even more so from Holmes

Many people believe that Sherlock Holmes, like Batman Begins and Casino Royale before it, is a dark modern reinterpretation of a character with a long cultural history. That is not totally true. In fact, what it really has in common with Batman Begins and Casino Royale, is that Sherlock Holmes returns to the source material and adapts the franchise in a much more suitable way relieving Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's eccentric character from his deerstalker hat and snooty British persona. Now, Holmes is an insufferable colleague and amateur bare-knuckle boxer. And it is thanks to Robert Downey Jr that Holmes is so likeable.

Downey Jr. does what Hugh Laurie (who plays House, another Holmes-inspired character) cannot. Downey Jr. is able to convey a small sense of likeability. This is helped by Jude Law, who's Watson is a fantastic sidekick. As opposed to Wilson, House's sidekick, Watson does not so much enable Holmes, but try to direct his insolence towards something productive. Their "bromance" drives the characters' development allowing for the best and worst in each of them to shine through, practically justifying Holmes jackassery. McAdams adds a sufficient enough love interest invoking Holmes own characterisitcs, but at a far less degree. Their relationship pushes the film forward in some ways, but their chemistry is lacking. Mark Strong pulls off a fantastic, enigmatic villain, devious enough to match wits with Holmes.

Director Guy Ritchie plays up the violence and wit a little more than people would expect, but the Holmes investigative reasoning and long-winded dialog that have come to define the character is never forgotten. Even the fight scenes involve Holmes quick thinking, planning every move and result of that blow before pulling off each in perfect sequence. This allows for a really well balanced pace set against a late 1900s England backdrop. This particular aesthetic works incredibly well with the action genre, and I hope they make good use of the time period in the future. Further accentuating the excitement and time period, is a truly amazing and original score sounding much like Irish drinking songs. It is one of the more memorable scores in some time.

Sherlock Holmes is a return to roots reimagining, if that makes sense, that is able to put all the greatest elements of the blockbuster; an intelligent adventure story with wit and thrills.

8/10

Casting Call: Spiderman Rogues

2009-12-28T23:04:00.003-05:00

With Spiderman 4 on the horizon, Sam Raimi will be looking for new villains to take on Spiderman. So far Black Cat and The Vulture have been rumored to be included in the script, while Raimi considers Morbius is favorite rogue. After shoehorning Venom, a character Raimi did not like, for the sake of whiny fanboys and scared studio-heads, allowing Raimi to use his own favorite or either of the other 2 contenders seems like a fair way to go.

Black Cat- Amber Heard
Amber Heard is quite the rising star. Her likability and charm oozed in Pineapple Express, and her bad girl ways were evident in The Informers. Not to far behind is leading roles in The Rum Diary, opposite Johnny Depp, and The Ward, John Carpenter's return to form effort. Pretty impressive.

The Vulture- David Strathairn
David has made a claim to fame playing annoyingly smarter-than-thou characters, a key characteristic I would say to The Vulture. Along with David's wiry frame, long face, and pointy nose, he is a head shaving away from looking just like Vulture.

Morbius- John Hensely
As a member of the "Nip/Tuck" cast, Hensely has had his fair share of shameless brooding storylines bookended by thoughtful reflection. Along with his already dark features against a pale complection and wiry frame make him an ideal actor for the vampire rogue.

Review: Give 'Em Hell Malone

2009-12-28T22:09:00.005-05:00

Malone (Thomas Jane) is a gunman, good humored and hard to kill. His newest assignment turned out to be a set-up leaving him with a cryptic secret, referred to as "the meaning of love." Now Malone is being gunned down by every gangster in the city for the information. He's trying to stay low, but the bullets keep flying. If he doesn't figure out the endgame, it could mean his own end.

Yea, I know that is kinda cheesy, but it is cheesy in a good way, just like this flick. Its cheesy, noirish dialog and Sin City-esque attitude is justified by Jane and his costars of Dick Tracy-like rogues; Ving Rhames, Doug Hutchinson, and Leand Orser. Jane is in his ultimate wheelhouse as a stoic narrator and likable antihero channelling his inner Bogart, while Hutchinson and Rhames play up their typecasts as crazy dude and badass bruiser respectively. Even Elsa Pataky, who pulls down the pool of talent considerably with her constant cringe-worthy delivery, cannot hurt what really works with the rest of the cast. Most surprising is mastermind, Gregory Harrison, an actor I was not originally familiar with, is also very good and never lost a step with Jane and company.

The plot takes a number of twist and turns, but never gets bogged down. For such a small budget flick with little distribution, the plot is sound and the action is great. It starts with a shootout and keeps a decent pace throughout. It relies on the old-fashioned squips and blood packs, visuals that are usually casualty to the computer age.

"The meaning of love" is eventually revealed, ruining what could have been a fantastic MacGuffin, but it opened doors to Malone's checkered past and possible future. While it promises installments to come, I doubt it can move on so low under the radar. An annoying aspect of so many films to stay open-ended no matter how impossible those installments may be.

Overall, ...Malone is a fun throwback thriller to the classics of the '40s with Jane in a really great role. A treat for the Tarantino fans of bloody, violent ubercool substance and style.

7/10

Review: The Messenger

2009-12-28T21:35:00.004-05:00

Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a recently injured soldier with 3 months left of active duty, is given a new assignment notifying the next of kin that their soldier relative has died. Learning the ropes from the boisterous Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), Will finds himself involved with a widow of a fallen "brother," played by Samantha Morton.

A slowing movie drama, the three actors are given plenty of time and material to show off their more than substantial abilities. Both Ben Foster and Samantha Morton glide through the story with weary eyes hiding a sickening anger that explodes in ill-timed tantrums throughout. Woody Harrelson balances Foster and Morton's timebomb mania with his own brand of in-your-face denial. A sometime alcoholic, by-the-book everyman just trying to get by. His own emotional scars lie much deeper and only come out when you least expect. The plot rests on the shoulder of their screen chemistry. This is fortunate for the Will-Tony relationship. Their camaraderie has well-paced growth, starting with generic banter over beers to bearing their souls to each other after an alcohol fueled night. They are easily the most relatable, but the fly-by-night romance between Will and Morton's character, Olivia, is awkward and clumsy. Will follows her like an obsessed stalker. Besides obviously being smitten, he also stares coldly at her to an almost scary degree. Will seems sexually aroused by Olivia's loss of hope and poor anger management.

Ultimately, the characters dramatic journey ends with them dealing with their emotional problems, no longer suppressing all the horrible things they are feeling, and show hope of living a happy life again. This is an extension of the script's meaning. Even though the war is overseas, seemingly a million miles away, its repercussions are still felt on the homeland. It is not only soldiers getting hurt reinforcing the "war is hell" mentality so many people already adhere too. Despite the negative viewpoint on war, the movie stays fairly neutral on the Iraq situation, much like The Hurt Locker. It recognizes its existence, but makes no arguments for or against it.

The Messenger is slow moving, but extremely emotional. The actors do a more than fine job. Ben Foster and Samantha Morton continue a stable career of fantastic performances, but Woody Harrelson has possibly found his best performance yet.

7/10

Why Are People Ignoring Moon?

2009-12-21T23:39:00.007-05:00

Moon is Duncan Jones' homage to the science fiction classic, Silent Running. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, a blue collar worker alone on the moon harvesting a new form of fuel called Helium-3. Sam is very close to concluding his contract when he gets into an accident. Sam wakes up later with no memory of the accident, but later finds another Sam amongst the rubble. Now the two separate Sams, with 3 years difference in age, try to piece together the mystery surrounding their meeting.

Duncan Jones' directorial debut is incredibly strong. He weaves a mysterious and desperate story about the dangers of technology and the amoral business practices that follow them, as well as heartfelt injections of the human spirit. In a time where "science fiction" elicits images of caped crusaders and aliens with laser beams, Moon returns to sci-fi's roots depicting scientific advancement and challenges as well as exploring the consequences of doing so. He captures a dynamic setting within the muted corridors of an empty space station surrounded by miles and miles of barren rocky terrain. The already well displayed isolation and depression is multiplied by the somber, haunting score. Plus Jones cast Sam Rockwell.

Sam Rockwell is without a doubt the most underappreciated acting talent in Hollywood today. With his turns as a comic relief spaceman in Galaxy Quest, a likeable killer in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, or a love-lost father and husband in Snow Angels, Rockwell has solidified himself as one of the finest actors of his generation. His character, Sam Bell, is just another fine performance in an already impressive resume. Rockwell has more screen presence and charisma to turn even the lowliest character into a likeable guy. Some of the work is already done for him as the material depicts Sam as an every man. As such Sam ventures through a number of emotions most of which is either anger or depression, all of which Rockwell invites the audience to feel the same way. Practically the only actor in the movie, the emotional weight rest assuredly on his shoulders. Rockwell also of course plays two variations of the same character who interact with each other. That alone is a difficult thing for actors to do, yet Rockwell performs admirably going above and beyond all expectations.

Moon has all the makings of a science fiction classic. Its eerie, depressing score paces the movie perfectly. New advance technology is in abundance, yet Sam Bell's blue collar sensibilities keep the story grounded and relatable. The evils of big business sneak around every corner. So why is the best movie of 2009, and the best sci-fi of the decade being snubbed this award season? Sam Rockwell at the very least deserves to be at the top of everyone's Best Actor lists.

Review: Where the Wild Things Are

2009-12-20T20:13:00.005-05:00

An imaginative little boy having a tough day, at least in his own opinion, travels to an island full of wondrous landscapes and creatures. He wows the creatures right off the bat and becomes their king. He spends most of the day leading them in fun activities, but all good things come to an end.

Everyone handles emotions in a different way especially children, who's imagination is never more active and grasp on the real world never less understood. After throwing a temper-tantrum, the little boy, Max, literally visiting his wild side where he finds ultimate freedom and independence. Max makes an immediate bond with Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini), a monster who has the most in common with Max. Inevitably, Carol throws a similar tantrum. He ruins everyone's good time, loses the respect of some, and scares Max. At this point Max is done with this kind of world and just wants to return home. Even though Carol had just fought with him, he is incredibly sad to see Max leave, as is Max, but he knows its best to move on. The story was originally written as a psychoanalytical look at a child's anger, and the movie never forgets it.

It delivers all the zaniness and child-like innocence the previews promised, yet it is effectively somber at the same time. It reminds us all that are inner child is always there trying to escape, and even though it is not always appropriate, its good to let him our every once in awhile. The cast is incredibly endearing. The voice cast is phenomenal, and Max Records shows a lot of promise. They do a great job balancing the humor and tragedy within the film, but it is Spike Jonze directorial eye for the surreal that really allows this film to really fly.

Where the Wild Things is a fantastic, surreal cinematic experience, but its heavy tone and slow pacing may ruin what little entertainment value many thought it would for children

7/10

Top 10 Books to Be Made Into Movies

2009-12-19T18:02:00.008-05:00

Nowadays when a book is being published, the rights to film it are sold off almost immediately. Some might think that this is a symbol of Hollywood's lack of ideas and creativity, but it is nothing new in the industry. Some of the greatest films are adapted from books or other forms of media. And there are still quite a bit out there that I would like to see.

10. Deadpool by Marvel comics
Synopsis: Deadpool is a mercenary who is diagnosed with cancer. This leads him to a secret government organization who experiments on him creating a mentally unstable, amnesiac, yet charismatic killing machine with a serious gift of gab. Deadpool wrestles with his more criminal tendencies and his longing for heroicism.
Why it should be made: Because the actor who is damn near perfect for the role (Ryan Reynolds) is super passionate about the project and is already meeting with studio bigwigs and screenwriters to get this off the ground. You may remember the character from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Reynolds' solo feature will be much different.
Director suggestion: Peter Berg. Peter has worked on black comedy in Very Bad Things, over the top, wire-fu action scenes in The Rundown, big budget special effects in Hancock and The Kingdom, and melodrama in Friday Night Lights. That and Berg's appearances of an actor in a number of Hollywood's more gritty crime pictures make him the perfect candidate to take on the merc with a mouth.

9. Beat The Reaper by Josh Bazell
Synopsis: A doctor is being tracked by some of New York's finest criminals and hitmen, including the Grim Reaper himself, because he might be an infamous hitman himself hiding out thanks to Witness Protection,
Why it should be made: The wit is sharp and quick. The action is fast and exciting. It has "awesome" written all over it. Already optioned for a possible DiCaprio vehicle.
Director suggestion: In a perfect world, Quentin Tarantino who is the king of quick-witted dialog and stylish filmmaking, but Tarantino's lack of enthusiasm over projects not written by him and his habit of keeping 100 projects in the pipeline at a time, it would never happen

8. Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles
Synopsis: A graphic novel by Steve Niles, a number of households in a rural, Southern town keep secret their mutated first-borns only to have one of their own children grabs his brother and the others to stop them from being further harassed by their scared, bigot parents.
Why it should be made: Because it is a great tale that flips horror on its head. Some of the greatest genre pictures depict humanity's own fear and predjudices as the true evil.
Director suggestion: Frankl Darabont has a way with original horror. So far he has taken three Stephen King books and made them into extraordinary films. His grasp of human nature and Southern sensibilities in Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, coupled with his sense of pacing and scare-tactics of The Mist would make an ideal transition to film.

7. Earthbound by Richard Matheson
Synopsis: An erotic ghost story first published in the pages of Playboy, Richard Matheson sends a married couple, David and Ellen, to the beaches of Long Island to celebrate their honeymoon, 21 years after their wedding. Soon David meets a mysterious stranger Marianna and begins a torrid affair sending him deeper into obsession and desperation as Marianna literally sucks the life out of him.
Why it should get made: Because the independent film industry could use an erotic ghost story. Censorship is just pecking away at film as an artform and this kind of graphic and horroric kick to the butt is what the film community needs.
Director suggestion: David Lynch is a creative genius spawning mind-boggling visual romps through human sexuality. It is his off-beat style and Kubrick-esque storytelling that is necessary to make something like this work.

6. Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
Synopsis: Chuck Palahniuk's protagonist tells the story over the black box about how he came to be flying the plane on a suicide mission. His story is that of twin brothers, crazy cults, and a girl able to see the future.
Why it should be made: Palahniuk's storytelling is self-described as "lonely people looking for a way to reach out," an incredibly relatbale circumstance. His stories are also multi-layered challenging the audience to care for the protagonist considering they are almost never shown in the greatest light.
Director suggestion: Different from the lighter fare he has become famous for, Jason Reitman, director of Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and Up in the Air, could definitely takcle a more sadistic side of comedy with this story that while dark in context makes many attempts to stay lightly witty.

5. Dirk Gently series by Douglas Adams
Synopsis: Dirk Gently is a private detective, a holistic detective, taking on much different kinds of cases using much different kind of tactics. Commonly using wild guesses, Gently believes in the interconnectedness of all things, relying on some form of existentialism or new age philosophy to guide him to the solutions.
Why it should be made: Because it is really funny. Written by Douglas Adams, writer of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, Adams humor is usually mostly in the narrative, yet with the Gently series you are given a strange pudgy man to use as a vehicle, unlike Hitchhiker's ensemble.
Director suggestion: Edgar Wright is the new king of British observational humor and snappy dialog and even knows a pudgy actor known for his kooky but likable characters, Nick Frost.

4. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
Synopsis: Stephen King's 7-book epic, pits Roland, a traveling gunslinger in a mystical world, against the forces of evil as he searches for the Dark Tower, his white whale so to speak. He is eventually joined by people from Earth who help him on his journey as well as a number of King's characters from other books, including King himself.
Why it should be made: Because with Lord of the Rings over and Harry Potter nearing its end, studios are going to be looking for the next great epic saga that they can adapt and merchandise to the public. No better epic than a brand new one from a critically-acclaimed author. That and J.J. Abrams is already trying to make it happen.
Director suggestion: Besides Abrams, the Dark Tower series should change directors like they have been doing for Harry Potter. Each novel brings something new, it seems right that a fresh face be brought in each time as well.

3. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Synopsis: Neville is the last remaining human in the world. During the day he searches for food and supplies and hunts the vampiric beasts left behind by a super-plague that wiped out the rest of his race. It is a journey through isolation, depression, and fear.
Why it should be made: Because Hollywood is still yet to fully grasp the meaning behind the title. One of my favorite endings ever, and Hollywood does not think it is suitable for film. Just like Freaks of the Heartland, the story, in its own way, contemplates the nature of humanity and evil.
Director suggestion: Alex Proyas has captured dark, gothic settings better than most and has put truly fantastic sci-fi stories against them. Feelings of isolation, grief, and fear can be found in most of his work.

2. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Synopsis: An angel and a demon who live on Earth get world of the nearing armageddon and decide to try to stop it. Fortune tellers, witchhunters, other demons, and even the Antichrist get involved as these two try to save the world they have come to love.
Why it should be made: Because it is really funny. I have seen it descriped as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Underworld. A great example of quick witted British humor that does not forget the adventure and intrigue while they are at it.
Director suggestion: Terry Gilliam has tried (and failed) to get this made, and I see no one better for it. Gilliam would be able to get the visual cues, comedic timing, and the deeper meanings behind the story.

1. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Synopsis: Holden Caufiled travels to New York to drown his sorrows and get into other forms of mischief following his expulsion from a prepatory school in Philadelphia. The story is full of loneliness, interesting passerbys, and self-reflection.
Why it should be made: Because it probably won't ever. Author, J.D. Salinger, thinks that Hollywood would never do the story justice thus the rights are better used for his wife and kids to sell if they ever get money troubles after he is gone. This does not stop the story from being a seminal, burtally honest, coming of age story beloved by many, banned by others, and is most deserving of a film adaptation over anything else.
Director suggestion: Cameron Crowe is well known for his long dramedies about young people finding themselves in a melodramatic world with some of the best timed injections of comedy. There is absolutley no reason Crowe wouldn't make the best possible adaptation.

Hidden Gem: Wristcutters: A Love Story

2009-12-18T20:42:00.004-05:00

Wristcutters: A Love Story takes place in an afterlife similar to our own world except sadder where all the inhabitants have committed suicide . One such inhabitant is Zia, who slit his wrists after he got dumped by his girlfriend. After learning that she also offed herself, he sets off on a road trip to find her. He's joined by Eugene, a struggling rock star who killed himself over the integrity of his music, and Mikal, a former drug addict who died of an accidental overdose and believes she isn't supposed to be there. The trio go on a surreal adventure finding all sorts of people with interesting stories, many of which are making the best attempt at being happy in a world where it is literally impossible to smile.

This is one of the more original stories I have seen in a long time. The premise alone (an afterlife just for suicide victims) is more original than most films made in years. And with such a premise, the filmmakers had an open door to go down a cliche route explaining why suicide is not the answer, and dive deep into all the other existential discussions that would come from people who consciously remember dying, topics I find that have been done to death in other media. Instead, you find an endearing and quirky affirmation of life told through black comedy starring epressed and desperate people who have already given up on life yet have clung together to create a new society and satisfying "realities," a seemingly impossible feat.

The strongest aspect of this movie is its characters. Zia, Mikhal, Eugene, and even the mysterious Kneller, played by the even more mysterious Tom Waites, are incredibly relatable characters yet have enough zany to make them really stand out. The rest of the cast is a series of weirdos like a throat-singing mute and a wannabe messiah trying to kill himself......AGAIN! There are endless fairytale-like scenarios that play out making this seem more like a comically dark Wizard of Oz.

Wristcutters offers an enjoyable, funny tale of life after death in a way never seen before.

Casting Call: Hagar the Horrible

2009-12-15T23:03:00.002-05:00

Hagar the Horrible is a popular newspaper comic strip. It follows the misadventures of a Viking bent on pillaging and plundering English villages, as well as his dysfunctional sitcom home life with wife and kids. Never too far behind him is his even more clueless sidekick, Lucky Eddie.

Hagar the Horrible- Zach Galifianakis
Short, round, with a bright orange beard, the visual similarities are undeniable. Zach's energy level mixing equal parts endearing cluelessness and bad tempered personality make him a perfect fit.

Helga- Sarah Rue
Helga is the stereotypical overly-maternal type seen in every sitcom. Sarah Rue's ability to keep up with the comedic jabs but stay constantly reasonable make her the perfect "straight woman" to nag Galifianakis' unruly Hagar.

Lucky Eddie- Dax Shepard
Even more clueless than Hagar, as well as more cowardly, the usually wiry-framed yet equally clueless Dax Shepard could definitely play second banana to Zach.

4 Non-Actors Who Could Be Actors

2009-12-14T20:27:00.006-05:00

It is no secret that non-actors slip into movies all the time. Some have even proven to be more successful as actors and have since stayed with it (coughWill Smithcough). But even with a few success stories, when people hear that a non-actor will be appearing in a movie, it does not illicit confidence in the project. To be fair the track record leans towards the negative in the first place, but their are definitely a few non-actors out there who could have very successful film careers.

1. The Rapper
Eminem
Eminem is known mostly for being an incredibly successful yet controversial Caucasian rapper. While finding success, he has also gained a reputation of being egotistical and ill-mannered. Yet he showed some serious charisma and dramatic chops in his 2002 effort, 8 Mile, a film based on his own lift in Detroit. In Funny People, he was also able to lampoon himself, a trait that usually hints at a good sense of humor and humble self-awareness, characteristics not originally associated with Eminem.

2. The Wrestler
Chris Jericho
Wrestlers are always the most suspicious when it comes to film. The Rock could be called the most successful wrestler turned actor, but his talent in my opinion is limited to the light-hearted action-adventurers as seen in The Rundown and Walking Tall, but so far he has leaned on scene-chewing comedic timing and melodramatic acting. Chris Jericho seems to me to have the same kind of presence and charisma of The Rock that helped jumpstart his carreer.

3. The Rockstar
Dave Grohl
When the Foo Fighters agreed to do VH1's "Storytellers." the producers needed to make sure they knew that they needed to talk during their performance. The Foo Fighters' management laughed becuase Grohl has a big personality and is known for talking. A LOT! Grohl has that screen presence and charisma to enter a situation such as filming and knock it out of the park. His appearance in his videos and in Tenacious D's videoes depicts someone with a great sense of humor.

4. The Porn Star
Sasha Grey
Sure Sasha Grey is known for her adult film career, but surprse, surprise, she can actually act. Look no further than The Girlfriend Experience, a Stephen Soderbergh picture, one that is brutally honest portrayal of life. Grey is also a very big cinephile (get your mind out of the gutter, pervert, it means movie lover). She has a love of French film and trippy indie pictures. It means little as far as talent, but there is certainly some passion there.

Review: The Road

2009-12-14T19:48:00.003-05:00

Based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy of the same name, Viggo Mortensen plays a desperate father traveling across a barren wasteland that was once the United States trying to protect his child. All of nature is dying. The humans are the last living things. Desperate humans turning to cannibalism and violence stalk the streets. All hope seems gone, but Man and Boy, who's names we never learn, perservere.

The catsatrophe that ends the world is never explained, but the muted colors and decaying landscape leave little to the imagination. The world is literally falling to pieces. The landscapes are so striking, not due to characteristics, but rather the lack of them. Its hard to believe that it once was ever livable. It is by far the most impressive and fear-driven depiction of the end of the world that I have ever seen.

Mortenson and his son, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, shoulder all of the pathos, not an easy task, but the two perform beyond expectations. Mortensen is a seasoned veteran and there is nothing that surprising at how well he performs, but McPhee is still a rookie, yet he shows such incredible promise. The emotional and physical range necessary for the role is almost unseen in actors that young. Unfortunately the other cast members, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, and Garret Dillahunt are barely appear in it. Their roles could only be called cameos. Not that they didn't leave a lasting impression. Their characters showed the tragedy of the world up close and personal to the Man. Theron losing all hope, Duvall's broken down old man, and Dillahunt's desperate criminal paint an incredibly specific picture with little screentime they had. Guy Pearce was most underused. His character was a mystery, but I am not sure if that was the point. He seemed like he was meant to be a glimmer of hop, yet he still felt like an untrustworthy rogue. When it is revealed he had been following the two protagonists from the very beginning, it raises questions as to what his final goal was.

The Road's biggest obstacle is its tone. It is depressing and slow-moving, but not without reason. Everything about the tone goes to building the depression and dread that makes the movie great and makes the glimpses of humanity in the Man and Boy that much more special. But the runtime is pretty long for such a slow-moving picture. It can become very distracting.

The Road is an incredibly dark and depressing post-apocalyptic tale, a dystopia that seems all too realistic. It is a story full of love, hope, horror, and adventure. It is just too bad it feels too much like a chore to watch.

8/10

28 Days Later...and the Zombie Genre

2009-11-12T19:57:00.005-05:00

The zombie genre is probably one of the most beloved sub genres in all of cinema. It has spawned some real great pieces, like Night of the Living Dead and Shaun of the Dead, some cult classics, like The Evil Dead series and Re-Animated, and even one bona fide piece of cinematic history, the original Dawn of the Dead. For these very reasons, the internet folk talk about to no end. One such movie that always gets a mention is 28 Days Later... (and sometimes 28 Weeks Later...). And any mention of that will be met with numerous reader comments on how 28 Days Later... is not a zombie movie. But is it?

The biggest evidence against it would be that the plague ridden populace (known as The Infected) are NOT actually zombies. So let's try to define what a zombie is. A zombie is any human reanimated from death and devolved to a primitive state where there primary, if not only, motive is to consume. They lack emotion, personality, and pretty much any other characteristic of the deceased except echoes of memories of their former life that lead them to repeat normal actions albeit purposelessly. They also suffer from rigor mortis, stiffening of the body that happens after death. Thus the slow, shuffle in which pre-Zack Snyder zombies moved.

The Infected are otherwise very different. They are not emotionless. They are full of rage, like an amped up form of rabies. Since they are sick and not dead, they are not held back by rigor mortis. In fact, quite the opposite, they become fairly fast moving and never seem to get exhausted. They definitely have the same penchant to attack, but their is no clear cut implication that they are motivated by hunger.

You would think that the most important element to be considered a zombie movie is to have to include zombies, which the Infected certainly are not, but 28 Days Later... still has most of the same characteristics that have brought so many fans to the sub genre in the first place. In 28 Days Later, the events that ruined London already occurred and out hero, Jim, awakes in a hospital and wanders the streets of an empty, but severely damaged London. It is a frightening image, an empty city. The realization that everyone is gone, even in the early mornings can be pretty creepy. That is one of the biggest sources of fear between both kinda of flick, the fear that no one is there, that you are alone. And not just by yourself, ultimately alone, never to have human companionship again. Zombie movies are really the only ones to effectively depict such a fear. 28 Weeks Later is about the grand reopening of London, that is until they are overwhelmed by the last of the Infected. An uncontrollable enemy hiding behind the faces of neighbors and loved ones is yet another fear device that is used most effectively in zombie movies. How many heroes or victims have hesitated thinking they can talk their zombified friends into consciousness? Too many. In fact, I believe this to be the real defining characteristic of zombie movies. That the enemy is a disease, an enemy you cannot shoot or stab, until it has infected your loved ones and turn them against you.

You might want to say that vampires and werewolves are similar. And they sort of are. But the biggest difference is those two monsters are almost always portrayed with so much more human capabilities than the zombies or infected. The victims' personalities tend to fight the diseases' hard-wiring. Basically, my point is 28 Days Later.... and its sequel have a fundamental difference from the zombie sub genre, but they have so much more in common, is it really necessary to mention how it doesn't count every time it is brought up in a conversation of zombies? Not at all. It has more in common with the zombie movies than the Dawn of the Dead remake or Zombieland which pretty much ignored many of the important aspects of a zombie yet labeled them as such anyway. At least 28 whatever later was honest about what it was accomplishing.

Review: Men Who Stare at Goats

2009-11-10T22:53:00.005-05:00

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a down and out journalist. In order to prove his worth as not just a reporter but as a human being, he goes to the Middle East to try and report on some of the dealings going on to do with the current war. Instead, he finds Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who is an ex-member of secret military organization developing alternative methods of fighting war using superpowers and peace. The two journey into the desert reminiscening about the "good ole days" and the secret mission they currently find themselves on.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a quirky, nonsensical tale. George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges all perform as one would think. They effortless become these overly-quirky characters so very unlike their uber-cool characters they have known to play. It is part of what makes them great actors. In addition, a lot of the jokes were really superb characterized by great dialog and equally, if not better timing.

Unfortunately, it just does not click. The movie is a plot that never goes anywhere. A greatest hits montage of this movie would probably be one of the best, but at feature length it struggles to find meaning and pacing. While Clooney, Bridges, and Spacey perform admirably, they are definitely on comfortable ground, taking steps back from greater performances they have already achieved. While Ewan McGregor who has proven himself a number of times calls in his performance as possibly one of the blandest characters to ever be put to celluloid.

4/10. I laughed a few times, but it mostly felt like an amateur filmmaker trying desperately to be like the Coen brothers.

Top 10 Jim Carrey Performances

2009-11-10T18:38:00.008-05:00

Carrey's newest venture, A Christmas Carol, made with mo-cap connoisseur, Robert Zemeckis, is topping the box office. In it, Jim tackles 4 characters, Scrooge (at each age he appears) and each of the three ghosts. Now, it seems strange to hide his infamous elastic face behind 3-dimensional computer graphics, but everyone knows that there is a lot more to a single performance than that. Jim gets to show off his body language and voice inflection that are equally as good as his crazy face. In honor of Carrey's multiple performance new flick, I have comiled a list of his best performances yet.

10. Ace Ventura (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective)

Pretty much Carrey's first lead role, he plays a crazy but charming pet detective, a man who dedicated his life to helping people get their pets back. It is one of Carrey's more animated performances for sure.

9. The Cable Guy (The Cable Guy)

An enigmatic, clingy cable guy makes a new friend out of a recent client. He ends up driving his newfound pal crazy and then tries to ruin his life for not being his best friend. It is a seriously demented, but hysterical role. I don't think any of his roles balanced those two characteristics as well as this one.

8. Bruce Nolan (Bruce Almighty)

Bruce Nolan, aka Bruce Almighty, is a struggling news anchor, a modern average joe attempting greatness (in his own way), who is endowed with God's powers after smiting the Lord for not being fair to him. Just like the Cable Guy, this high-concept comedy has Carey balancing outright comedy with a little bit of dramatic acting near the end. The little seed of seriousness that made so many of my favorite comedies great is really well used here.

7. Fletcher Reede (Liar, Liar)

As Reede, Carrey played a lying lawyer who after too many times dissapointing his son loses his ability to lie from a birthday wish. If theres anything better than watching Carrey let loose, it is seeing Carrey let loose but attempting to hold back at the same time. Many times over the course of this movie, I definitely expected Carrey's beat red face to pop off his body.

6. Count Olaf (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)

Carrey brings to life a beloved literary villain. A lot like A Christmas Carol, Carrey gets to play multiple roles, expect this time they are alias' of the same man, a greedy relative knocking off other next of kin in order to get custody of some children and their late parent's fortune. One of the more charismatic rogues out there, Carrey's skills are put to the ultimate test letting a few wigs and prothetics become unrecognizable characters.

5. Andy Kaufman (Man on the Moon)

If there was any real person that Jim Carrey should play, with all his dramatic ability, schizophrenic comedic timing, and eleastic-faced presence, it is the ultimate alternative comic, Andy Kaufman. While The Truman Show is the first of his movies that wowed me as an actor, this was what wowed most people I think.

4. Truman Burbank (The Truman Show)

As Truman, Carrey plays a clueless member of a near-utopian society. A gated community somethere in the northeast (i think). What he really is in is a large soundstage in Hollywood where Truman is watched by cameras every waking minute and surrounded by actors posing as his friends and family. A truly nuanced performance by Carrey.

3. Charlie/Hank (Me, Myself, and Irene)

Another movie that puts Carrey's schizophrenic screen presence to good use, this time as two personalities in the same body fighting for control. Carrey effortlessly changes back and forth at the most inoppurtune times.

2. Lloyd Christmas (Dumb and Dumber)

As one of the two dumbest people on Earth, Jim Carrey definitely delivers his most memorable role. Not my persoanl favorite, and not his most successful as far as quality but definitely the funniest. He even took out his own chipped tooth from his childhood. Random, stupid observations have not been delivered with this kind of comedic timing since the Marx brothers.

1. Joel Barish (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is easily Carrey's greatest performance ever. Its more dramatic than Kaufman and more naunced than Truman. It lacks the comedic flare that most of his career would imply, but Carrey surprisingly holds his own against the very talented Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, and most talented of all Kate Winslet. This is definitely a movie to see.

Hollywood's "Genius" Marketing Campaign

2009-11-05T19:30:00.007-05:00

Hollywood is a fickle industry. Remakes and "safe" pictures flood the market, and originality is sparse. Even when it comes, Hollywood usually puts it in limited release or direct-to-DVD. The audience would probably see it if they could, if it wasn't such a chore to find an actual showing, or if Hollywood suits would happen to actually MARKET the damn things. When I tell people Moon was the best movie this summer, people just say "huh?"

The lengths of stupidity in Hollywood's marketing strategies will never cease to amaze me. Is it really all that better to make a movie look like something that it is not than to just show an excellent movie as it is? Take The Boat that Rocked for example.

The Boat that Rocked is about a motley crew of rock and roll DJs who play radio from a boat in the middle of ocean to the British mainland, where it is pretty much prohibited. The British government than tried to take precautions off the air, most of which prove to be futile. It is very funny with a really fantastic appreciation for classic rock. It also happens to star some of the funnier British actors today. Some spoilers may come up, but I think I give away anything that would ruin the watching experience.

:20 mark
One of the handfull of trailer voice guys says (and I paraphrase) One American DJ (aka The Count) decides to start Pirate Radio to bring rock across the pond. I don't think so. The Count (played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is in fact a replacement for a DJ that had quit from the original crew. Most of the implication is left thinking that Bill Nighy's character is the skipper of the whole endeavor. Also Hoffman is barely the star. The movie is in fact an ensemble. One of the best enesembles since the Ocean 11 movies. How can that not be marketable?

:25 mark
Twatt (played by Jack Davenport) is shown to call The Count the most famous DJ of all time. This is also not true. Twatt was in fact talking about Rhys Ifans' Gavin character, who is the DJ Hoffman's character was replacing.

:36 mark
Nighy than says they should have set sail years ago after the trailer voice implies that this is about their maiden voyage. What actually happens is that the boat is anchored at a specific spot and doesn't move until they were forced to by the government nearing the end of the movie.

And if that wasn't bad enough, they changed the very great title of The Boat that Rocked into Pirate Radio, a cheap generic name, undoubtedly including the term "Pirate" because of the financial success of Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Just lock at the font.

Very similar. Similar enough to suggest a strategy of banking on the success of one on the other.

Hollywood needs to stop chasing the creativity away from the medium. It is hard enough trying to see indie pictures on a regular basis, we do not need all the good movies to go that way. They need to learn how to read numbers. G. I. Joe might have made money, but it was also way more accessible than both Moon and The Hurt Locker.

Casting Call: Khan Noonien Singh

2009-11-03T19:06:00.006-05:00

J.J. Abrams, director of the newest incarnation of Star Trek, had this to say about the future of the franchise to MTV.com.

"Now that we are in a parallel existence with what fans of the original series love so much, we could introduce any number of characters, settings, references and situations that the original series introduced. Dealing with Khan would certainly be a challenge, but we had an equal challenge in finding our crew of the Enterprise."

For those who don't know, Khan is the antagonist of episode "Space Seed" and the very popular movie Star Trek: Wrath of Khan. Khan is one of many genetically engineered supermen gaining a lot of power during the Eugenics War until he was forced to flee Planet Earth is cryo-sleep aboard S.S. Botany Bay with a number of other supermen. Give me a minute to recuperate, that geekiness was astoundingly exhausting.

Anyways, considering the new Star Trek has set itself on an alternate timeline from the original series, they are free to revisit any of the originals former plot points in (fingers crossed) new and exciting ways. According to Abrams and pretty much common sense, Khan, one of the more popular and dramatic exploits of the Enterprise crew, is bound to show up. But who will play him?

Antonio Banderas

Banderas seems like a good idea. He certainly has the habit of melodrama, but still has the potential for great performances, just like Ricardo Montalbaun. Plus he could be thrown a bone. I cannot remember the last good movie he was in.

Javier Bardem

And than theres always the new go to guy villain after his incredibly frightening performance in No Country for Old Men. Bardem has definitely solidified his place in cinema history, only good things should come of it.

Of course, I think the truly best bet is to throw out all possible contenders. With the newest Star Trek, I think Abrams proved to be one of the better judges of talent out there.

Hidden Gem: Sublime

2009-11-02T22:09:00.002-05:00

Raw Feed, a direct-to-DVD genre branch of Warner Brothers, presents Sublime, a story centered around George Grieves, an average Joe family man, checking into a hospital for a routine operation. Complications ensue due to Grieves having a similar name to another patient, complications that send him into a never-ending nightmare of his greatest fears blurring the borders of reality. Beginning with the more probable complications, it slowly builds into much stranger realms.

Tom Cavanaugh plays George Grieves. Cavanaugh is known mostly for his comedic/dramedy work starring in a number of failed tv shows with small but loyal fanbases. He really gets to shine here as a voice of reason and skepticism during the entire flick, but maintains a sense of fear and paranoia. If the material was a little better quality than Cavanaugh could be looking at a performance to rival Sam Rockwell in Moon.

The story delivers serious spine-chills and creeps instead of the jump-out-of-your-seat spooks that modern horror fans have become accustomed too. The pacing is undeniably slow, but I feel it compliments the context of the story.

7/10

Review: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

2009-11-02T18:48:00.004-05:00

The brothers MacManus, Connor and Murphy, makes their way back to Boston after setting up camp in Ireland with their dad when they hear an old friend was executed in such a way that it looks like it was them. With the help of their dad and some familiar cops, along with newcomers, Eunice Bloom, Smeckler's protege, and Romeo, a Mexican Bostonian with his ear to the ground, the Saints set out for to clear their name and find justice.

As a fan of the first one, I had very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised though. I was almost positive it would go in the same direction as most action sequels go; amp up the cheese and over-the-top action and forget about the stories and characters. This is not what happened. Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus slip back into their roles with ease. The two have really great screen chemistry. I could easily buy them as brothers the way they can be joking and having a great time one minute and with the flip a coin be at each others throats. Billy Connelly is possibly in his greatest role as Il Duce. He truly goes above and beyond what the movies deserve being one the coolest badasses in cinema. It was really nice to see the cops have a much bigger role. They offer a lot of laughs especially, Bob Marley (no, not that Bob Marley), whose stand-up is very good as well. Even the bartender with Tourettes and the Irish arms dealer make appearances. The newcomers do not offer much though. Julie Benz's Southern cowgirl, Special Agent Eunice Bloom, lacks serious personality in comparison to Willem Dafoe's very memorable performance from the first one. Romeo, played by Clifton Collins, Jr., offers limited comic relief. Just like Bloom, he lacks the same level of likeability compared with Rocco from the first installment. Fortunately, Roc makes a pretty great cameo with some pretty cool lines. Peter Fonda has also joined the cast as a man with a mysterious connection to the boys' father.

The action is definitely amped up from the original, as is the comedy. This time around though it is much more hit-or-miss than the first. There were a few cringe-worthy lines and a few jokes that just fell flat especially in the beginning that had me worried about the rest of the movie, but it progressed nicely, building enough momentum to easily move on rather than dwell on the low points.

The story is jam-packed with information, some of it just seemed futile. The flashbacks involving the history of Il Duce were very interesting and well-defined, but the linear storyline was bogged down by multiple bad guys. The mobsters were pretty plain, except for Gorgeous George, who was too corny for words. The hitman sent after the Saints suffered from serious height issues, neither funny or intriguing, it felt like a waste of space. Fonda's Roman was a far superior villain than any of them.

The ending is very............interesting. I am not sure where they are going with it, or how possible another installment is, but they certainly set up for more story, more so than the previous installments' "We continue our work" scenario.

SPOILER: A familiar face appears at the end, possibly the best kept cameo ever.

The movie has serious entertainment value. I had a lot of fun watching it, but it is still not a perfect film, far from it really. It has the intensity and charm of the action movies of the '80s, but with the 90s/00s gloss and appearance. I think fans of the original would certainly enjoy it, but those who hate the first will certainly not come around based on this flick.

7/10

Review: Paranormal Activity

2009-10-25T19:53:00.004-04:00

When Kate suspects she is being haunted, her boyfriend, Micah, decided he is going to document events and prove to her it is just her imagination. As the nights go on, the evidence becomes overwhelmingly apparent that they are in fact being haunted. They look to experts with no luck and continue living their lives, but the activity becomes harder and harder to ignore, and eventually puts their lives in danger.

This movie was part of an internet petition to get this into theaters. They needed at least a million, and got that (plus more I think) based purely on trailer footage. Whenever a inexpensive film is hesitantly backed by a studio, I usually put faith in the fact the project is good. And thankfully so.

Kate and Micah (they use their real names) are not award winning actors. For all intents and purposes, they are still amateurs. A lot of the negative criticism has come under their acting skill, usually done in the most disrespectful way possible. I unfortunately have to agree. In the beginning their small talk felt forced, and they were lacking a lot of chemistry as a couple. Yet they were still engaging enough for me to care what happens to them, as well as being incredibly disarming. Plus once they get into the thick of incidents, their reactions seem mostly authentic. They perform the bare minimum in my opinion, so for the most part is works.

The camera visions at night are definitely the star of this movie anyway. A few thuds here, a flickering light there, all nonthreatening individually, but overtime, the idea of coincidence becomes meaningless. The scares come from a really realistic place. Creepy things happen and bring you to the edge of your seats. There is no attempt to jump at the screen and startle you with loud noises or gross you out with crazy over-the-top gore. The filmmakers invest a lot of time in building tension and a sense of dread, and that is better than any masked slasher that the audience actually roots for over the teen stereotypes they happen to be chasing down at any given moment. This movie is popular for the same reason the Ghost Hunter shows are, a dependency on little things that add up to a big haunting allowing the improbable to seem possible.

I should say that there is one attempt to jump at the screen and startle you, and that is in the theatrical ending. The alternative ending is much more appropriate in my opinion.

7/10 Amateurish? Sure. Horrible? No way. Over-hyped? Possible, but I wouldn't let seeing this depend on that characteristic.

Review: Antichrist

2009-10-25T19:14:00.005-04:00

A couple travel to their cabin in the woods after suffering the loss of their child. Their the husband, a therapist, coaches his grieving wife through cognitive therapy in order to find out what she truly fears and to grant her solace in the face of losing her son.

There is only one way to describe this movie. FUCKED UP

Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourgh pull of very chilling performances, their characters known only as "he" and "she." They start the movie off as very normal couple. Grieving and emotionally distraught, but normal, human nonetheless. Gainsbourg seems to be dealing the worst, and Dafoe takes responsibility for it. As time goes on, they both seem to move into the darkness, becoming more and more crazy, yet rationalizing themselves in such a way, that makes it incredibly more horrifying than a person who is simply out of control, especially Gainsbourgh, who's bipolar character is the most confusing character to get a read on.

The movie itself is split into 4 chapters including a prologue and epilogue. The first being the prologue where while having sex, the couple do not notice their son near by climbing to look out the window, but accidentally falling to his doom. The next 4 chapters, basically the plot of the movie, follows these two lovers into the woods in order to face their fears. The woods and cabin turn out to be a depressing place working more as an excelerant than a deterrant for their emotional instability.

Visually, there is no movie that compares. If anyone has ever referred to a movie as arthouse, than they have not seen this. They all pale in comparison. The simplest vision or sound bring about feelings of doom and gloom. This movie dares to be disturbing and unforgettable showing the much, MUCH darker side of humanity.

She is studying gynocide, the murder of woman, for a thesis, and during her emotional instability has convinced herself that she, like all the other female victims in her project, deserves to die. She blames herself for the death of their son, for good reason I must say, and drives he to the brinking point.

What does this movie actually mean though? I don't know. To fathom a guess would only ruin the experience for yourself. One of the movies in a long time that has a truly think-for-yourself ending. For a slow movie, it is surprisingly engaging, but I don't see most people making it through this movie. The entertainment value is incredibly low. This isn't a painting you put in a coffee table book, you hang it in a museum and tell every critic that it is in fact art no matter how much they deny.

6/10 based purely on art.

Top 10 Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks

2009-10-24T15:53:00.007-04:00

After seeing Moon this summer and being completely mesmerized by it, I have had science fiction on the brain, particularly the kind that comes with a social conscious and meaningful disposition as well as the future tech and nuanced performances that have become the most common elements of all. Sci-fi really does get a bad rap what with the lonely loser Trekkie stereotype and really REALLY horrible "Sci-Fi (oh my bad SyFy) channel originals...." people just kind of scoff at, even though the numbers suggest they line up for everything that has a killer robot, invading aliens, or spandex-clad superheroes. There is no doubt more Sci-Fi in necessary in modern cinema, especially at this stage of special effects advancement. Here are my top favorite sci-fi flicks for you to whet your whistle on.

10. Equilibrium

Equilbrium takes after Farenheit 451 taking place in a distant future where art is illegal and passionate feelings of hate or love are buried by mandatory, government issue pharmaceuticals. Most art and "sense-offenders" are dispatched by "clerics." Christian Bale plays one such cleric who after missing a dose of his numbing perscription falls deeper and deeper into addiction of feeling all the while pretending he's not. It is probably one of his more impressive performances. Just the little things he does over the course of the day that make him stick out from the other clerics are very subtle yet set in motion the waves of emotion he feels at certain points within the movie. Euqilibirum is also chock full of some of the coolest action scenes, using the directors own blend of "Gun-Kata," gun play meets martial arts, that has to be seen to believe.

9. Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Minds

No robots. No superheroes. No apocalytpic view of the future. Just your average joes of modern times undergoing a procedure that is out of this world. Joel, played by Jim Carey, undergoes mind erasure of a messy break-up and once great relationship he had with Clementine, played by Kate Winslet. Directed by the very fantastic Michel Gondry, the events of their relationship play mostly backwards, as Joel relives the relationship as the technicians erase them. Being conscious during the procedure, Joel drifts off to other memories trying to save his favorite times spent with Clementine.

8. Children of Men

In a post-apocalyptic world, all the women stopped having babies. It sends a number of people into complete apathy, while a select veiw become aggressive and violent. The world is in shambles both emotionally and physically, and no where is really safe as the world is reduced to slums and de-militarized zones. Clive Owen plays a man capable of great hope and love who has lost his way with the rest of the world until he is pulled into an operation by his ex-wife and her revolutionary cohorts to protect a young pregnant woman.

7. 12 Monkeys

Bruce Willis plays a time traveler forced into the past by the remaining humans of the future to gain intel on a disease that would eventually send humans underground. In 12 Monkeys, time travel is not an exact science. A couple of times Willis' character is sent to the wrong time, and he is even convinced he is crazy in modern times. Bruce Willis, known for his bravado and comic timing than his dramatic acting, excels surprisingly well even if Brad Pitt's psycho supporting character steals the show and gains more attention.

6. The Road Warrior

Most of the world knows it as Mad Max 2, but since it was released in the US before the first Mad Max that wouldn't make much sense. In fact, this arm's length distinction between the two works out for the best since the future of Mad Max and the future of The Road Warrior share a number of differences, the biggest being the amount of social decay that has occured. The Road Warrior depicts an Aussie setting where all government and society has completely erased leaving a number of boomtowns and villanous, nomadic gangs littering the highways. Max rises as a definitive anti-hero who's motivation for helping first comes from selfishness as he bargains for gas and equipment and later out of his own honor as he helps the residents of a boomtown escape. The Road Warrior is best remembered for its incredible finale car chase devoid of any CGI, strictly all stunt work.

5. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Easily one of the greatest sequels cinema has ever offered, Arnold Shwarzeneggar returns as the wooden robot from the future not as a villain but as a hero protecting young John Connor from a much higher advanced robot combatant. Arnold is truly amazing in this movie. The Terminator itself is characterized by its absence of emotion, and while the leads to some comical interactions with John, you can actually see the Terminator grow and develop as a character in small subtle ways. The key to this change is his ever growing understanding of why humans are the way they are, which also unlocks the doors to why we created the technology that turned on us in the future and why we are worth saving, both of which would usually be answered with entirely opposing intentions.

4. Dark City

Influenced by the tone of film-noir, this mystery-thriller involved a group of aliens, known only as The Strangers, who lack any kind of differentiating characteristics, have taken it upon themselves to study the life and love of humans by systematically rearranging the elements of a small population of people's lives to see how they would unfold. One such human ends up being more than he appeared having the same reality warping powers as The Strangers. Now immune to their changes, he tries to piece together his far fragmented life and earn back the woman he loves, yet swears he has never met. This movie is chock full of incredible cityscapes resembling Burton's Batman or The Crow (no surprise since they share a director).

3. Empire Strikes Back

A best of sci-fi could not go without some kind of nod to Star Wars, and Empire Strikes Back has clearly been the best installment of that 6-part story in my opinion. First of all, it is Han Solo at his best. Same roguish charmer from A New Hope. Same bull-headed hero from Return of the Jedi. It is also our first introduction to Yoda, the philosophical mentor, and Lando, Han's frenemy for life. It also has the coolest action of any of the first three, and not to intentionaly quote Clerks, but it has an outstanding downer ending leaving the audience wanting more.

2. Blade Runner

A neo-noir detective mystery based on Philip K. Dick's Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep, Richard Dekard is one the case to find 4 cyborgs (aka replicants) on the rampage after finding out they have expiration dates. The sad realization that they are not immortal and have more in common with humans sends them into a craze, pretty impressive for a computer brain. The tone, visuals, and Harrison Ford downplaying his investigator character and Rutger Hauer playing his sadist replicant up makes for a chilling dynamic. Catch the director's cut for a subtle subplot involving the possibility that Ford's Deckard is also a replicant. Any of the three verisons (at least 3 I know of) all include the sad, thoughtful last words of Hauer.

1. Moon

The reason that I am even making this list is because of this movie. Maybe it is just so fresh in mind and that I have an incredible bias for the talented and underappreciated Sam Rockwell that this new film makes it so high, but it deserves a spot on anyone's Top 10 sci-fi flicks regardless. It is funny, thoughtful, profound, and engaging, all impressive feats for a one-man-in-two-roles show. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell and Sam Bell, one of the same but coming aged three years apart meeting on a space mission to harvest the newly discovered energy source. After spending three years in isolation, anyone would go crazy, but is it really hallucinations or a bigger conspiracy at hand. Stay tuned for Duncan Jones', director of Moon and David Bowie's son, next feature Mute, a piece inspired by Blade Runner, and rumored to show the final fate of Sam Bell.

Honorable Mention: Serenity

I needed to throw some kind of honorable mention in here because there were so many movies I wanted to add but couldn't. For instance Serenity, the continuation of the short lived television series "Firefly." It follows the further adventures of war hero Captain Mal Reynolds and his band of miscreants as they live paycheck to paycheck as mercenaries. This time they get in over their heads with a conspiracy that goes all the way to the head of the new ruling class, the same bad guys who won the war against Mal's side. One part western, one part Star Wars. This is a fun action-adventure with truly charming characters and a great bad guy yet a pretty ham-fisted message.

Review: Carriers

2009-10-24T00:31:00.003-04:00

The world has been overrun with a plague. Most of the human population is either dead or dying. A group of 4 are trying to make it to their childhood vacation spot for solace, but their cross country trek does not turn out to be easy. Finding gas, shelter, and protection from the sick and the paranoid proves much harder than they expected.

Carriers is another in a long line of mis-marketed movies. I feel like that is a sentence used far too often nowadays. Carriers promised to be a quick-paced thriller implying that their would actually be "carriers," as in a minority group of infected showing other signs other than death. Instead it is very much a psychological drama. Much of the fear stems from feelings of isolation, desperation, paranoia, and expendability (even in the eyes of your loved ones). These elements work effectively, but make for a much slower movie than expected. It is a bit of a chore to sit through the movie, which is not even that long. The gore factor is also very low; a few blood splattered face masks and rashes.

The acting is top notch though making for a more pleasurable viewing experience. Chris Pine continues being great after his breakout role in Star Trek, and Lou Taylor Pucci is a very promising up and comer. Piper Perabo and Christopher Meloni also give very memorable performances, maybe more so than the two male leads. There were also a few moments of humor, mainly from Pine's character trying to lighten the mood. These light scenes are unfortunately fleeting and lead to stryfe among the survivors.

The movie is very minimalist, relying on atmosphere and key performances all of which just fall short of par. The film is in no way poorly constructed, but the quality of storytelling is just not as high as one would hope.

6/10

My Favorite Horror Films

2009-10-22T23:33:00.005-04:00

10. Feast

Brain-child from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's second Project: Greenlight, Feast is a funny, gorey, violent delight. A monster movie with Die Hard intensity, Evil Dead laughs and gore, and Pulp Fiction dialog and characters. Starring a very underrated Balthazar Getty, a group of strangers fend off a family of incredibly strong and hungry beasts while trapped in a bar.

9. The Devil's Rejects

Rob Zombie's follow up to the very weird but dissapointing House of 1,000 Corpses takes his murderous Firefly family on the road flipping the killer/killee dynamic with the sheriff finding them. I always appreciate a horror movie that can use comedy and not kill the entire pace and tone.

8. 28 Days Later

The incredible Danny Boyle creates a truly scaring depiction of a post-apocalyptic London devoid of most life. A new twist on the zombie genre turning the normally undead flesh-eaters into rabid, rage-infected violent people.

7. Evil Dead 2

Sam Raimi's middle installment of the Evil Dead series has the perfect combo between Evil Dead's thrills and Army of Darkness's laughs, starring Bruce Campbell as Ash sky-rocketing him to A-Number-1 fanboy cult favorite actor OF ALL TIME!!!!!!! (Yes, it's that dramatic)

6. The Mist

One of the more chilling horror flicks in years, Frank Darabont may in fact be the only person who should be allowed to adapt Stephen King novels anymore. First Shawshank Redemption, than Green Mile, and now The Mist. He captured the feel of each individual book and added upon what King already started.

5. The Dead Zone

And than of course there is this Stephen King adaptation that isn't made by Frank Darabont. It is more of a thriller than a horror, but Christopher Walken is great in it. Much better than Anthony Michael Hall during the tv series based on the same material.

4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

This is one of the first truly disgusting, graphic, and controversial horror movies. Based loosely on real life serial killer, Ed Gein, and then further warped to the 1,000th degree. 10x better than the remake just because of the nuanced performance of Gunnar Hansen.

3. Halloween

The beginning of the modern slasher flick. It single-handedly made John Carpenter one the greatest masters of horror, and created a cinema icon out of a white William Shatner mask.

2. Jaws

Scared everyone out of the water. Seriously. One of Spielberg's earliest efforts, even then he seemed like he'd be one of the greatest directors of all time.

1. Dawn of the Dead

Greatest zombie movie ever! Actually characterized the victims instead of root for the bad guy slasher flicks that the genre has become desensitized by.

Review: The Surrogates

2009-10-22T22:49:00.004-04:00

Somewhere between near future and distant future, the majority of the population have been replaced by remote control robots. Despite a numbing sensation, the world has seemingly become a utopia until someone dies from feedback from their destroyed robotic counterpart.

The story has a lot of potential . Utopian world. Robots. Subtle thematic undertones that turn out to be not so subtle. The movie never reached it's full potential. It promised to be a robot action flick with a thriller pace, but the movie crawls to the ending. It is full of plot holes and the storyline seems pretty forced. A world where 99% of the population are actually controlling robots to do their day-to-day stuff probably does not need an FBI, yet there is one that looks well funded and very busy. The robots are also lacking serious emotions. That sounds weird considering their machines, but they are controlled by people yet comically perform as pieces of wood.

The Surrogates needed a serious injection of Bruce Willis. Yes, Bruce Willis is already cast as the lead, but you would never know. His famous wit and charisma is missing almost completely. One scene where he chews out his boss and another where he mouths off to a female legal aid for probably being a sexually frustrated man at the remote are truly the only scenes worth seeing just to see Willis do what he does best.

As most pieces of science fiction, this movie tries to have a meaningful theme. It is exactly what you would think. Live life equals good. Control robot equals bad. Not very inspiring at all. The potential for lamenting on freedom, personal prisons, dependency on technology are left pretty much out of the picture except for the finale mad genius rant that is too cliche to even count.

The Surrogates is an incredibly dissapointing film with all the potential to be a fantastic and unique blockbuster, but apparently those two terms (unique and blockbuster) continue to stay disassociated. But its still an action pic with a few good explosions (I suppose).

3/10

Review: Dark Country

2009-10-20T20:49:00.004-04:00

The directorial debut of the movie's star, Thomas Jane, tells the story of two lovers who were quick to fall in love. After a swift marriage in Vegas, this sexy couple sets forth on a cross-country trek. On their way, they see a car crash and a bleeding, dying man in the street. In a desperate attempt to get him to a hospital, he ends up turning on his would be saviors sending the newlyweds down a twisted path.

The atmosphere is easily the greatest part of this movie. The jazz theme in the beginning sets the tone for a dark film-noir, but the film quickly changes gears to a '70s era grindhouse picture eventually merging the two in a very engaging combination. The 2 leads, Tom Jane and Lauren German, perform very well. Their fast-talking conversational tone in the beginning enhances the noir aspect, but their true natures emerge during the desperation leading both of them to question their relationship and the matter at hand. The story is very simple, a one thing leads to another crime caper, but it proves to be more engaging than the premise promises. Ron Perlman also makes a very small appearance, and he always makes movies better.

The special effects could be better. The movie is certainly not winning any effects awards, but the low-budget visuals adds character and a "do-it-yourself" sensibility that so many noir and grindhouse flicks had back in the day. Jane is obviously a lover of the genre picture, and he succeeds at making a very decent freshman film.

Ther is a point as the ending is about to happen where I saw that the movie could go in one of two directions. Unfortuantely, it took the one I hoped it wouldn't be, but it doesn't take much away from the viewing experience.

6/10

Review: Zombieland

2009-10-20T20:29:00.005-04:00

When a zombie outbreak decimates the American population an unlikely group of survivors work together to brave the zombie plagued highways of the United States. Hotshot Tallahasse is a gun-totting cowboy who enjoyed killing his zombified neighbors. Columbus is a quiet, rational, loner who is easy to like. Wichita and Little Rock are sister con artists who have a hard time trusting anyone. They are trying to make it to Los Angeles where there may be a zombie-free amusement park for them to hang out.

Admittedly influenced by the hit zom-com, Shaun of the Dead, Z-land brings enough yucks and yuks to keep pace, but unfortunately doesn't surpass Shaun. The movie is well cast using a number of young upstarts plus Woody Harrelson, who always excels as goofy douchebags. Each brings a great amount of heart and charisma that makes the conversation much more natural than forced in either a horror or comedy way. Each character has a dark moment in the past. You'd expect most characters to have them, but unique to this film is they are not defined by them. For instance, Tallahasse suffers a great loss. One would think he would turn inward and become a loner. Instead he becomes a badass who shoots from the hip and the mouth, and while reluctantly, he still bonds with his travelling companions rather than alienating them. A refreshing take on survival horror.

When it came to the laughs, Z-Land definitely brings plenty of goods. Unfortunately, the horror side is severely lacking. There is maybe one or two startles caused by loud noises, but very little moments of terror. The gore is also severely lacking, especially for a zombie flick. Bloody faced zombies and a few shotgun squibs on their chests offer the most, far from enough. The big mistake is not having ACTUAL zombies. These zombies were suffering from a mutated strain of mad cow causing rage, aggression, and munchies. This meant the infected were fast, living, and capable of being killed from run-of-the-mill violence. On the other hand they could have been real zombies: slow, numerous, undead, and only vulnerable through messy head shots.

Overall, this is a great film for any zombie enthusiast or comedy lover. It has a few flaws, but the movie is still highly entertaining. Director Ruben Fleischer shows some great promise as a genre filmmaker.

Keep your eyes open for a great celeb cameo. Possibly the greatest.

7/10

Review G. I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

2009-10-20T20:08:00.005-04:00

G. I. Joe is a special branch of the military in cooperation with most countries enlisting the best of the best to fight the most dangerous and violent terrorists. Members Duke and Ripcord join up after a run in with Cobra agents and losing highly advanced nanite weaponry.With fellow members Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Heavy Duty to take down Cobra and retrieve the lost weaponry.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra has loads of potential. The "best of the best" soldiers fighting an equally elite technologically advanced terrorist group has summer blockbuster written all over it. Motely crews of action heroes have always gone over pretty well. War movies usually do well and Stallone's Expendables has most cinefiles drooling. Studios get excited for the obvious merchandising and other tie-in attempts at furthering their income. This falls way off the map.

There's a lot of wasted talent among the cast. Christopher Eccelstein and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are very gifted actors, yet their talents are put to no good use as run of the mill world take-over types. Dennis Quaid is given limited time and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Rachel Nichols both prove to be much more talented and in better roles than the leads. Ray Park is given very little to do himself. One of the better movie martial artists becomes half CGI and half showy sword intimidation, but no real impressive fight scenes. This is all given up for the incredibly bland Channing Tatum, annoying Marlon Wayans, and cringeworthy Sienna Miller. I have seen Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Requeim for a Dream, and Interview. These 3 actors still need work, but they are not as incapable as this movie proves.

The military forces already have truly fantastic weaponry and designs for prototype future tech, yet this movie takes it a step further and makes each of these soldiers look like they are playing with toys more so than weapons. Not so ironic seeing as it is based on a toyline, but the real world wonders are more wonderful than director Stephen Somers would seem to like to admit. Somers love affair with CGI also has to stop. There seems to be almost no reason to even cast humans to act since there was so much computer generation. A specially horrible looking effect that happens when Eccelstein becomes a more recognizable Destro as seen in the toyline made me literally laugh out loud.

I can only describe this movie as corny, cliched, and 'splodey to a Michael Bay degree.

2/10

Top 10 Movies of the Summer

2009-10-16T21:47:00.005-04:00

10. Public Enemies
Johnny Depp as the infamous John Dillinger

9. World's Greatest Dad
Robin Williams in a surprisingly heartfilled comedy

8. Drag Me to Hell
Sam Raimi's triumphant return to horror

7. Brother's Bloom
A funny and charming crime caper

6. District 9
Race wars between aliens and humans

5. Star Trek
Abrams re-writes the Enterprise's future

4. Hangover
One word: Hysterical

3. Inglourious Basterds
Long awaited war epic from Tarantino

2. The Hurt Locker
Iraq war movie without a political agenda. Believe it!

1. Moon
Greatest sci-fi movie in recent years

Review: Gamer

2009-10-16T21:22:00.003-04:00

In the not too distant future, America has embraced its history of violent entertainment when a waelthy inventor/media mogul creates a way for gamers to actually control real people instead of computer generated characters. Once such game is "Slayer" where Gerard Butler's Kable plays to win his freedom from death row. Kable is the closest anyone comes, but they can't just let him leave. Kable gets in a literal fight to the death as he leaves the gaming world thanks to some concerned hackers and goes after the men who created the game.

I really really want to like Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, but their obsession with video games, which also had a big influence on the Crank movies, is getting tired really fast. The movie is already suffering from being a retread of Running Man and Death Race. It also relies heavily on shaky cam, bright flashy lights, and distracting video game-esque icons flying across the screen. Michael C Hall is the cheesy cherry on top as he hams it up as the film's Kentucky fried villain, surprising since Hall does so well on his TV series, "Dexter."

The movie is full of faults but it is not without a few upsides. Like Starship Troopers, despite its cliched action movie elements it has some pretty interesting underlying satire involving violence and role-playing games in the media. Gerard Butler continues to show immense talent and charisma on screen even when all he really has to do is kick people's ass. And despite Michael C Hall, the rest of the cast is pretty decent and backs up Butler pretty well. The action scenes were pretty kick-ass when you could actually see stuff to, especially the earlier gameplay moments.

Butler is awesome, but the rest of the movie is touch-and-go.

5/10

Oscar for Sam Rockwell

2009-10-16T21:20:00.000-04:00

Sign the petition:

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First Impressions: Crazies and Elm Street

2009-10-01T20:17:00.002-04:00

The Crazies

I like the original Romero flick, but always had a problem with the pacing. Even for a sneak up on you kinda thriller, it still seemed overly slow. This one seems to add a certain level of high-0ctane. It could be its key to success or undoing. The use of the Mad World song adds an eerie tone keeping with the original so I hope to see this find the balance between them.

Nightmare on Elm Street

Not looking forward to this almost on prinicple. I mean Jackie Earle Haley is a fantastic choice and the new look is pretty awesome, but it just looks like more of the same. The trailer already shows a "revolving bedroom" and claw in the tub scenes.

Review: Up

2009-09-21T20:08:00.004-04:00

Pixar's newest feature tells the story of an old, lonely widower, Carl Frederickson, trying to fulfill a promise to his late wife. He wants to bring their dream home to a special jungle dubbed "The Island that Time Forgot" that is the home to a number of undiscovered plants and animals. Along the way he picks up a stowaway, a young boyscout named Russell trying to get his last badge by helping the elderly. The 2 take an adventure in a dream house hanging from uncountable balloons to the amazing jungle where they meet an interesting bird, a number of talking dogs, and Carl's boyhood hero, Charles Muntz, a Doc Savage/Indiana Jones style adventurer.

The premise itself inspired thoughts of great adventure, rolling landscapes, and high energy action, but the movie itself focuses more on Carl's person, his relationship with people and this debt he had to pay. It is the movies greatest strength and greatest weakness. As an emotional center, it works perfectly. It is a great catalyst for an amazing jounrney, and a justifiable motivation for the main character. It is something that makes Carl, who is known to us almost exclusively as the grump rather than the wide-eyed young man we get a glimpse of in the beginning, an empathetic and relatable character. He becomes exponentially more likeable.

As a weakness, it weighs down Pixar's consistency. Pixar has made a great reputation on making fantastic all-ages movies, not to be confused with kids-movies, but in order to continue to do so you must not alienate either side. I think that the emotional heft would bore the children, but even if it does not, the film never lives up to the premise, which promises great adventure. I might be too hard on this movie, but WALL-E was able to what Up couldn't, balance an incredibly fun adventure movie and still bring some kind of mature elements to the plot.

The movie still boasts some great charcters. Russell as the overzealous and super-friendly boyscout is instantly likeabkle and stays that way throughout the film. He mirrors a combination of Carl's early wide-eyed innocence mixed with Carl's wife's go-getting sense for adventure. Not to mention Kevin, the bird, who shows more personality than most people could try to create just by clucking, and Dug, the talking dog, who is written so perfectly and the comedic timing is so on point that you think the filmmakers have actually been able to read the mind of a dog.

In the wake of WALL-E, Up dissapoints. Up is still very ambitious and very well-made film, it just breaks the chain of Pixar's ability to constantly one-up itself.

6/10

Review: Superman/Batman Public Enemies

2009-09-21T19:29:00.006-04:00

While Batman and Superman investigate an on-coming meteorite big enough to destroy the world made completely of Kryptonite, Lex Luthor, now President of the United States, devises a plan to frame Superman for murder and puts a 1 billion dollar bounty on his head. As the 2 heroes continue their attempts at stopping the meteorite, they are forced to fight a number or heroes and villains all looking to stop the now criminal duo.

Another in what will be a long line of DC animated movies, Bruce Timm and company continue their fantastic portrayal of the DC Universe in animation form. In tow is the original voices of Lex Luthor, Superman, and Batman from Timm's first television series, Clancy Brown, Tim Daly, and Kevin Conroy respecitvelly. Kevin Conroy especially. He is easily the most recognizable Batman performer, but hearing Tim Daly, who was unavailable to play Superman in the Justice League spin-off of his show. His replacement, George Newbern, went over smoothly, but it was not until this video I realized how great Daly is as Superman. He brings a certain gentle strength needed for the ultimate boyscout with super strength. The cast is surrounded with various other slightly familiar voice actors like John C. McGinley, Levar Burton, and Allison Mack all of which were ultimately underused leaving most of the dialog to the 3 stars. Corey Burton, a long time Timm collaborator, provides the voice for Captain Marvel, but seems very out of place. It is hard to put your finger on it.

The animation was much different than what Timm fans would be used to. The muscle is much more defined, and other little details were also much more apparent as opposed to the tv series. The design overall were mild improvements, but some things dropped the ball. Captain Marvel was given comedically squinty eyes and Amanda Waller was drawn more like Violet from willy Wonka than your everday overweight lady. And even though everyone had ridiculously inflated muscles, Captain Atom's looked the most strange.

The story itself does what Superman/Batman comic series does best. It spotlights the relationship between Superman and Batman. Two heroes from incredibly different backgrounds and powersets getting along like some of the best partners in fictional history a la Butch and Sundance or Han and Chewy, never more so than in the scene where both are injured and helping each other back to the Bat-cave. The two call each other by their real names, and volley quips back and forth with eachother like two co-workers carpooling. But it also balanced the side-story of the obsessive Lex Luthor and his attempts at being both President and super-villain (some would say that is very familiar). The ultimate flaw of this movie is that the large cast, the dual storylines of Superman/Batman and Lex Luthor are crammed into little over an hour. A cynical bunch have claimed foul on 2+ hour movies that have become popular, but usually the time is needed for proper character development and good plot pacing. So many interesting characters are just glossed over.

Superman/Batman is one of the better DC animated movies, but they have yet to make a lot of them so who knows.

8/10

First Impressions

2009-09-15T18:35:00.002-04:00

Solomon Kane

One might say Solomon Kane looks like a rip-off of Van Helsing, but Helsing is in fact a rip-off of Kane's original material. Kane looks to have better action and better special effects. I am in!

A Single Man

A Single Man trailer reminds me of the trailer for A Serious Man from The Coen Brothers. Both show very little of story, but depict a chain of events. This one creates some serious tone and I cannot wait to see more.

Review: World's Greatest Dad

2009-09-09T22:30:00.003-04:00

In World's Greatest Dad, Robin Williams plays Lance Clayton, an unpublished writer who teaches poetry during they day. He is also a single parent to the worst child ever, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), who is rude, a liar, obsessed with pornography, and hates everything. He makes his father's homelife, relationship, and job way harder than it should be. I cannot really say much else since it would give away the direction of the movie, but it should be said it takes a disturbing path.

Even witht the cult success of Shakes the Clown, the phrase "written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait" still does not inspire the notion of quality. This could not be any less true. World's Greatest Dad is in fact a well thought-out, well-paced dramedy. It's strongest aspect being the acting ability of Robin Williams. Williams is able to bring so much heart and sadness to a fairly witty character, a big change from his usual energized rambling that describes his stand-up and interviews. Despite the conflicts with his son, you never believe for a second that he does not love him unconditionally, nor do you ever think that when deciding his later actions that he is not hesitant or guilt-ridden while doing them. The disturbing content yet still humorous tone is entirely justified by Williams' well-balanced performance.

The supporting cast, built mostly of unknown and unfamiliar actors, performs fine. They did not ruin the movie, but I do not think they brought anything particularly to the final product. Daryl Sabara sticks out as the acid-tongue son of Robin Williams' character. Unlike most performances, this role in particular really gains in advantage from a "forced" performance. The character itself is a liar and unintelligent and comes off that much more horribly.

The pacing for the most part is pretty good, yet it suffers from one major flaw: too many music montages. Music montages are certainly an effective tool, especially in this movie where it is used to show how numerous characters react individually to the events of the movie. But these same characters perfectly depict their viewpoints during the course of the movie, especially with conversations with Robin Williams. The montages thus become redudant, and considering there are noticably numerous, they do become annoying.

World's Greatest Dad is not a laugh riot, but it is a surprising gem of a movie. Williams performs fantastically, and the writing and directing of Goldthwait is very effective.

7/10

First Impressions

2009-09-09T18:28:00.003-04:00

Here's a new thing I am going to try. Basically what I think about a particular trailer

Zombieland

Zombieland is definitely the next movie that I am most excited to see. As seen in Shaun of the Dead and Fido, zombies have great untapped comedic potential. Jesse Eisnberg is basically Michael Cera but better. Woody Harrelson is in his wheelhouse. Emma Stone is kinda hot and pretty badass.

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

Looks like much of the same of the original, and I dig it. Except for the obviously absent Willem Dafoe and the visually puffy eyed, getting too old for Hollywood look of Sean Patrick Flannery. This movie looks pretty good. I mean, holy shit is that Judd Nelson? Is that Peter Fonda? Is that Rocco!? (1:30) Plus Billy Connely is back, as are the Boston cops, and an addition of the very hot Julie Benz.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

Considering George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey are individually hilarious actors for being non-stand-ups, putting them together in such a ridiculous premise seems like it would be absolutely incredible.

The Daybreakers

I am always down for a vampire flick, especially when they have cool vamps with cooler slayers as opposed to the "hot" emo vampires that Twilight is creating. And this one happens to star Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Neill. This is one of the better paced trailers in a long while. The use of Placebo's version of "Running up That Hill" creates a fantastic tone. The vampiric monsters also displayed look pretty interesting.

Up in the Air

The trailer rests on Clooney's ability to effectively deliver a thoughtful speech, so while it is one-note, it's a pretty damn good note. Plus it also seems to have Zack Galinfinakis, Jason Bateman, and J.K. Simmons among other great performers.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

As a fan of "The Office," I am interested to see what John Krasinski can do with this first directorial effort. The movie itself looks kind of slow with a lot of emphasis on love and romance. But it's also an indie flick so the direction of those elements might be way less sappy and corny than it might be in a chick flick. Wait and see flick for sure.

Plan 9

This is a remake of Ed Wood's cult classic, but I think the filmmaker forgot why it is so loved. It is because it is so bad. And I cannot tell whether this movie is trying to improve the quality or continue the so-bad-it's-good mentality.

Theater 7

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Review: The Joneses

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Review G. I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

Top 10 Movies of the Summer

Review: Gamer

Oscar for Sam Rockwell

First Impressions: Crazies and Elm Street

Review: Up

Review: Superman/Batman Public Enemies

First Impressions

Review: World's Greatest Dad

First Impressions