Posted in: The Reel World by J C on August 29th, 2012
I know what you’re thinking, and I was also incredibly disappointed to learn this film was not a biopic of Xena: Warrior Princess actress Lucy Lawless. (This hypothetical film would obviously star the ageless Kiwi because the actress still looks incredible.) Fortunately, Lawless makes up for its startling lack of Lawless by being one of the better films I’ve seen this year.
Inspired by true events, this Prohibition-era tale follows the Bondurant brothers, a trio of successful bootleggers in Franklin County, Virginia. Franklin County is considered “The Wettest County in the World”, which is also the title of the 2008 historical novel by Matt Bondurant on which this film is based. There are plenty of TV shows (Boardwalk Empire, Justified) and movies (The Untouchables, Once Upon a Time in America and, um, Idlewild) that have used the Prohibition era as a backdrop or bootleggers as a plot point. However, the only movie I can think of that prominently features rural moonshiners is 1958’s Thunder Road, starring Robert Mitchum.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 26th, 2012
The Blu-ray case for The Viral Factor — an impressive, preposterous Hong Kong action offering available Aug. 28 — proudly boasts that the film comes "From the star of The Green Hornet", possibly marking the first and last time anyone has bragged about their involvement with The Green Hornet. (Don't look at me: I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed it.) Nevertheless, you shouldn't shy away from this one just because it may somewhat be selling itself short.
While escorting a criminal scientist from Jordan to Norway, International Security Affairs agent Jon (Jay Chou, Kato in The Green Hornet) and his team are ambushed. Unfortunately, a member of Jon's team is a traitor who puts a bullet in Jon's head, kidnaps the scientist, and threatens to unleash a deadly virus on the world. Doctors inform Jon that the bullet is lodged in his brain and he only has a few weeks until it causes complete paralysis. So far, I'm thinking we've got the ingredients for a pretty solid action flick. Jon has to race against time to get revenge against his traitorous colleague Sean (Andy Tien) and save the world before his body breaks down, right? Well, not exactly.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 22nd, 2012
I've said before that they just don't make action movies like they used to. I'd like to slightly amend that statement: they still make action movies like they used to, it's just a heck of a lot harder to find them. As production costs continue to rise, studios seem to be playing it safer than ever in terms of which movies get the widest releases. As a result, bloodless PG-13 flicks designed to hit as many quadrants as possible tend to grab the most screens. Put it this way: I haven't seen the new Total Recall, but I'm fairly confident there's no scene where Colin Farrell yells, "See you at the party, sweetheart!" while holding the bloody stumps of Kate Beckinsale's arms.
Battleground — an action-horror hybrid out on DVD Aug. 28 — is actually reminiscent of a different Arnold Schwarzenegger action classic.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 21st, 2012
There’s obviously nothing funny about the atrocities committed by some of history’s most notorious tyrants. So why have these men proven to be such a surprisingly fertile source of comedy? Whether it’s (Puppet) Kim Jong-il crooning forlornly about being lonely (actually “ronery”) in Team America: World Police or Adolf Hitler being saluted by a chorus line of high-stepping stormtroopers in The Producers, there’s certainly a precedent for mocking these reviled figures. With The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen appears to be taking his patented inappropriateness to a new level.
Cohen — the English actor, comedian and professional provocateur — stars as Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen, ruler of the oil-rich and fictitious Republic of Wadiya. (Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein are clearly major influences.) The trick to making this sort of (potentially-abhorrent) comedy seems to be focusing on the outrageous personalities of these tyrants, rather than all the horrible things they’ve done. As a result, Aladeen is racist, sexist and too many other negative “-ists” to list, but the movie portrays him as a bearded buffoon who isn’t even remotely dangerous. (Though try telling that to the dozens of people Aladeen orders to be executed over trivial offenses.) When he is summoned by the United Nations to address concerns about his country’s nuclear program, Aladeen travels to New York, where he embarks on a life-changing journey involving a boyish feminist (Anna Faris), a severed head and a few celebrity cameos.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 20th, 2012
"When I was a child, my father was framed for a crime he didn't commit. Before he died, he left a road map for revenge that led me to the people who destroyed our lives."
Daytime sudsers may be going the way of the dodo and video stores, but the nighttime soap is alive and well. TNT's successful revival of Dallas this past summer reminded us that something old could be new again. However, ABC's excellent Revenge first began scratching our soap opera itch last fall, providing all the deliciously devious drama — including double identities, convenient amnesia, a high-profile murder trial and even a surprise pregnancy — we could ever want on its way to becoming a hit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 16th, 2012
"I play chess in the park every Tuesday, Thursday afternoon. I restore cars from the ’70s, pinball machines from the ’90s, and if you pay me enough, I’ll probably kill anything that breathes."
Pop quiz! There's a new straight-to-DVD action flick about two highly-skilled assassins wreaking havoc in Eastern Europe: can you guess the two actors who star in this movie? If you're an action film — or a straight-to-DVD — connoisseur, Dolph Lundgren would easily be on your Top 10 list of suspects. (Maybe even Top 2.) But how long would it take for you to get to Cuba Gooding Jr? 50 guesses? 200?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 12th, 2012
Any compilation of the greatest moments in Chicago Cubs history has the potential to come off as a cruel joke. After all, we're talking about a franchise that hasn't been to the World Series since 1945. On top of that, Roosevelt was in office the last time they won it all...Teddy Roosevelt in 1908! As a result, The Essential Games of the Chicago Cubs obviously doesn't feature any moments from the Fall Classic.
Fortunately, the Cubs happen to be one of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball history. They also play their home games in one of the world's most famous ballparks.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on August 10th, 2012
Going into this film, I considered the Bourne movies to be an extremely rare breed among film franchises: each sequel was better than the movie it followed. The fantastic Bourne Ultimatum even wrapped up the Matt Damon trilogy with an ending that dovetailed perfectly with the first shot of the series. So when I heard they wanted to make another Bourne film (uh-oh) without director Paul Greengrass (uh-oh!) or star Matt Damon (UH-OH!!!), I was, to put it mildly, skeptical. After all, how can you make a Bourne movie without Jason Bourne?
Well, it turns out you really don't.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 7th, 2012
"Life is like jazz, son; never resolves."
Small-scale Christian (or faith-based) films have found modest-yet-passionate audiences in recent years. They also have a reputation among mainstream moviegoers for being overly earnest. Blue Like Jazz — based on the popular 2003 crisis-of-faith best seller by Donald Miller — curiously circumvents that criticism by employing an overly stylish approach and, more importantly, by not billing itself as a "Christian movie."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 4th, 2012
- "It's our duty, this is war."
- "Agreed, but even so let's remember our manners."
You know how Citizen Kane is considered by some to be the greatest film of all time? Well, I'm the kind of curious movie nerd who subsequently wonders which film was atop Kane auteur Orson Welles' personal list. Unfortunately, I can't ask him, but there's evidence suggesting the answer was Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion/Grand Illusion.
