Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 23rd, 2006
I’ll come right out and say it. I don’t see what the big deal is with actor Owen Wilson. Sure he was funny in Wedding Crashers, but he always seems to play that super annoying character in his films that you just want to hate, but seemingly can’t sometimes feel sorry for. Such is the case in his recent 2006 affair with Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon entitled You, Me and Dupree.
Carl (Matt Dillon) and Molly (Kate Hudson) have just gotten married in the beautiful Hawaii islands. Dupree (Owen Wilso...) is Carl’s best friend and best man at the wedding. Life for the newlyweds is running smoothly until Carl learns that Dupree has been fired from his previous job for taking the week off to attend Carl’s wedding without informing his boss. Now Dupree is homeless and living on the street with no job. Naturally, as any best friend would do, Carl invites Dupree into his home for a few days in hopes that he’ll get back on his feet. Antics after antics result in Carl and Molly realizing that their genuine hospitality toward Dupree may have been overly nice. As the film’s tagline goes ‘Two’s company, but Dupree’s a crowd.’
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2006
For nearly eleven years now, I've heard nothing but horrendous comments about Kevin Costner's post-apocalyptic film Waterworld. Critics and audiences alike have torn this film a new one, claiming that the film was boring and full of so many holes that it literally swallows itself. While I didn't absolutely love the film, it surely surprised the hell out of me as I found it to be rather entertaining.
The basic plot of the film goes something like this. The unknown future has arrived along with the me...ting of the polar ice caps. The Earth is covered almost entirely in water. The humans that are left have totally forgotten the past and tend to believe in a modified creation belief in which their god, or creator, created the world covered entirely with water. There is also a so called 'dry-land' somewhere on the planet. Actor Kevin Costner stars as a drifter (i.e. people who ply the water in their boats trading and collecting with one another) named Mariner. He's a mutant of sorts with webbed feet and gills (a very useful attribute to have especially considering the amount of water surrounding him). The other main group of people are the Smokers who are basically pirates who inhabit abandoned oil tankers. The Smokers have been tipped off that a girl named Elona, whose mother is named Helen, has a tattoo on her back that serves as a map toward Dry-land.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2006
Ever since making the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Director Peter Jackson has almost become a household name that seems to always guarantee success. Don’t get me wrong though, Jackson has not always been successful. Before making the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson had the film The Frighteners and a few smaller films where he only produced. The idea of giving this not so successful movie director hundreds of millions of dollars to remake the Lord of the Rings trilogy, made many turn their...heads simply wondering why. After the gigantic success of the trilogy, Jackson targeted another remake, a remake to a film he says was the reason he wanted to become a film director. The film in question is the 1933 classic King Kong.
When news first arrived of this remake, many fans, including myself, were very excited to see what Jackson could come up with. However, I don’t need to spell out how many remakes, including the recent Pink Panther, are extremely horrid. With the news coming out that New Line wanted Jackson to trim the film down (from the final run time of 182 minutes to 140 for a quicker turn around audience) and that the film’s budget had sky-rocketed forcing Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh to fork over their money, a lot of fans started to worry if Peter Jackson’s King Kong was going to go down in history as simply another poorly made remake. Can a one-time nobody director, now an extremely famous director turn a black and white classic into a modern age epic? Read on to find out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 8th, 2006
It seems that most of the creators behind today’s horror movies just aren’t thinking anymore. Films like The Grudge or the remake of the classic The Omen just aren’t as scary anymore. Such is the case with the recent Universal film Slither, which ends up being an entertaining movie, but never really produces that spook factor that say the original Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street produced.
The film begins after a meteorite crashes in a Midwestern town. A man named Gra...t (Michael Rooker) stumbles upon a fossil and is infected by a life force living inside the fossil. Soon his super cute wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks) figures out that something is not right with her husband. He has a new found larger than life hunger for raw meat and he begins to crave strange body mutations. It turns out that a strange alien creature has infested Grant in hopes of infesting the entire human race. Now the next part sounds a bit out of the film Species. The creature inside Grant decides it wants to mate with Starla to create a whole new race. Bring in Deputy Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) and Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry) to do battle with this new creature and you have, surprisingly, a pretty entertaining film even if it never truly scares you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 5th, 2006
The second of the Fast and Furious trilogy finds Brian O’Connor returning only this time in the streets of Miami. Down there he has become a Dominic type character ruling the streets with his excellent racing skills earning the respect of everyone. One night his buddy Tej (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges) calls him up asking if he wants to race. Needing cash, Brian obviously agrees. After a close race including an impressive bridge jump, Brian wins. Cutting his celebration short, the police arrive after an undercover...cop Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) watches Brian’s every move. We soon learn that the authorities were rather angered with Brian when he let Dominic go. Offering to forgive this and his numerous other charges, the cops wants Brian to infiltrate a Miami drug lord Carter Verone (Cole Hunter). The only way Brian agrees to do this is if he picks his partner, who turns out to be his childhood ‘friend’ Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson).
We soon learn that Monica is involved with Carter as his ‘girlfriend’ which is only so she can get inside and learn what his next move is. She brings both Brian and Roman to him along with a few others. Their goal is to obtain a package that was in the glove compartment of a confiscated vehicle. This is the test for both of them, something they easily pass. Now that Brian and Roman are on board, they can give tons of tips to the police about Carter and his newest deal right? Well, that will be found out soon enough.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2006
Stanley Kubrick’s ultra famous epic Spartacus tells of the story of a man named Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) who decided to defy and lead an uprising against the Roman empire. Spartacus, naturally a slave, is beaten in early scenes for biting a guard’s leg after falling down. He is sentenced to death for this. Before his death, a man named Batiatus decided to train Spartacus as a fighting gladiator. As many now know, gladiators were trained for two reasons, the first being to fight to the death, and the second as ... sense of amusement for the upper classes. After Spartacus witnesses one of his friends die, he decides to unite all the slaves in the hopes of rebelling against the Roman Empire. As Spartacus and his men gain more notice, more slaves from around the country join him and his men for the fight against the Empire. As this happens, Spartacus, unexpectedly, falls in love with a girl named Varinia who is a slave girl.
Spartacus has numerous positives and few negatives. First up, the acting is top notch. Kirk Douglas is fabulous as the slave man rallying up men across the country for one goal. He delivers speeches with such ferociousness and intensity that, sometimes, I could have seen myself wanting to join the rebellion. Speaking of rebellion, this is one of the most important aspects of the film. The idea of rebellion, especially in the Roman times, most certainly ended in death for a majority of those who decided to rebel against their rulers. One can easily see how excellent of an actor Kirk Douglas was (we see this in the actor his son Michael Douglas has become). He has a sense of power and intelligence in every one of his scenes easily stealing the show. The supporting actors, particularly Laurence Olivier’s performance as Marcus Licinius Crassus is just as good. Olivier, probably famous for his various retellings of Shakespearean stories, is simply magnificent here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2006
With impressive urban dramas under his belt, John Singleton sets out to create another classic. Boyz n The Hood is always associated with this genre, in terms of quality it remains a classic drama. Four Brothers doesn’t attempt a serious get out of the hood type movie, but rather an action film with serious themes and tones. Well that’s not to say that there isn’t a laugh or two in here, because there sure is.
It’s a cold November night in Detroit; Evelyn Mercer enters a convenience store to ...ail an underage thief out of trouble. We learn that she is a compassionate elderly lady that sees the best in everyone. As she proceeds to pick out a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner two masked men enter the store, demanding money and making threats. They shoot and kill the cashier proceeding to the back of the store where they hear Evelyn rustling around. Without hesitation they take her life and flee from the store into the snowy night.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 28th, 2006
With all that’s been going on with Tom Cruise as of late, I found myself doubting the integrity of this picture. I was fearful that the happenings of Cruise’s personal life would somehow bring down this movie; the previous two films did set the bar pretty high. So how did the third installment add up, did it fall short of expectations, or did it deliver beyond what I expected?
MI:III doesn’t hesitate a minute to bring us suspense, the picture begins with Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) having Et...an Hunt and a woman (whom appears to mean a lot to him) captive. He means business; she is going to die unless Ethan can come up with something called the rabbit’s foot. The scene closes, and we roll back to the previous week when nothing is amiss.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 25th, 2006
Steven Soderbergh’s film Out of Sight tells the story of a man named Jack Foley (E.R.’s George Clooney) and his ability to rob banks. As the film opens up, we see Jack as he cunningly convinces the bank clerk that his partner is speaking to the bank manager and will blow off his head if Jack gives the word. Turns out that this is the exact opposite and Jack almost gets away had his car not flooded. As Jack is doing his time in jail, we immediately learn that he is going to escape soon, actually that nig...t. The escape goes off cleanly until Jack and his driver named Buddy Bragg (Mission Impossible’s Ving Rhames) nab a federal marshal named Karen Sisco (The Cell’s Jennifer Lopez), putting her and Jack in the trunk of her car together. It’s here that Jack and Karen, while talking, become attracted to each other.
As a federal marshal and law officer, Karen is obviously suppose to arrest Jack. But this can’t happen yet otherwise the film would only be 20 minutes long. Here is where Soderbergh succeeds at a high level. He gives us a lot of flashbacks, one in particular to Jack’s days in prison. Jack meets a man named Glenn, who seems to be a kind of odd character who doesn’t necessarily seem to full in the upper portion of his head. We also meet a group of three men named Snoopy Miller, the violent part of the group, Kenneth, his partner and White Boy Rob, his big, bulky bodyguard who constantly stands up for Snoopy. While all this is occurring inside the prison, Soderbergh switches back and forth between the ongoing ‘relationship’ between Karen and Jack.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 18th, 2006
The Break-Up tells the story of the relationship of Gary (Mr. And Mrs. Smith’s Vince Vaughn) and Brooke (Friend’s Jennifer Aniston. As the film begins, we see Gary at a baseball game as he attempts to ask Brooke out on a date by endless asking her. The film skips forward roughly two years, to a point where Gary and Brooke are now a couple who are living together in a highly desirable condo. Gary is working as a Chicago tour guide with his brothers, while Brooke works at the Marilyn Dean Art Gall...ry. Everything seems to be going fine until a dinner with their respective families. Gary, feeling that Brooke is constantly asking too much of him, yells at Brooke, who feels that Gary never wants what she wants in life, leading to them breaking up (hence the title of the film).
Now that they’re ‘broken-up’, Gary and Brooke tend to play off each other doing little things to annoy each other. Gary is beaten up by Brooke’s brother while Brooke, on the other hand, votes Gary off of her bowling team. All these events occur, as Brooke tells us, in the hopes of getting Gary to change himself so he’ll get back with her. While this plot sounds kind of stupid, the real charm of this film is Vince Vaughn.