Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 3rd, 2008
Will Smith finds himself in a bit of a career quandary if you ask me. Sure, one of the good sides to being as as he is is that he’s quite the popular guy that nobody wants to see get killed. But the popularity has seemed to stymie him a little bit. When he does dramatic work, it’s clear that the push is for him to win an Oscar, like in Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. So when people look past that intent, even when he might want to do dramatic work, he’s forced to take on slightly darker roles in action films, which I guess serves as his happy medium of branching out while still pleasing the people. I Am Legend is another one of those examples, very similar to another Smith sci-fi film named I, Robot.
I Am Legend is based on the Richard Matheson novel and is loosely inspired by Charlton Heston’s 1971 film The Omega Man. This version is adapted by Akiva Goldsman, who won a Screenplay Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, and directed by Francis Lawrence, whose first feature effort was the supernatural comic book film Constantine. But in case you don’t know much about the film or really had a concern to go see the Smith film, he plays Robert Neville, an Army virologist. Robert was responding to an effort of a virus that ironically was supposed to be a cure for cancer. But instead of ridding the body of cancer, it became a bug that infected humans, turning them into psychopathic, ultraviolent zombies, out to kill any members of the living. Neville continues to work on a cure for the virus, even after it has decimated the world’s population.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 13th, 2008
Most people like a good heavy dose of action. Guns a blazing, explosions bursting and people's dead bodies flying in each and every direction. But most people also want something a little more. Perhaps a little suspense or a little who dun it. Or perhaps they are looking for their favorite actor to make a dramatic on-screen performance that will leave them breathless at the door. This lonely review writer loves action but a good dose of story and a well done gotcha at the end means more than the next building that gets blown up. Chaos would prove to have everything I wanted from an action drama and make me believe that there is at least one semi-original story left in Hollywood today.
After an incident on the Pearl Street Bridge, Detective Quentin Conners (played by Jason Statham) is suspended and his partner is sent home. When a bank heist takes center stage, a criminal mastermind known only as Lorenz (played by Wesley Snipes)forces the police's hand in reinstating Conners so that they can work out a negotiation. The police however assign Conners a new partner, Shane Dekker (played by Ryan Phillippe). Shane is a young detective that is expected to keep the brash Quentin Conners in line with policy. However, the bank heist goes awry and Lorenz gets away with the crime. This leads into a deep investigation where things are not as they seem and as the story unravels we find out what is meant by the term "Chaos Theory".
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 20th, 2008
Turok is a property that seems to come and go. In the 1950's, it was introduced to lure kids away from the television sets because it had dinosaurs and intriguing stories. It was later updated when it got inserted in the Valiant comic world and rose to sell nearly 2 million copies with its first issue for the universe. In more recent times, Turok has become a series of video games by Acclaim. So it was only natural that an animated dvd would also hit the mix. However, would the character be more representative of its roots or perhaps take on a more futuristic feel akin to the current property portrayed in the video game?
The movie opens up with three native american teenagers are playing in a stream when Catori loses her hair clip. The two male men, Turok and Nashoba decide to go after it and come upon a nasty group of warriors who want to keep the clip and cause harm to the three kids. Turok goes on a berzerker rage, killing all of the warriors and injuring his comrade Nashoba. Afterwards, it is determined that Turok should be exiled from the tribe because he is too dangerous.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2008
When MI-5 first hit American shores, Alias was in full swing, and the comparisons were inevitable. After all, both were sy shows set in a post September 11 world, and both were slick, fun thrillers. Fast forward to 2006, however, and the landscape has changed dramatically. Alias is now off the air, having crashed in spectacular fashion, yet MI-5 is still going strong. In fact, the show just seems to keep getting better and better.
I had my concerns when all the key members of the original cast departed one by one, but as the show goes on, I am realizing that the story lines here are much bigger than any one cast can handle. High pressure jobs such as these virtually demand a high rate of turnover, and the actors who come in to play these new characters are always first-rate. While early seasons dealt with your typical spy stories, more recent efforts are starting to tackle much larger issues of governance, such as terrorism and the delicate balance of power that holds a democracy together.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2008
On the surface, The Kingdom appears to be a good way for Americans to relieve some stress by watching the demise of some middle-eastern terrorists. But The Kingdom is actually quite different from your standard action movie shoot 'em up. Yes, there is a lot of action, most of it occurring in the film's last half an hour, but the film asks some tough questions and is optimistic in its belief that Americans and Muslims can work towards one goal together.
Jamie Foxx plays Ronald Fleury, the leader of a FBI forensics team (Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner) called in to investigate the bombing of a Western-workers complex in Saudi Arabia. At first his team is not wanted there, as Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom) is leading the investigation and is determined to find those responsible himself. But when the two men realize that they are better off combining their efforts, a friendship develops between Fleury and Al Ghazi. And that is where The Kingdom works best. It gives us hope that people from different backgrounds can defeat a common enemy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2008
It's not often that a review starts with the final score, but I'm going to break that rule. Go out and buy this DVD set. Stop reading this review, leave your residence, and go directly to your nearest DVD retailer for a copy of the 3-disc version of Hot Fuzz. When I first watched Shaun of the Dead, I was absolutely blown away at how deftly creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright were able to mix the comedy, spoof and horror genres into one of the most entertaining and original films of the decade. While I had high hopes for the follow up project, deep down I was expecting to find a case of the sophomore slump; a good film that manages to fall short of the success of the debut. Not only was my gut feeling dead wrong, but I am of the opinion that the two have actually been able to surpass their previous success. Shaun of the Dead was not a fluke, but merely a warm-up to the amazing success of Hot Fuzz.
This time around, the pair (along with hilarious stalwart Nick Frost) cover the action film genre. Pegg plays a London cop so outstanding that he makes the rest of the department look bad, so he is shipped off to a sleepy countryside hamlet to hand out tickets to speeders and the occasional noisy pub patron. What he finds, however, is something more sinister than anything he had ever come in contact with on the streets of London.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 9th, 2008
Back in the summer of '89, a popular action flick was calling my name from the shelves of the local video rental store. It was Young Guns, and I'd heard it was wild, gun-toting ride from start to finish. Problem was, I was eight years old and there was no way my folks were going let me see such a violent movie, for fear two hours with Billy the Kid would make me a career criminal.
Boy, have times changed. Granted, Young Guns wasn't the baddest film on the block 18 years ago, but it was reflective of the then-current action standards. In 2007, we've got stuff like Shoot 'Em Up, a film so over-the-top violent that the tables have turned — I wouldn't let my parents anywhere near it, for fear they'd have simultaneous, massive myocardial infarctions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2007
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This is a Bruckheimer film from beginning to end. You get all of the standard conventions in National Treasure. Plenty of action, intriguing characters, and a fast and furious ride.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 18th, 2007
TV reporter Jason Behr is the reincarnation of warrior from 500 years ago, charged with protecting a woman (Amanda Brooks, also a reincarnation) whose destiny is to sacrifice herself so that a mystical giant serpent (an Imoogi) can become a dragon. Unfortunately, an evil Imoogi named Buraki wants the power for itself, and summons a giant reptilian army that lays waste to LA in the search for Brooks.
The most elaborate South Korean project ever isn’t a patch on the far superior The Host, but is still a very entertaining monster mash. Though shot in English with an American cast (including Robert Foster as a kind of Obi Wan Kenobi), the hilariously nonsensical dialogue sounds very translated indeed. The plot has very little flow to it, what with our star-crossed lovers fleeing Buraki in one scene, but taking time out for a meeting in a coffee shop in the next. Then there’s the fact that the gigantic Buraki seems to be able to arrive in large urban areas without anyone noticing his 200-metre presence. One can also chuckle at the flashbacks within flashbacks that set up the back story. But a great deal can be forgiven thanks to the copious monster footage. This is a film that delivers on its promises, and once the rampage starts, the action is non-stop. The CGI nature of the beasts may be pretty obvious, but the creatures are also very detailed. As a strange cross-cultural mix of period fantasy and urban monster rampage, this is pretty infectious fun.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2007
There is a certain audience that really gets into what I call "mythic combat". Zena and Hercules on TV, and movies like Reign of Fire, Conan and Dragonslayer all fit into this category for me. While I typically don't enjoy this type of faire, I am a sucker for the more popular versions, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and 300. After seeing a very promising trailer in the theater, I had high hopes for Pathfinder. Unfortunately, the final film did not live up to the potential of its marketing.
Pathfinder tells a story set in North America, 300 years before Columbus "discovered" the new world. When a band of ruthless Vikings attacks a small native village, a Viking boy shows his true colors, and refuses to kill a defenseless family. Disgraced, the boy is left to die. The natives, however, take him in and raise them as one of their own. When the boy is grown, the Vikings return, and the boy must fight his original kinsmen to defend the only family he has ever known.
