Wednesday, April 26, 2006
REVIEW: HARD CANDY (SNEAK PREVIEW)
Wow! My husband and I saw this movie at a sneak preview last night and it was incredible. Ellen Page (the upcoming X-Men: The Final Stand) is sure to be a star after her turn as Hayley, a 14-year old girl who befriends a much older man named Jeff (Patrick Wilson, 2004's The Phantom of the Opera) in a computer chat room. They meet up at a neighborhood cafe, and have a nice chat over sweets and coffee. He kind of invites her back to his house, and she accepts and almost forces the issue that she really would like to go to his house. While they are at the cafe, we see a quick shot of the "missing child" flier for another teenage girl. Hmmm....Does this mean that Jeff is not on the up-and-up? Hayley and Jeff get back to his house, and she takes a look around. Knowing he is a photographer, she comments on the portraits of teenage girls that decorate his living room. She then convinces him to allow her to fix them something to drink and to get his camera so he can take pictures of her. This is where the movie ends up taking an unexpected twist, and it is quite a twist. I will not go too much into it because I do not want to ruin the movie experience for you, but let's just say that Hayley turns the tables on Jeff and the change is pretty extreme, almost hard-core. This movie is a must-see, and should be remembered come Oscar time. Page and Wilson are basically the only players in the entire film, save a brief appearance by Sandra Oh (Sideways) towards the movie's end. Director David Slade should have an exciting career ahead of him.Official Website: http://hardcandymovie.com/
Grade: A+
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
REVIEW: SOMETHING NEW
I loved this movie! I had been looking forward to seeing it since I saw its first preview. A fan of Sanaa Lathan ever since I saw in her Love & Basketball with cutie Omar Epps, she once again impressed me with a knockout performance as Kenya McQueen. Kenya is a successful professional woman and the movie opens with her meeting a blind date at the local Starbucks. Turns out her blind date is a white guy named Brian (Simon Baker, Land of the Dead), which makes Kenya a little nervous, causing her to cut the coffee date short to make a hasty exit. She ends up meeting Brian again when she is at a party and compliments her hostess on her gorgeous landscaping. The hostess introduces Brian as her landscape architect. Yes, it is an awkward moment. Of course, Kenya ends up hiring him to do the landscaping of her new house, and they end up in bed soon after that. Of course, what Kenya now faces is the quizzical questioning and looks of her friends, who are none too sure that Kenya should be dating a white guy when there are plenty of successful black men to be had. Director Sanaa Hamri makes a solid feature film directing debut, with a great script and solid lead and supporting actors. Special notice should be paid to Donald Faison (TV's Scrubs), who plays her brother and who always seems to have a different girl on his arm.Official Website: http://www.somethingnewmovie.net/sn-splash.html
Grade: 4.75 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: THE MATADOR
This is a perfect movie for those wanting to see Pierce Brosnan in an anti-Bond role. Brosnan plays hitman Julian Noble, a hitman who's losing his touch and nerve. He meets a pretty unlucky businessman named Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear, Bad News Bears) while on a job down in Mexico. The two forge an unlikely friendship of sorts, which comes to light a year or so later when Julian shows up on the doorstep of Danny and his wife Bean (Hope Davis, The Weather Man), asking for Danny's help in offing a target. This movie could easily be described as a dark comedy - with many funny moments, and some almost uneasy laughs.Official Website: http://www.miramax.com/matador/
Grade: 3 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: HOODWINKED
I'll keep it simple. This movie SUCKED. AVOID at all costs! We walked out after 10 minutes and went to see The Family Stone again.Official Website: http://www.hoodwinkedthemovie.com/
Grade: No Stars (F)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
REVIEW: Mrs. Henderson Presents
You'll laugh, you'll cry, and the nudity is much better than Brokeback Mountain!!!!!
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: Capote
Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives a riveting and Oscar worthy performance in this true life telling of the famous author's pursuit of the real story behind the 1959 grisly Kansas murders that will captivate and disturb you at the same time.
GRADE: A
Saturday, February 04, 2006
THE MOVIE CHICK'S WORST MOVIES OF 2005
Yes, I am a little late in publishing my Worst 10 list for 2005, too, but better late than never, right? This was a pretty hard list, so grant me a little over 10 movies for 2005:
Aeon Flux
Be Cool
Cursed
Elektra
Fantastic Four
The Ice Harvest
Kingdom of Heaven
Monster-in-Law
The Perfect Man
Stay
Remakes: The Bad News Bears, Bewitched, Fun With Dick & Jane, The Dukes of Hazzard
Aeon Flux
Be Cool
Cursed
Elektra
Fantastic Four
The Ice Harvest
Kingdom of Heaven
Monster-in-Law
The Perfect Man
Stay
Remakes: The Bad News Bears, Bewitched, Fun With Dick & Jane, The Dukes of Hazzard
THE MOVIE CHICK'S TOP MOVIES OF 2005
Yes, I am a little late in publishing my Top 10 list for 2005, but better late than never, right? This was a pretty hard list, so grant me a little over 10 movies for 2005:
Batman Begins
Cinderella Man
The Family Stone
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
A History of Violence
In Her Shoes
The March of the Penguins
Murderball
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Comedy Trio: The 40-Year old Virgin, Just Friends, Wedding Crashers
Batman Begins
Cinderella Man
The Family Stone
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
A History of Violence
In Her Shoes
The March of the Penguins
Murderball
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Comedy Trio: The 40-Year old Virgin, Just Friends, Wedding Crashers
Sunday, January 22, 2006
REVIEW: HOSTEL
The picture of Jay Hernandez with this review was the sweetest picture I could find for one heckuva creepy-ass movie. Hernandez (Friday Night Lights) plays Paxton, who is backpacking across Europe with best friend Josh (Derek Richardson, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd) and new friend Oli (newcomer Eythor Gudjonsson). They get a tip that there are lots of hot girls who put out in Slovakia, so they hop on a train to take a side trip. Oh, yes, there are hot girls - but you'll pay a pretty price to sleep with one of them - try losing your life. Tourists are kidnapped and offered as sacrifices to depraved people who pay to kill a tourist in any way they'd like (which basically nvolves a lot of really grotesque torture). The movie is not quite as graphic as it could have been - a lot of it is left to your own imagination, as it happens just off the screen. Definitely a movie to check out if you like scary, creepy flicks.Official Website: http://www.hostelfilm.com/
Trivia 1: The trailers bill the movie as "inspired by true events". Director Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) says that he found a Thai website that advertised itself as a "murder vacation," offering users the chance to torture and kill someone for the price of $10,000. Roth later showed the site to Quentin Tarantino and the two developed the idea for the film. Tarantino and Roth said later on an Icelandic talk show that they have no idea if the website was real or not.
Trivia 2: Eli Roth wrote the role of Oli for Eythor Gudjonsson after he met him doing press for 2002's Cabin Fever in Iceland. Roth was so taken with Eythor's charisma and charm, he promised he'd make put him in a movie one day. Eythor was surprised when he saw that Roth had followed through with his promise, and happily accepted the role.
Grade: 3.75 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: LAST HOLIDAY
Last Holiday would have been an awesome film to have been released during the holidays last year. Instead, it came to theaters in January 2006. Queen Latifah stars as Georgia Byrd, a woman who works in the kitchen section of a large department store as a food preparation chef and harbors a secret crush on a co-worker named Sean (LL Cool J). Right about the time Sean is working up the courage to ask her out she bumps her head and discovers that she only has three weeks to live because of a brain tumor. Having never lived for the moment, Georgia takes out her life savings and heads to Europe, where she decides to spend her last few weeks on Earth at a deluxe winter resort. Mistaken for a wealthy socialite due to her lavish spending, Georgia embarks on a life adventure that allows her to really "live". Great story, great acting, great directing (the latter by Wayne Wang, director of 1993's The Joy Luck Club).Official Website: http://www.lastholidaymovie.com/
Trivia: All the dishes served in the movie was prepared by Food Network chefs who traveled with the crew to do the cooking. They also taught Queen Latifah some basic cooking techniques so she would look like a professional chef in the movie.
Grade: 4 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: MATCH POINT
Match Point is easily Woody Allen's best movie (which is not saying a lot, but it is really good), full of suspense, twists, turns and unexpected murders that keep you on the edge of your seat as the tension builds to the exciting climax.GRADE: A-
CAPSULE REVIEW: UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION
As a big fan of vampire movies, I must say that Underworld: Evolution ranks right up with some of the best. Kate Beckinsale reprises her role of Selene and Scott Speedman also returns as Selene's love interest, Michael. What's really cool is that this movie picks up right where the first one left off - so it would be a good idea to watch the first one before seeing it's sequel to get refreshed on the plotlines. Stunts and special effects are top-notch. Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/underworldevolution/
Trivia: The little girl that plays young Selene is Lily Bo Sheen, Kate Beckinsale's daughter.
Grade: 4.75 out of 5 Stars
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Pitt-Jolie Embroyo Signed To Modeling Contract
What do you get when you combine Brad Pitt's sperm with Angelina Jolie's egg? Well, we will find out soon. The two have announced that she is pregnant - and we assume that Brad Pitt is the lucky father. Seriously, doesn't this child have a whole lot to live up to after birth? Being the offspring of two of the most beautiful people in the world would be very stressful. If this kid is anything less than drop dead gorgeous, there is something wrong!
Rumor has it that Angelina will wear a vial of Brad's blood around her neck to ward off the ugly gene.
Rumor has it that Angelina will wear a vial of Brad's blood around her neck to ward off the ugly gene.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
REVIEW: CASANOVA
I was surprised by just how good Casanova turned out to be. Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) plays the title role of lover Casanova, and the film tells the story of how he falls in love with a young woman named Francesca Bruni (an almost unrecognizable Sienna Miller). Francesca is already promised to another man, Papprizio (the hilarious Oliver Platt), and we go through the first of many mistaken identities as Casanova pretends to be Papprizio while he schools Papprizio in the ways to woo a woman. The performances by all are great, and Ledger delivers the second of two knockout performaces for the year 2005 (the first, of course, being in Brokeback Mountain). Another great directorial job by Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat).Official Website: http://casanova.movies.go.com/main.html
Grade: 4 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: GLORY ROAD (SNEAK PREVIEW)
What a great movie - not just a great sports movie, but a great movie! Josh Lucas (Stealth) stars as Coach Don Haskins, a former girls high school basketball coach who was hired to coach NCAA Division I men's basketball at Texas Western University (now known as University of Texas-El Paso). Haskins receives no funds for recruitment, so he starts to look at players that other colleges are not looking at - mainly black players. By the time the season begins, his team of 12 consists of 7 black players. Haskins and his team encounter a lot of naysayers and racists as they play their games, but no one can discount the fact that they go through almost the entire season undefeated. The climax of the story takes place during the championship game against Kentucky, coached by one of the best coaches of the time, Adolph Rupp. Even if you're not a sports fan, you should check out this movie - the story, acting, and direction by first-time director James Gartner is outstanding.Official Website: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/gloryroad/
Trivia: The gym in the movie was at Chalmette High School in Chalmette, Louisiana. The gym was subsequently destroyed by the flooding from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Grade: 5 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2
I admit to never seeing the predecessor to this sequel - why? Well, I thought it looked really stupid. Its sequel, however, looked kinda funny in its trailers, so we decided to venture forth and check it out. Now, Cheaper By the Dozen 2 is certainly not going to win any major awards, but it was an entertaining little family film, and had some rather funny moments, along with some cheesy ones (as expected). Carmen Electra (Starsky & Hutch) is a hoot as the wife of Tom Baker's (Steve Martin, Shopgirl) biggest rival, Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy, The Man). Hilary Duff (The Perfect Man) is a bit scary in the film, though - she looks a little too thin and I can't help staring at her newly veneered teeth. Here's the plot - Tom Baker and family head up to the lake for a relaxing family vacation,only to rekindle a rivalry with Jimmy Murtaugh and his family, which culminates in the big annual family competition at the lake.Official Website: http://www.cheaperbythedozen2movie.com/
Grade: 2.75 out of 5 Stars
Saturday, December 31, 2005
REVIEW: THE FAMILY STONE
We've seen this movie three times, and it gets better each time. I highly recommend checking it out to see the tremendous performances by everyone in the cast - especially Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Luke Wilson, and Rachel McAdams. Here's the story: Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney, Must Love Dogs) takes his girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker, TV's Sex & the City) home to his family's house for Christmas. He intends to ask his mother, Sybil (Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give) for her mother's wedding ring so he can propose to Meredith. Let's just say that Meredith does not make a good first impression on the family, most notably on Amy (Rachel McAdams, Wedding Crashers), Everett's youngest sibling. Bad goes to worse, and Meredith calls in her sister, Julie (Claire Danes, Shopgirl) for moral support. I'm not giving away what happens next, but this movie really shows what it's like to have a close knit family and how things that seem bad may not necessarily end up that way.Official Website: http://www.thefamilystonemovie.com/
Trivia: Billy Crudup and Johnny Knoxville were expected to play the role of Ben Stone before dropping out. The part later went to Luke Wilson. Aaron Eckhart was first cast in the role of Everett but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. The role went to Dermot Mulroney.
Grade: 5 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: MUNICH
Spielberg creates a masterpiece of unquenchable blood lust, action, international intrigue, revenge, moral dilemmas and relevancy to the war against terror.GRADE: A
REVIEW: KING KONG
Loved by critics but not a huge hit at the box office, King Kong clocks in at 3 hours of fun, amazing special effects, an ape/woman love scene (just kidding), creepy spiders and bugs, aerial battles and one heck of a ride!GRADE: B+
CAPSULE REVIEW: IN THE MIX
The trailer was far better than the film in the case of this silly movie. R&B superstar Usher (The Faculty) plays a hot club DJ who ends up playing bodyguard to an old friend played by Emmanuelle Chriqui (TV's Entourage) when it seems like someone is out to kill her mafia father. Don't bother renting the DVD - wait for cable if you feel like you've gotta see it.Official Website: http://www.usherinthemix.com/inthemix_teaser_content.html
Grade: 1 out of 5 Stars
CAPSULE REVIEW: FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
In a remake of 1977's Fun With Dick and Jane, director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) delivers a pretty uninteresting flick. Jim Carrey reverts to his annoying parody of an adult man, while Tea Leoni is stuck playing his wife. Luckily the movie is short, but that's not enough to redeem itself. What could have been a hilarious turn on a wronged couple getting revenge on the actions of the Enron-like criminal fat cat played by Alec Baldwin (with a horrible southern accent) ends up a bust.Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/funwithdickandjane/
Trivia: During the INS raid, one of the workers has an ID that says he's Opie Taylor. Ron Howard played Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. Ron's brother, Clint Howard, has a cameo in that scene as one of the INS agents.
Grade: 1 out of 5 Stars
CAPSULE REVIEW: MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Beautiful direction by Rob Marshall (Chicago) is one of the reasons to see this film adaptation of the book of the same name. The other reasons? The cinematography, costumes, and the acting by the three main divas - Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, and Ziyi Zhang.Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/memoirsofageisha/
Trivia: The rickshaws used in this movie are from 2003’s The Last Samurai. Ornamentation was added to make them look right for the period.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
CAPSULE REVIEW: RUMOR HAS IT
This movie, directed by Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally) was surprisingly good. Sarah (Jennifer Aniston, Derailed) returns home for her sister Annie's (Mena Suvari, Beauty Shop) wedding. Newly engaged herself to Jeff (Mark Ruffalo, Just Like Heaven), Sarah feels she may be having doubts about her own relationship. She begins to suspect something is up in her own family when she questions her deceased mother's romantic past, and discovers that her family was the basis for the Robinson family from the book and film The Graduate. Mrs. Robinson? That would be Sarah's grandmother, played deliciously by Shirley Maclaine (In Her Shoes). And who was the young man that Sarah's mother and grandmother had a relationship with? That would be Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner, in his second great role of 2005, following The Upside of Anger). Will she follow the family tradition and sleep with Beau, too?Official Website: http://rumorhasitmovie.warnerbros.com/
Trivia: Early in the film's pre-production stages, Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft were strongly considered for the roles of Beau Burroughs and Katherine Richelieu. But when Bancroft died and Hoffman had filming commitments for several other projects, the roles were given to Kevin Costner and Shirley MacLaine.
Grade: 3 out of 5 Stars
REVIEW: THE PRODUCERS
Fun movie - we actually saw this on Christmas Day. Had to laugh, though, when my in-laws left the movie about 20 minutes into it. Since we came in a big group, they had to wait outside or sit in on another movie until we were all done with The Producers! The songs are fun and the performances are a kick - especially those of stars Matthew Broderick as an accountant turned producer Leo Bloom and Nathan Lane as the other producer Max Bialystock, as well as Uma Thurman as Leo and Max's secretary, Will Ferrell as the playwright, and Gary Beach as director Roger DeBris. Leo tells Max they could actually make more money from a Broadway failure than a success, so they search for the worst play ever written, which is Springtime for Hitler. What happens when supposed failure becomes a big hit?Official Website: http://www.theproducersmovie.com/
Trivia: Uma Thurman was doubled during portions of the dances by Angie Schworer who was playing the part of Ulla in the Broadway version of "The Producers" during production of this film.
Grade: 4 out of 5 Stars
CAPSULE REVIEW: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
This movie, a.k.a the gay cowboy movie, is well-acted, well-directed (by Ang Lee), and tells a very endearing and meaningful story. Heath Ledger (Casanova) gives the best performance of his career, as does his real-life love Michelle Williams (The Station Agent), who plays Ledger's wife and who tries to come to terms with the fact that her husband is gay and is hiding a secret relationship with his sheep-herding buddy (Jake Gyllenhaal).Official Website: http://www.brokebackmountain.com/splash.html
Trivia: Afraid that Anne Hathaway's previous films The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted would work against her during auditions, the casting director introduced Anne to director Ang Lee as a New York Broadway actress. He fortunately didn't know she had any success prior to being cast.
Grade: 4 out of 5 Lone Stars
Monday, December 12, 2005
REVIEW: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE
The film adaptation of C.S. Lewis's beloved novel, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is a magical feast for the eyes and the mind. With newcomers cast as the Pevensie children, director Andrew Adamson (director of Shrek and Shrek 2) pulls amazing performances out of all four of them, while also allowing Tilda Swinton (Constantine) to shine as the evil White Witch. For those of you who have not read the book, a simple recap is this: four children enter the world of Narnia through a wardrobe and learn of their destiny to free said wrld from the clutches of the White Witch by helping the great lion Aslan. Special efects are top notch, including the voice work of Liam Neeson as Aslan (a role orginally cast with actor Brian Cox).Official Website: http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/index.html
Trivia: The makers asked for permission to bring in 12 reindeer to New Zealand to pull the Ice Queen's sled. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry denied, citing the potentially deadly Q fever from which the North American reindeer population suffers as the reason. However, eight wolves were allowed in for filming in Auckland.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: SYRIANA
Someone has yet to explain to me exactly why George Clooney felt he needed to pack on 35 pounds for his role as CIA Agent Bob Barnes. The story is not too simple to explain, but here goes...The movie is about American interests in Middle East oil, and about how those interestes relate to several other areas and people of the world. There are some notable performaces by Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy) as an oil industry broker and Alexander Siddig (Kingdom of Heaven) as an idealistic Prince whose family controls oil in the Persian Gulf. Stephen Gaghan wrote (adapted from a book by Roger Baer) and directed this movie, but, unlike his Academy Award-winning Adapted Screenplay for Traffic, this movie makes too many jumps between stories and too many characters to keep everything straight.Official Website: http://syrianamovie.warnerbros.com/
Trivia: Due to the weight he gained for the film, George Clooney suffered a spinal injury during a stunt that caused him severe migraine headaches (which prevented him from doing publicity for Ocean's Twelve), and had him bedridden for a month. This injury was eventually corrected with surgery, and Clooney has since called his weight gain "pretty stupid".
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
Sunday, December 04, 2005
REVIEW: FIRST DESCENT
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the snow, here comes FIRST DESCENT, which examines the history of snowboarding and its rise from obscure subculture to multimillion dollar phenomenon. This documentary takes a nontraditional route, assembling a group of boarders from all generations for a breathtaking and highly dangerous trip to the mountains of Alaska. There they start on the small mountains and eventually attempt to conquer the 7601 (named for its height). The freestyle boarders (including the highly popular Shaun White) struggle with the terrain, while the older boarders take hard falls from several gnarly jumps. As documentaries go, this one was pretty good, but seemed short with regards to the history of the sport. GRADE: B
REVIEW: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
I'm not exactly sure why so much has been made of this latest adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride & Prejudice. Keira Knightley (King Arthur) is engaging as Elizabeth Bennet, but the movie is very slow moving, and the casting of Matthew MacFadyen as Mr. Darcy is less than thrilling. He makes Mr. Darcy very dull and makes it difficult for the viewer to understand why Elizabeth falls in love with him. The best performace in the movie belongs to Donald Sutherland, who plays Elizabeth's father, Mr. Bennet - maybe he'll get a much deserved Oscar nod for his role. Skip this version of Pride & Prejudice, and rent the Hollywood/Bollywood musical adaptation Bride & Prejudice (directed by Gurinder Chadha, who directed Knightley in Bend it Like Beckham) - it's much more entertaining and enjoyable.Official Website: http://www.prideandprejudicemovie.net/splash.html
Trivia: Keira Knightley was preparing for her role in Domino while she was filming this, and had already cut her hair. She had to wear a wig during the last few weeks of filming and long sleeves to hide her muscles.
Grade: 3 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: AEON FLUX
I chose the picture next to this review because it features hot New Zealand-born actor Marton Csokas (The Great Raid, The Lord of the Rings trilogy), who was the only element of the movie worth seeing. I'm not exactly sure how director Karyn Kusama (Girlfight) was able to assemble such a talented cast for such a piece of crap movie. Csokas is joined in the film by Charlize Theron (North Country), Frances McDormand (North Country), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda - this is her follow-up to her Oscar-nominated role???), and Pete Postlethwaite (The Constant Gardener). I normally like Jonny Lee Miller (a.k.a. the former Mr. Angelina Jolie), but he didn't even come off like he could act his way out of a paper bag in this movie. Story in a nutshell - takes place in the future, people are basically "killed" in order to be cloned and brought back as babies, Aeon (Theron) needs to help her group prevent this, blah, blah, blah. Special effects are not that special, either. Avoid this mess (unless you just want to admire Csokas for 90 minutes).Official Website: http://www.aeonflux.com/
Trivia: Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight, TV's Lost) was originally set to play character "Aeon Flux" when the film was announced in 2003.
Grade: 0.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: KISS KISS, BANG BANG
This movie looked great in its trailers, but was less-than satisfying when actually viewed. Robert Downey, Jr. (Good Night, and Good Luck)stars as Harry Lockhart, a down-on-his-luck thief who accidentally runs into an audition for a movie while running from a heist gone bad. He is flown to Los Angeles and is matched up with Gay Perry (Val Kilmer, Alexander), a private eye who is supposed to train Harry in his trade for his film role. Harry runs into an old childhood friend, Harmony Lockhart (Michelle Monaghan, North Country), and ends up saying he'll help her find out who killed her sister. Harry and Gay wind up finding a lot of dead bodies, and try to solve the mystery of these killings while trying not to be killed themselves. What made this movie annoying was the narration by Downey, Jr. - it was actually quite distracting and the film would have been better off without it. Official Website: http://kisskiss-bangbang.warnerbros.com/
Trivia: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is Shane Black's directorial debut - he is the acclaimed screenwriter 1987's Lethal Weapon.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
David Strathairn (Blue Car, The River Wild ) delivers an Oscar-worhy perofrmance as CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow in this film directed and co-written (with Grant Heslov) by George Clooney (Syriana). The film follows the story of Murrow's quest to being down Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Senator's communist witch hunt in the early 1950's. Strathairn is surrounded by an outstanding supporting cast with notable performances by Clooney, Robert Downey, Jr. (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang), Patricia Clarkson (Miracle), Ray Wise (TV's Savannah), Frank Langella (TV's Unscripted), and Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale). Official Website: http://wip.warnerbros.com/goodnightgoodluck/
Trivia: Director/star George Clooney had said they opted to use archive footage of Joseph McCarthy instead of using an actor to portray the senator. Clooney had said that when the movie had undergone test screenings, audience members felt that the McCarthy character was overacting a bit, not realizing that it was the actual McCarthy through archive footage.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: THE ICE HARVEST
Just when you thought that director Harold Ramis could not miss, here comes THE ICE HARVEST. This ridiculous excuse for a film has an all-star cast, including Billy Bob Thornton, John Cusack, Randy Quaid, Connie Nielsen & Oliver Platt, which makes it all the more surprisingly bad. I will spare you the plot details, but let's just say that the story is convoluted and the characters have nothing even remotely interesting to say. The script is absolutely terrible and the actors seem to be going throught the motions. And to think that Ramis directed VACATION, CADDYSHACK, GROUNDHOG DAY and other classics. This movie is a stinker folks, stay as far away as possible!GRADE: F
REVIEW: JUST FRIENDS
Just when you thought Ryan Reynolds would still be sexy in a fat suit, here comes JUST FRIENDS. The movie begins with Chris Brander (Reynolds) obsessing over his best friend in high school, Jamie (Amy Smart). Chris would like to be more than friends with Jamie, but she places him in the "Friend Zone," which ends up scarring him for life. Ten years later, Chris has lost a ton of weight and is now a record producer in LA. His boss gives him an ultimatum; sign the Ashlee Simpson look-a-like Samantha James (played brilliantly by Anna Farris) or you're fired. The problem is, Samantha James is a crazy person! He accompanies her to Paris, but their plane has to make an emergency landing in New Jersey after Samantha puts some foil in the microwave. Chris then takes her to his nearby hometown until the plane can be fixed. There he reunites with all of his high school pals, including Jamie. Chris Klein (Dusty) gives his best performance since AMERICAN PIE as a fellow high school nerd that is now cool and after Jamie as well. The stunts and gags work on every level in this film and my wife and I found ourselves laughing out loud at times. Despite mixed reviews and lackluster box office, I highly recommend this film. It is funny and sweet and Anna Farris is absolutely hilarious!GRADE: A+
REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
I had to see HP4 a second time before writing this review due to the fact that I was a little crabby over all the parts of the book that had been left out of the movie (and there are a lot!). Upon my second viewing, it was clear that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is definitely one of the best films of the year. The fourth film finds Harry, Ron, and Hermione back at Hogwarts for their 4th year. This year the Tri-Wizard Tournament is to be held at Hogwarts. The Tournament brings together three wizarding schools (Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang) in a series of three difficult tasks to determine the best school-age wizard/witch. Three champions are to be chosen by the Goblet of Fire for the competition, but Harry's name comes out of the goblet after the other 3 names have been revealed. Harry didn't enter, so who is to blame? Harry must compete in the tournament due to the official rules, but he is ill-prepared as only those 17 and older are allowed to compete due to their level of spell mastery. Harry is also having an odd nightmare repeatedly - that Lord Voldemort has returned. Of course, there is also a new Defense Aainst the Dark Arts teacher - Professor Mad-Eye Moody (the wonderful Brendan Gleeson, The Village) and we meet some new book characters - Hogwarts students Cho Chang (newcomer Katie Leung) and Tri-Wizard Hogwarts school champion Cedric Diggory (newcomer Robert Pattinson), Daily Prophet writer Rita Skeeter (Miranda Richardson, The Hours), and Tri-Wizard school champions Viktor Krum (Bulgarian newcomer Stanislav Ianevski) and Fleur DeLacour (French actress Clemence Poesy). The 3 tasks are amazing as well - dragons, merpeople, and an insane maze. And, most importantly, we see He Who Must Not Be Named (Ralph Fiennes, The Constant Gardener) be brought back to full-strength. See this film at the IMAX if possible - it's awesome!Official Website: http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/index.html
Trivia: All underwater filming involving the teen actors was only allowed 15 seconds per take. After this time, safety divers swam in with scuba regulators to allow them to breathe without having to surface. These scenes were shot in a huge purpose-built tank with a blue-screen background. Daniel Radcliffe alone logged around 41 hours 38 minutes underwater during the course of filming, at one point during training he inadvertently signaled that he was drowning, sending the crew into a huge panic to bring him back up to surface.
Trivia Part II: The rock band at the Ball comprises mostly members of Pulp and Radiohead.
Grade: 5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: WALK THE LINE
Much has ben made of the fact that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon do their own singing in this film, and much should be made - they are wonderful! The film tells the story of Johhny Cash (Phoenix, Ladder 49) and his rise in music and his love with June Carter (Witherspoon, Just Like Heaven). Director James Mangold (Identity) pulled together a tremendous cast to tell a story that he'd been wanting to tell for several years. We see young versions of Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton, TV's One Tree Hill), Jerry Lee Lewis (newcomer Waylon Payne), and Waylon Jennings (played by Waylon's son, Shooter Jennings). Ginnifer Goodwin (Win a Date With Tad Hamilton) plays Cash's first wife, Vivian, and should receive awards kudos for her role. Robert Patrick (Ladder 49) plays Cash's abusive, mean-spirited father. We follow Cash through his childhood, where he loses his brother in a freak accident, up to when he finally marries June Carter. Wonderful film - a must see!Official Website: http://www.walkthelinethemovie.com/
Trivia: It took four years for the producers to secure the rights to the story from James Keach who is a friend of Johnny Cash and his family. After Keach agreed, it took another four years to get the film made. Sony, Universal, Focus Features, Paramount, Columbia Pictures, and Warner Bros. all passed on the project.
Grade: 5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: DERAILED
Just when you thought it was safe to have an affair, here comes DERAILED, starring Clive Owen & Jennifer Aniston (who is popping up in many movies post-FRIENDS). The two characters must not have seen FATAL ATTRACTION, because they both decide to cheat on their spouses in a seedy motel room. Just before they can seal the deal, a French criminal busts into the room and demands their money. He knocks out Owen and has his way with Aniston. The two agree not to report it to the police and return to their unfulfilling lives. That is, until the criminal begins to call Owen and demand more money. There are several twists and turns from there leading up to the surprise ending. Both actors do a fine job of acting and this is an entertaining movie with a great deal of violence. GRADE: B
REVIEW: ZATHURA
Brook and I were really looking forward to Zathura, the film based on Chris Van Allsburg's book of the same name. Van Allsburg also wrote The Polar Express and Jumanji. Zathura is very similar to Jumanji, but even Jumanji was better than Zathura. Here's the story - two young brothers fight all the time, and while their dad is at work one Saturday they find themselves with nothing better to do than to agitate each other. The youngest, Danny (Jonah Bobo, a kid I didn't think was overly cute nor an overly good actor - but the woman behind me kept oohing and ahhing over "how cute that little boy is" - whatever!), is lowered in a dumbwaiter as punishment by his older brother, Walter (Josh Hutcherson, very cute and a good actor). Danny finds himself down in the basement and spies a game called Zathura on the stairwell. He drags the space-themed game upstairs and basically forces his brother to play it. Weird things start happening - oh, yes - they are not just playing the game - THEY ARE IN THE GAME!! Of course, even though weird things are happening they cannot stop playing the game, they must continue in order to get everything back to normal. Disappointing effort from Jon Favreau, in his follow-up to the wonderful Elf.Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/zathura/index.html
Grade: 2 out of 5 Lone Stars
Monday, November 07, 2005
Thomas Haden Church as the new villain in Spidey 3...
Sunday, November 06, 2005
REVIEW: PRIME
Prime was written and directed by Ben Younger, the same writer/director of 2000's Boiler Room. While Boiler Room was a so-so entertaining view of the world of investment brokers, Prime is a sometimes riotous look at a relationship between an older woman, a younger man, and the younger man's mother (who also happens to be the older woman's therapist). Rafi (Uma Thurman, upcoming The Producers) and David (Bryan Greenberg, The Perfect Score) are the couple in question, and Lisa (Meryl Streep, The Manchurian Candidate) is Rafi's therapist. Recently divorced, Rafi confides to Lisa that she recently met a much younger man and that she's not sure how to really proceed with the relationship, or if there really should be a relationship. Lisa encourages her to move forward, not knowing that her son is Rafi's "Younger Man". In the meantime, David is telling his mom that he's dating a non-Jewish woman, which Lisa is not happy about and she encourages him to break off the relationship due to the religious differences. Things go haywire when Lisa slowly starts to relazie that Rafi is her son's girlfriend. This movie has several laugh-out-loud moments and is also very sweet and touching in some parts, too. The performances from the entire cast are top-notch, including a supporting turn by Jon Abrahams (House of Wax) as David's pie throwing best friend.
Official Website: http://www.primemovie.net/
Trivia: Sandra Bullock was originally cast as Rafi. Bullock wanted major script changes from writer/director Ben Younger but when he refused, she dropped out. Only two weeks before principal photography, Uma Thurman stepped in and replaced Bullock.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: SHOPGIRL
The screenplay for Shopgirl was written by star Steve Martin, and it was based on his 2000 novella of the same name. The story is of Mirabelle (Claire Danes, the upcoming The Family Stone), a young, single woman from Vermont who lived in Los Angeles and works in the gloves department of Saks Fifth Avenue. She meets a young man named Jeremy (Jason Schwartzmann, his best work since 1998's Rushmore) at the laundromat and ends up on an odd date with him. Soon after, she meets Ray (Steve Martin, Bringing Down the House), an older, wealthy, single man who becomes her lover. We discover that Mirabelle is on anti-depressants, and the fact that Ray isn't as honest as he should be with her regarding their relationship impacts her pretty hard. In the meantime, Jeremy is finding himself and meets up with Mirabelle by chance several months after their ill-fated first date. I don't want to give too much away for those of you who have not read Martin's novella, but let's just say that this movie is excellent. The only downside is the fact that Martin is also the narrator, which does not really work given the fact that Mirabelle is the focus of this story, not Martin's Ray. Great performances by everyone, and for those of you that crush on Claire Danes - the film features a couple nude scenes of Ms. Danes.Official Website: http://shopgirl.movies.go.com/
Trivia: Jimmy Fallon was cast as Jeremy but dropped out before filming began. When Jeremy and Luther are shopping at Best Buy, the very first shot has a visual in-joke. In the foreground, somewhat out of focus, are row after row of DVD sets for Claire Danes' My So-Called Life and Steve Martin's Saturday Night Live. Also, the department store Mirabelle works at in the novella is Neiman Marcus, but Saks Fifth Avenue made a push for the movie to take place there - allowing use of the store for free and filming during regular business hours.
Grade: 5 out of 5 Lone Stars
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Review: JARHEAD
Just when you thought that the first Iraq War was a very exciting time for the ground troops, here comes JARHEAD, the first hand account of Desert Shield/Storm by former Marine Anthony Swofford (played dead on by Jake Gyllenhaal). I enjoyed the book very much and was looking forward to the movie. You might be suckered into believing that this is a war movie, but it is really a waiting for war movie, as the troops see very little combat and spend their days hydrating, putting on and taking off their gas suits (which don't seem to work anyway), comiserating about their cheating girfriends/wives back home and doing whatever it takes to stay sane in the midst of the war that is always over the next sand dune. The movie has a great supporting cast, including Chris Cooper, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx and Lucas Black. Trained as a sniper, Swofford is teamed with Sarsgaard (his spotter) and the two eventually form a bond after getting over their differences. Action finally comes when they are told to head to a radio tower and snipe a couple of Iraqi officers. They get the guys in their sights, radio back for permission, and are denied from their kill when another high-ranking officer shows up and orders an airstrike. Thus, the war ends without them even firing a single shot. I can't imagine being trained extensively to kill people and when the opportunity comes not getting a chance to do it! Overall, the film is wonderfully shot and there are several hilarious moments, but in the end you really feel sorry for most of these men. You definitely see a different side of the military than what is portrayed in most films.
GRADE: A (your female significant other will get their money's worth with several butt shots of Jake)
Review: THE WEATHERMAN
Just when you thought that meteorologists lead very boring and stable lives, here comes THE WEATHERMAN, starring Nic Cage as David Spritz, a Chicago weatherman whose life offscreen is much more stormy and gray than his weather predictions. Among his problems:
* People like to throw Frosty's and Big Gulps at him on the street, apparently for no reason
* His wife and him have separated and she has taken up with another man
* His daughter is considerably overweight, is teased at school, and doesn't seem to be interested in archery lessons that he has purchased for her
* His son is in trouble with the law and being pursued by a pedophile
* He does not know anything about the weather (doesn't even have a degree in meteorology) but is a finalist for the weatherman job on 'Hello America' in New York City.
* Can't seem to live up to his father's achievements as a Pulitzer Prize winner.
That about sums up the plot. Cage muddles through all of these frustrations, eventually begins carrying a bow and arrow around town, and doesn't seem to solve any of his problems. I have to warn you that this a very depressing movie and the ending feels like getting a failing SAT score in the mail after trying your hardest. Wait for the DVD and try not to watch it when you are in a good mood!
GRADE: C (I expected more from the director of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Review: Saw II
Just when you thought that Jigsaw had retired to take care of his grandchildren, here comes SAW II. Though not directed by the same director as the original, this sequel is in many ways superior to its predecessor. The cinematography is jerky and split second, which adds to the frantic pace at which the plot develops. We begin with another cruel 'murder,' followed by the cops (led by Donnie Walhlberg - who surprisingly doesn't have an eyebrows?) closing in on Jigsaw's lair. They find him very white and weak, still struggling against the cancer that is slowly killing him. As they begin to explore the rest of his hideout, they notice several computer screens which appear to be monitoring a game that is currently being played! Seems Mr. Saw has rounded up many players this time, locked them in a house, put some airborne nerve agent in the air and given them clues about how to find the vaccine. Wahlberg begins to simmer when he sees that his own son is among the contestants. A little cat-and-mouse beings between him and Jigsaw and let me tell you, I was completely suprised by the ending. All-in-all, this is a top-rate sequel that has managed to one-up the original (which featured some very questionable acting). A definite must see!
GRADE: A (A+ for Tobin Bell, who plays Jigsaw)
Sunday, October 30, 2005
REVIEW: THE LEGEND OF ZORRO
Let me get this off my chest before we get into the movie review - director Martin Campbell (The Mask of Zorro, Goldeneye) could have easily shaved off 30 minutes from this movie and we wouldn't have missed a thing. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones reunite in the sequel to 1998's The Mask of Zorro as Alejandro/Zorro and Elena, respectively, and they are joined by their young son Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). The plot is kind of goofy - Elena and Alejandro are having marital problems and she decides to divorce him. Then she suddenly takes up with some French Count (Rufus Sewell, A Knight's Tale - and he looks like a creepy smooth-faced wax dummy in this film) who's possibly plotting something bad for the state of California and the United States. Is Elena undercover? Can Zorro save the day? Will Joaquin learn to love and respect his father? The performances of Zeta Jones and Banderas are wonderful, and the boy playing their son is simply adorable. The swordplay gets a little tiring after a while, and the movie is too long. Wait for DVD - you don't have to see this one on a big screen.
Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thelegendofzorro/
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
REVIEW: ROLL BOUNCE
This movie was a lot of fun, so if you missed it at the theaters, check it out when it hits DVD. Rapper Bow Wow (Like Mike) stars as Xavier ("X" for short), the oldest child of widower Curtis (Chi McBride, Waiting). X loves to spend his summer days roller skating at the local roller rink with his pals, and they're deflated when they find out that their local rink is shutting down. The boys now have to travel to the other side of town to the fancy roller rink called Sweetwater.
Set in the 70's, the movie is full of sweet music and awesome skate routines. X encounters a former gal pal at their new rink, Naomi (Meagan Good, TV's Kevin Hill), meets a new neighbor named Tori (Jurnee Smollett, TV's Full House), and the highlight is the skate-off that X and his friends participate in against the rink's star skater Sweetness (Wesley Jonathan, TV's What I Like About You) and his team of skaters. Of course there's alot of teen angst along the way and some touching momenst between X and his father over the death of his mother. By the way, Nick Cannon does have a series of very brief cameos throughout the film as the kid who runs the skate rental counter - what has happened to his promising post-Drumline career?!
Official Website: http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/rollbounce/
Trivia: Ten percent of the movie's opening weekend gross was donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina
Grade: 4 out of 5 Lone Stars
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Review: WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
Just when you thought claymation was a thing of the past, here comes WALLACE & GROMIT! My wife and I were pretty big fans of CHICKEN RUN (directed as well by Nick Park), so we were eagerly awaiting the first full length feature W & G movie. Filled with tons of English humor (which hopefully is understood by Americans), the movie begins with W & G peacefully running their "humane" pest control outfit, dubbed Anti-Pesto. They spend their days trapping and catching rabbits that love to eat the vegetables of the town residents, who are all getting ready for the Giant Vegetable Competition. The residents begin to panic when a giant, werewolf-like rabbit begins stealing and eating the giant vegetables that are to be used in the contest. They call on W & G to catch the beast and save the competition. This film is filled with many funny moments and I am still in awe at how difficult and time consuming it must be to shoot a movie with clay characters and sets (think of how tedious it must be to move these clay figures every so slightly, take a picture, and move them again). While kids will get a kick out of this movie, it can be enjoyed by adults as well. Can't wait for the sequel!
GRADE: A (A+ for the patience of the filmmakers)
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Review: DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY
Just when you thought that underdog horse films were going out of style, along comes DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY. It tells the story of Cale Crane (Dakota Fanning – who has worked with more A list stars than Kevin Bacon), a young girl who after months of begging is allowed to accompany her father (Kurt Russell) to the race track where he works as a horse trainer. There she spots and falls in love with a horse named Sonia, who is hurt in a bad fall. Before the doctor can put the horse under, Cale begs and pleads and her father decides to buy her, which leads to the loss of his job. Well you know what happens next. The horse is given up on by everyone except Cale and eventually she becomes its owner, getting her back into racing shape. Sonia goes on to compete in the Breeder’s cup against her father’s ex-boss (along with a rich Saudi prince) and I don’t need to tell you the ending. Though not as good as SEABISCUIT, DREAMER is an entertaining story for the whole family. Either Fanning is using a very potent anti-aging cream, or she is doing movies at a breakneck pace because she does not appear to be aging at all from one movie to the next!
GRADE: B+
Review: STAY
Just when you thought all movies must make sense, along comes STAY. With the allstar cast of Ewan McGregor (outside of Star Wars, what has he done lately?), Ryan Gosling and Naomi Watts, you would think this is a can’t miss film. Well, you’d be wrong! I don’t even know where to start. Ewan McGregor plays Sam, a psychiatrist that inherits a patient by the name of Henry Letham (Gosling). Henry is obviously mentally deranged, however he seems to have a knack for predicting the future. That is where this movie becomes totally convoluted and pointless. Let’s just say that it sucked and under no circumstances should you see it!!!
GRADE: F- (Another F for McGregor’s odd movie choices)
Review: NORTH COUNTRY
Just when you thought Charlize Theron couldn’t look any worse than in MONSTER, here comes NORTH COUNTRY. Inspired by actual events (I always wonder what the difference is between ‘inspired’ and ‘based upon’?), NORTH COUNTRY tells the story of Josey Aimes (think Erin Brockovich in an iron mine), a down-on-her-luck single mother of two that takes job in a small town iron mine to make ends meet. Not long after taking the job, she discovers that female workers in the mine are degraded and treated like animals, while management turns their backs and refuses to do anything. The movie flashes back and forth between the court room proceedings (after she sues the mine) and the events that preceded it. Making matters worse, her father (Richard Jenkins) also works at the mine and seems to think that Josey has somehow brought all this on herself. The end of the movie is somewhat of a curveball, but overall I thought the acting was well done and the plot kept my attention, however I never got emotionally attached to the characters. It is obvious that this movie intends to be an Oscar contender (with Theron, Frances McDormand & Sissy Spacek starring), however I think it will fall short in the end.
GRADE: B- (D for Theron’s 80s style hair)
Review: DOOM
Just when you thought that video-game-to-movie flicks were dead, here comes DOOM, starring The Rock as ‘Sarge,’ leading a group of futuristic marines to investigate what has gone wrong at a DNA mapping facility on Mars. It seems that all of the scientists have gone missing and no one is quite sure why. The Rock’s group of misfits travel to Mars to check things out and needless to say (if you are a fan of the video game) they encounter zombies and all kinds of other scary monsters. Slowly the soldiers realize that the monsters are the scientists, infected with a violent strain of altered DNA. This movie got trashed by most critics, but it was worth a few thrills (and kills). Towards the end, the movie switches to first person mode, where all we see is the gun and everything it is aiming at (a tribute to the video game).
GRADE: C (The Rock continues his box office bombs)
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Review: ELIZABETHTOWN
Just when you thought Cameron Crowe finally recovered from the wreck called VANILLA SKY, here comes ELIZABETHTOWN. What are the chances that he and Tony Scott (DOMINO) could both release bombs on the same weekend? Well, it happened, now let me tell you why. ELIZABETHTOWN stars Orlando Bloom (Drew) and Kirsten Dunst (Claire), so this movie is a sure thing, right? Wrong! Drew has just failed at an Oregon-based Nike-like company by losing almost a billions dollars overnight on a new shoe he invented (8 years in development – but I guess no test marketing?). As he thinks about killing himself, he gets the call that his father has died while visiting his hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky and his family convinces him to head south and claim the body. While on the red eye flight, he meets Claire, who has nothing better to do than talk to him and cheer him up. They exchange numbers and he goes on his way. Upon arriving in Kentucky, he is greeted by extended family he has never met (and that do provide some comic relief), but he slowly comes to realize that he never really knew his father. He calls Claire in the middle of the night and the attraction grows between them. They get together, keep breaking up, get back together and then she tells him he needs to drive the trip back to Oregon using the special map and CDs she gives him (which seemed like another movie altogether). Their characters just do not ring true and do & say things that none of us would do – and that about sums up my disappointment. I know Cameron Crowe is considered to be some wonderful director, but he only does a movie about every 4 years on average and his resume, while somewhat distinguished, is not long enough for history to judge his relevancy. (This is the list: SAY ANYTHING, SINGLES, JERRY MAGUIRE, ALMOST FAMOUS, VANILLA SKY)
GRADE: D (F for the all of the corny parts of the script)
Review: DOMINO
Just when you thought Keira Knightley’s career had finally taken off, here comes DOMINO. I’m not sure if the story is completely true, inspired by true events or based on actual happenings, it really doesn’t matter because this is an awful movie. Knightley stars as Domino Harvey, the model turned bounty hunter that would rather kick some bad guy butt rather than kick her heels on the runway. And to think this piece of trash came from renowned director Tony Scott (TOP GUN, MAN ON FIRE) is just shocking. Domino joins up with Ed (Mickey Rourke - who needs to be put back in a wine bottle because he is not aging well) to track down criminals and bring them to justice. Things go wrong after they are set up by their boss (Delroy Lindo) and the mob gets involved. From there it is all down hill, much like Knightley’s career if she doesn’t start making better movie choices (think THE JACKET & KING ARTHUR). She should’ve learned a lesson from the movie career of Julia Roberts – that we don’t want to see her all rough looking and unkept in a movie role. I only want to see the nice Keira (think LOVE ACTUALLY & BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM). Even an unexpected topless scene in the movie is not worth the ticket (ok, maybe at the matinee!).
GRADE: F (A for the scene aforementioned)
Thursday, October 20, 2005
DOOM just 'stupid fun'
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Early Review of JARHEAD!
Good Buzz on NORTH COUNTRY
Review: TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
I don't know of a more versatile director alive today than Tim Burton. He seems to move effortlessly from live action to animation to claymation without losing his attention to detail and comedic timing. THE CORPSE BRIDE is no exception. Johnny Depp (who it seems like is in every Tim Burton film) lends his voice to Victor, who is in the middle of an arranged marriage to Victoria (Emily Watson). Unsure if he will be able to love his new bride, Victor ventures into the dark forest adjacent to the town. As he dances around during a song (yes, there is singing), he places the ring on what he thinks is a tree branch. But it happens to be the hand of the corpse bride (Helena Bonham Carter). She comes up from the ground and believes that the ring is meant for her. Victor is then introduced to the underground (where dead people live) and he struggles with which bride to choose. There are several funny scenes, especially with the little maggot that lives in the corpse bride's skull. I highly recommend this film, it is extremely short (about an hour and fifteen minutes) but packs a very creative punch.
GRADE: A
Review: THE FOG
Is no classic safe from the inferior remake? Well, I guess not. THE FOG stars a bunch of relative unknowns (well I guess it has Shannon from LOST and Selma Blair with weird looking long hair) who are attacked by a mysterious fog that rolls into their community and seems cursed from a bunch of lepers who were burned to death on a ship, while they were waiting passage to the land on which they currently live, from their forefathers who ended up betraying and killing them (how's that for a run on sentence?). Well that about sums up this movie, which was not scary and really not that entertaining. Of course, our other choices that night were ELIZABETHTOWN & DOMINO, which were both crucified by reviewers. I guess we should have taken heed of the fact that THE FOG was not even released to reviewers before it opened (almost always an ominous sign from the studio putting it out).
GRADE D - (should never have been remade!)
Review: INTO THE BLUE
You would think with buried treasure, a plane crash, drugs and dealers, pirate legends, sharks, beautiful beaches and two the hottest actors (with regards to looks) in Hollywood, INTO THE BLUE would make one great film...you would be wrong! Paul Walker (Jared) and Jessica Alba (Sam) are boyfriend and girlfriend that live on an old boat and dream of one day finding treasure (especially after a hurricane has just blown through). They are joined by Scott Caan (Bryce) and Ashley Scott (Amanda) on a pleasure snorkeling cruise, where they come across some pieces of treasure that point to a mammoth find. Only problem is, there is a downed plane next to the find with several hundred kilos of cocaine still inside (and the bad guys want it back). Somehow they get the bright idea to take a couple of kilos and sell it to raise the funds they need to excavate the rest of the treasure. They end up selling it to the bad guys who it belonged to in the first place and drama ensues as they tussle with everyone out to steal their treasure. This movie had potential, but in the end it could not capitalize on the hot bods of its two stars.
GRADE: D (A for Jessica Alba's arse, which is shown from every possible angle throughout the film)
Review: TWO FOR THE MONEY
Al Pacino (still channeling the Devil in THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE) plays Walter, an addict (alcohol, gambling, nicotine, pornography and just about everything else) that runs a sports gambling business (they don't actually take bets, rather they advise clients on how to bet and take a percentage of winnings). He recruits Brandon (Matthew McConaughey), a handicapping stud on the west coast, to join him in New York. Brandon is so good at picking NFL winners that Walter decides to buid the business around him and creates a new persona/name for him all together. Rene Russo plays Walter's wife and she continues to warn Brandon about how far Walter will push him. Walter, who is popping heart pills like candy, becomes enraged when Brandon starts slacking off and loses his magic touch. After seeing the preview, I was quite disappointed with this movie, as two solid performances by the leading men were overshadowed by a mediocre script and plot. Save $8 and catch it on DVD...
GRADE: C- (Tidbit: Matthew bets on Texas to beat OU in this film, which is ironic since they finally did this year!)
Review: IN HER SHOES
Wow, what a great film! Cameron Diaz & Toni Collette give outstanding performances as feuding sisters Maggie & Rose. Maggie is the pretty, popular and crazy one and Rose is the conservative, modest and plain one. Things get crazy when their stepmother kick's Maggie out of the house (yes, she is still living at home) and she is forced to move in with Rose. Rose comes home early one night to find her boyfriend in bed with Maggie and proceeds to kick her ass to the curb. Maggie then decides to take a trip to Florida to track down their lost grandmother Ella (Shirley MacLaine). Rose has no idea where Maggie has gone, but she is preoccupied with a new boyfriend who she cannot even believe is interested in someone like her. Needless to say, there is reunion in Florida (where Maggie is causing quite a stir walking around in a bikini at the pool of the "Retirement Community for Active Seniors"). All the skeletons are dragged out of the closet as the sisters find out about their late mother and family problems. This is without a doubt one of the best films of the year and even though it could be considered a 'chick flick,' guys should enjoy it too.
GRADE: A+ (Toni Collette finally gets her day in the sun)
Review: FLIGHTPLAN
I read somewhere that Jodie Foster is only making a movie every couple of years. Now that is a sweet job! Well, this year she stars as Kyle, a recently (like the week before) widowed mother who is flying back to the States with her daughter Julia and the casket with her late husband. The first several minutes are what we are all used to when flying; lines to check in, preboarding, etc. Shortly after takeoff, Kyle dozes off and later awakens to find Julie missing. Like any normal mother, she becomes hysterical and immediately demands that the crew check the entire plane (which is a massive double decker, and coincidentally, Kyle is a propulsion engineer that is very familiar with the plane). Enter Peter Sarsgaard as an undercover Air Marshal. Apparently no one saw Julia get on the plane and Kyle finds herself with the burden of proofing that she is not insane. The crew get word back that Kyle's daughter died along with the father and all hell breaks loose after that as Kyle goes on a rampage through the plane to find her daughter. This is where the plot breaks down into unbelievability. There are too many twists, turns and coincidences that cannot be dismissed. I will not spoil the ending, but let's just say that flight attendants groups were not happy as being portrayed as terrorists (though they are a little Nazi like when it comes to ordering a second snack!).
GRADE: D (C if you can suspend reality for a while)
Review: WAITING
Just when you thought it was safe to eat out again, here comes WAITING, starring Ryan Reynolds. Ryan plays Monty, an obvious loser who works at a fictional restaurant called Shenanigan's (which looks like surprisingly like Chili's), where the wait staff and crew spend their time playing a genitalia flashing game and partying it up after hours. There is not much plot here; the busboys are weedheads, the wait staff mess with each other unmercifully, the cooks are disgusting and play the very popular '5-second rule', the manager is an idiot who no one likes and the hostess is not quite legal yet. You get the picture. The trailer showed all of the funny moments and I would not see this movie unless it is the only thing NetFlix has left in its inventory.
GRADE: D (Ryan Reynolds seems to be channeling Chevy Chase)
Review: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
Viggo Mortensen proves he is more than a LOTR character in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. He plays Tom Stall, a seemingly ordinary diner owner in a small town in Indiana. One night as he is about to close up shop, two criminals take control and just as they are about to have their way with one of the female patrons, Tom jumps into action and kicks some serious butt, savagely killing both men. He is hailed as a hero by the town and the story is picked up by the national networks. Soon thereafter, some mysterious men (including Ed Harris, who plays the bad guy role to a T) show up and begin visiting Tom at his diner and home. They claim he is a former mob enforcer that turned on his boss and then disappeared. They insist that he return with them to talk to his brother (an almost unrecognizable William Hurt), who is still in the business. Tom continues to deny that he is this man and his family becomes torn between believing him or the bad guys. This is a very good movie and should warrant some Oscar consideration. One warning: as the title suggests, there is quite a bit of violence in this movie, however it does have top rate acting and cinematography.
GRADE: A (X for the steamy love scene between Viggo and Maria Bello)
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Review: LORD OF WAR
I guess the best way to describe this movie is to call it a dark comedic action movie. Nicolas Cage (National Treasure) delivers an intriguing performance as Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer who hides his true career from the love of his life, wife Ava (Bridget Moynahan, I, Robot). Yuri is very good at what he does, and is constantly trying to outwit an Interpol agent named Jack Valentine (Training Day's Ethan Hawke, who gives a great performance). There are several funny moments in this movie, but there is also a high level of violence. Also worth mentioning are the performances of Jared Leto (Alexander) as Yuri's brother Vitaly and Ian Holm (The Aviator) as Simeon, a competitor in the arms-dealing realm. Director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) and Cinematographer Amir M. Mokri (Taking Lives) have delivered some stunning visuals, too.Official Website
Trivia: According to Andrew Niccol, the filmmakers worked with actual gunrunners in the making of the film. The tanks lined up for sale were owned by a gunrunner who had to have them back to sell to another country. They used a real stockpile of over 3,000 AK-47s because it was cheaper than getting prop guns. The gunrunners were more cooperative and efficient than the studio or the crew.
Grade: 3.75 out of 5 Lone Stars
Review: CRY_WOLF
Cry_Wolf turns out to be a pretty creepy little movie - one that relies more on good scares than on gore. The story is simple: new transfer student Owen (Julian Morris) is invited to a "game night" event amongst the popular clique at his prep school. The game they play is identifying who is marked with a red lipstick mark on his or her chest based upon several rounds of questions - whomever identifies the marked person wins the pot of money - if no one identifies them, the marked one take the pot. Basically it's a game that involves friends turning upon friends to expose the "liar". Owen's new crush Dodger (Lindy Booth, Dawn of the Dead) is the instigator of such games and decides, after a murder occurs near campus, that they should play a new game. Her new game involves the invention of a story around the killer - someone they identify as The Wolf. Owen writes an e-mail that he sends out to the whole campus in the form of a "forward" in order to set the game in motion. The e-mail details a string of murders that happened at another school (basically he invents an urban legend), including how each student was killed. Imagine his surprise when it seems as though the murders are actually now occurring. Cast is pretty strong for a scary movie, especially Morris, Booth, Jared Padelecki (TV's Supernatural), and a supporting turn by Jon Bon Jovi as a journalism teacher at the school.Official Website
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
Review: JUST LIKE HEAVEN
If you're looking for a fun, romantic comedy to see at the theatres, then look no further! Just Like Heaven fits the bill. It's the story of Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon, Sweet Home Alabama) and David (Mark Ruffalo, Collateral). Elizabeth is a workaholic doctor who has no social life - her idea of fun is spending 26 hours straight at the hospital. On her way to a dinner party at her sister Abby's house (Dina Waters, The Haunted Mansion), Elizabeth gets into a car accident. Next we see David with his realtor, trying to find a new apartment. As fate would have it, a flyer advertising Elizabeth's now vacant, fully furnished apartment literally lands at his feet. As luck would have it, the apartment is still available and he moves in. To his surprise he soon encounters Elizabeth, who's not really aware of why David is in her apartment. During a visit to an occult/spiritual bookstore, David gets advice from psychic Darryl (Jon Heder, Napoleon Dynamite), who recommends many books to contact the spirit of Elizabeth. I'm not going to reveal anything further, as there is an unexpected turn of events later in the movie. But, the film is great, the cast is very good and they deliver several knockout performances, and the direction by Mark Waters (Mean Girls, 2003's Freaky Friday) is top-notch.Official Website
Trivia: After a bad take while shooting, Mark Ruffalo jokingly jumped out of a window on the set. He landed on a catwalk just outside the window, but still scared the crew. Co-writer Leslie Dixon suggested using the apartment where she used to live for shooting. She also suggested Jon Heder for the role of Darryl. Both of these suggestions were taken.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Lone Stars
