Back To The Future @ The Palace

This weekend Friday and Saturday @ midnight playing at the Palace Theaters. Come see an 80's classic again on the big screen. Fun to be had by all. Enjoy!!! ~Caleb

Doomsday ~Caleb's take

Doomsday is some of my favorite movie's from the 80's, Escape from New York and The Road Warrior blended into a celluloid concoction of pure yummy ness. This film is pure genre movie mayhem. It's a nice feeling seeing a movie directed by someone that clearly loves the same movies that you do. A bad feeling is when someone tells you how un-original the movie was and how it failed to capture the homage to the movies it stole from. First of all, using the "not original" excuse is so lame. Movie's steal from each other all the time, it's what you do with the stolen material that matters. Doomsday is not a great film. Just because Mad Max is still cooler (duh), doesn't mean that Doomsday sucks. When you watch the film it is clear that you are watching homage, not a reinvention. Sorry for the rant.

Doomsday is a lot like last years Grindhouse, it was a visceral experience. The movie is comprised of the best parts of genre films and compacted into one flick. I give Doomsday an A+. Enjoy!!!!!!!! ~Caleb

First pics of the new Wolfman

Super cool! I can't wait to see my second favorite Universal Movie Monster back on the big screen. ~Caleb

Horton Hears a Who

Took my 2 boys to see this. Their ages are 7 & 5. They thoroughly enjoyed this animated movie. I noticed that they did not move around a whole lot (like they normally do). It kept their attention, and they were laughing quite a bit.

For me, I remember the original Dr. Suess book. It did a great job capturing the animation of Suess, and really staying true to the wacky atmosphere. I was entertained. The story was good, but not great. I am not too sure if this is going to be one of the classic animations for me (ie: Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Nightmare before Xmas, Iron Giant, or The Incredibles). Although, sometimes it is hard to decide, because some movies actually get better each time that you watch them.

I would recommend this movie to about any age group, as it is fun for all. As you probably know, it stars Jim Carrey as Horton, and Steve Carell as the Mayor of Whoville. These guys are hilarious, and add some of their own great humor into their characters. I will say that Carrey seems to be on the downward slope of his career, and Carell on the upward. And maybe that is just because I have grown tired of Carreys comedy, and Carells is new, and seems to be a little refreshing. Some of the voices that you may not know that star in "Horton" are Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill, Amy Poehler, Jaime Pressly, Jesse McCartney, and others.

I give Horton a B+. It is a great & fun movie for all, but the story just lacks a little punch.
-SammyB

Doomsday

Starring Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, & Craig Conway. Written & Directed by Neil Marshall. Doomsday is a vicious, no-holds barred, violent, action film. It is about a virus that infects Glasgow Scotland, and the government gets involved by segregating off the infected. The section that gets separated has some which survive (or are immune to) the virus. THese are the renegades, if you will. They also turn cannibalistic.

The main character is Eden Sinclair (played by Rhona Mitra). She is one tough girl. She definitely pulls off this character. There have been some actresses in the past that could NOT do this, but Mitra does a fantastic job of making you believe that she in-fact is Eden Sinclair. Her mission is to go into the heart of the renegade cannibals and find out information of the secret to why/how they were able to survive this horrible virus that has killed nearly thousands of people.


This film is very dark, very violent, very action packed. I think of it as Blade Runner meets Mad Max meets Aliens meets Planet Terror. There are some aspects of all of these films incorporated into this one. I will say that this one tops the violence factor for me. It is very brutal and unforgiving. With that said, even the most action film junkies may find this film offensive, so beware!

I give this film a B-. Even though I enjoyed the film and many of misc attributes (action, cinematography, the little amount of animation, etc) about it. It still lacked something for me that I cant explain. Maybe after some more thought, I will be able to put a finger on what I mean.

Once again, If you do watch, just be ready for some things that you may not be used to. Watch at your own risk!

American Teen

American Teen. Directed by Nanette Burstein. This is a documentary of 4 kids lives @ a high school in Warsaw, IN. It shows their senior year at the school. All the changes that they go through. All the trials that they face. They are all so different. There is a jock, a nerd, a drama queen, and a basket case. Do you remember "The Breakfast Club"? This takes a whole new look at these types of students in a real-life high school setting in 2007.

I loved this film. It was very original, because it was real. It really hit home for me. I love this genre of coming of age high school kids. I think that this film is going to be one that will be remembered and watched over and over by all. It may even hit like "Napolean Dynamite", or even "Juno" (which by the way are 2 films that I have very much respect for and give 2 huge thumbs up to).

This film also incorporates some animation, which I was not prepared for. It was great how it ties everything together. Without this animation, this film would still be great, however it adds that little extra that takes it to the next level.

I give this film an A-. Why not an A+ you say? I think that there could have been a few things that could have been touched up. You will see what I mean when you watch it, but with that said, I will say that the fact that there are mistakes does, in fact, make it more real.

Great Film. Check it out. You may have to see it at the Moxie, as I am not sure if it will come to the BIG theaters, but this will also make it just that much more special. THis was one of the films that COX and I viewed at the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, MO (which we WILL be returning to next year, and we WILL be viewing MORE films this next time).

The Bank Job

The Bank Job stars Jason Statham & Saffron Burrows(Troy). Directed by Roger Donaldson, who also directed "Cocktail", "The Getaway", "The Recruit", and others. Tis film is based on the true story of the September 1971 Baker Street bank robbery which was prevented from being told for over thirty years because of the Government hiding it. The burglars tunneled underground into the vault of a bank in London's Baker Street and took safe deposit boxes of cash and jewelry worth over 3 million pounds. None of it was recovered. Nobody was ever arrested. This film reveals what was hidden for the first time. The film involves murder, corruption and a sex scandal, which links to the Royal Family.

This movie was not what I expected. This doesnt mean that I didnt like it however. It was a different pace than the normal Statham flick that I am used to. I was ready for action, shoot em up, fighting all over the place, etc. It was not about that. It was based on true events of a spectacular Bank Heist which uncovered many many different things, and affected many different people.

I loved the writing of this. It was smooth & calm. The cinematography was great as well. It had some refreshing moments. And I guess what I mean by this was that it used techniques that made it look like it was set in the time that it was. This was brilliant.

I was impressed by the fact that it did not include much language. Notice I say much. THere is language, but it didnt feel like it was the focus of the film.
I give The Bank Job a B. Check it out.
-SammyB

10,000 B.C.

The caveman genre is one that I haven't seen at the theater in a long time. I think the last one I remember seeing was The Flintstones. When I first saw the trailer for 10,000 B.C. , I was thinking "okay, this seems interesting, and it's directed by the guy that brought us The Day After Tomorrow and The Patriot, those were good films". The preview also made me think of it as a more B movie version of Apocalypto, and I love that film.

So did 10,000 B.C. deliver? No, however; it was still entertaining enough that I left the theater liking the movie.
The film is a prehistoric epic that follows a young hunter’s journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe and save the girl of his dreams.

The only thing that really disappointed me about the movie is the lack of action. None of the action in the film had this WOW feeling for me. Other than lack of cool action the rest of 10,000 B.C. ran smoothly. Everything from the story, which was fun and uncomplicated, to the outstanding cinematography and great CGI. The acting was not bad like some people I know think. Actors are only good as their directors, and with this movie I think they did what was expected to the story being told. If moviegoers are looking for historical epics, that’s what the History Channel is for. I give 10,000 B.C. a C+ Enjoy! ~Caleb

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10,000 BC was NOT what I expected it to be. I viewed the trailer and came up with something very different in my mind. However, when watching this I kept a very open mind, as I was told by many different people their own opinion on this one. I heard comments all over the board, some were negative and some were positive. But they all seemed to be opposite of each other. This irregularity among people that I knew is what drew me to it even more.

Overall, I was dissappointed in this film. It could have been so much more. I thought that the acting was OK. It wasnt as bad as what I had been told, but it wasnt Oscar winning either. But this movie wasnt Oscar winning potential either. COX makes a great point to say that the acting is only as good as the director. This is very true. The Director could have made this entire movie better than what it ended up being. However, with that said, possibly the directing is only as good as the screenplay. So, looking at the overall picture here, what needs to happen in order to make a spectacular film is that ALL positions of a film needed for everyone to be on their A game.

Back to 10,000 BC. I love the idea of the Epic story of a caveman. COX is right, we dont have enough of these. Hopefully, someone will come along and Blow us away with a different story of the caveman era. anyone see "Waterworld"? Good Idea, but it just failed. Same type of thing happened here.

This film could have gone 2 ways. 1. stayed safe and not done anything supernatural, or 2. gone completely overboard and went crazy with animation, supernatural things, creatures, etc. It didnt do either. It kind of landed somewhere in the middle, where I felt like it didnt hit completely home for me. Oh...........and give us more of the Sabretooth. We need more than 10-15 seconds total of the Tiger. I mean.....we were led to think that he played a bigger role in this film than what he did.


I give BC a C-. Sorry for those who think it should be higher. I just was let down on this one. and why do we need to end this movie by killing the evil emperor with the spear thrown from a great distance piercing through the heart just like "300"? C'mon guys!
--SammyB

Across the Universe

For me this film was like hearing a song then a few days go by and you find yourself humming a cheerful tune. I knew I liked Across the Universe after I saw it, only my brain took awhile to suck it all in. The film does have a lot to offer and when I say a lot I am referring to stunning visual techniques, top-notch performances, the 60's and The Beatles songbook.

In the film a young man named Jude who is from Liverpool, comes to America during the Vietnam War to find his father. He winds up in Greenwich Village, where he falls in love with an American girl named Lucy, who has grown up sheltered in the suburbs. Together they experience the sweeping changes of America in the late 60's.
Considering the time Across the Universe is set in, one would think the movie is political, it is not.

Jude and Lucy find love and with a little help from friends, they all go through a hippie period and anti war movement. When our group of friends hops on the magic bus to take a trip with Dr. Robert, I was sold for the rest of movie.

Across the Universe is wall to wall music and song, so telling you more would be like me making a cool list of what happens. I fear telling you more would come off as rambling, and that would be boring. Don't get caught up in thinking you won't like Across the Universe because your not going to hear the "real" songs.
I am a hardcore Beatles fan and glad to say that respect and integrity is maintained to the songs. Across the Universe is a must see for musical and Beatles fans. B+ Enjoy!!! ~Caleb

The Brave One

Jodie Foster plays Erica, a New York radio host turned vigilante in The Brave One. Roaring rampage of vengeance takes a back seat this time around to show the audience a tale of psychology and consequence. Erica's life becomes meaningless after a late night stroll in Central Park takes a bad turn. Some city punks attack Erica and her fiancée. Her fiancée is beaten to death.
After a three-week recovery all Erica can see is a city that is now dark, hostile, and soulless. After having no luck with the police department and still feeling powerless, Erica buys a gun to protect herself. At this point of the movie Erica becomes a real Charles Bronson. The digression of Foster's character in The Brave One is a long one, which is good...sometimes.
Terrance Howard plays the police detective working on Eric's case. The two bond quickly and Erica becomes fascinated with how the detective thinks a man should be brought to justice.
Solid performances in the whole picture make for a good story. I prefer the movie Death Sentence over The Brave One any day. It's a C- for The Brave One Enjoy! ~Caleb

Michael Clayton

George Clooney is cool and ruthless as the title character in what turned out to be a powerhouse of a movie directed by the screenwriter of the Bourne movies. Michael is a fixer for a powerful law firm. He makes problems go away in the realistic sense. From the get go you understand that he is not a miracle worker, but more like a janitor. The law firm is on the verge of a billion dollar settlement, but one of the firm's partners goes nuts during a deposition and possibly jeopardizes everything. One of the people watching it in horror is Karen Crowder, the chief legal executive for the corporation that is being sued. Karen wants this smoking gun put out and put out fast. This bipolar smoking gun is Arthur Edens, trusted friend of Michael Clayton.
The film is a popcorn tale about life, loyalties, greed, and murder. Michael Clayton is a legal thriller that may have some hidden message, but I can care less. What I do care about is that the film is a gem, an excellent exercise in the legal thriller genre. Sorry for the shortness of this post but saying more about this movie will only ruin it for you. If you do see Michael Clayton, please I beg you to watch the entire cab ride sequence at the end of the picture, you will be glad that you did. It is one of the best endings ever and some of the best acting ever. The look on Michael's face really sums up what the film is about. I love it! Michael Clayton gets the ole A+ Enjoy!!! ~Caleb

Gone Baby Gone

I love Boston more and more as a city backdrop for crime movies. Look at films like The Departed and Mystic River, two grade A crime movies set in Boston where the violence cuts deep and the scars of betrayal never heal. The most recent crime movie set in Boston is Gone Baby Gone . Directed by Ben Affleck and staring his little brother Casey Affleck, who are both longtime Bostonians, give the movie a true rhythmic feel of the city. If Ben continues to make films like he made this one, he has made a lifelong fan. Casey is well on his way to becoming a great leading role actor.
When a 4-year-old girl is reported missing and the police have made little headway in the case, the girl's aunt hires two private detectives Patrick Kenzie (Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan). The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with missing persons of this nature, but the family wants them for 2 reasons. One is that they're not cops and two they know the ins and outs of the rough neighborhood in which they all live. As the case progresses, the two P.I's face drug dealers, gangs, the police and pedophiles. When the case is finally solved, they are faced with a moral dilemma that may tear them apart.
This movie is well on its way to being a favorite of 2008. The cast and acting are what make this film truly remarkable. I love Gone Baby Gone because the movie places clues right in front of you and cant tell what the clues are, and they never feel like clues in the first place. Feeling rewarded after watching a movie is a wonderful thing.
Gone Baby Gone gets a B+ Enjoy!!! ~Caleb