Catch A Flick

STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D Re-Release Thingy

2012-02-12T18:24:00.004-06:00

Yes, I broke down and went to see STAR WARS – EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE. Such an unnecessary re-release in my honest opinion. Friends and acquaintances kept asking me all last week about my thoughts on the re-release and the 3D. I told them that the prequels really aren't my thing anymore and as for 3D, I really do not care for the format. For years I quite passionately defended Lucas and his Star Wars Prequels that was until I watched a quite informative and joyfully entertaining film analysis on EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE. The guys at www.redlettermedia.com really helped me with my Star Wars Prequels denial.

Praise and criticism of everything Star Wars is infested all over the Internet so anything I have to say good or bad has already been said before. So I'm not going to go into any sort of detail but rather just tell you my initial thoughts on the movie and 3D re-release in general.

While I do believe (just recently mind you) that EPSIODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE and the rest of the prequels are pointless mindless kids films, I can still find a little bit of nostalgic fun in them. As a lifelong fan of Star Wars I guess I could take the low road and curse George Lucas for all the changes for the worst that he has done to my “childhood” but the man is responsible for a lot of what I love about movies so I can't hate the guy. The best I can do is just graduate from the fandom and move on to bigger and better things.

Like I mentioned earlier, friends and acquaintances asked about my thoughts and if I was going to see the re-release? I told them if they are wanting to see it then the best theater in town might be the new B&B Theater in Ozark/Nixa seeing as they have the “state-of-the-art” 3D digital projection! Seeing as I am one for not taking my own advice I took the lazy and convenience route and went to see the film at the Springfield 11. I don't know who to blame, the theater or the movie itself but the 3D sucked. It was in fact some of the worst 3D conversion I have seen! I want to blame the theater but I have heard from other sources that the 3D did not look very good at other theaters either?

2D converted over to 3D has never really looks that good anyway and studios generally go the cheap route on this process but this is Lucasfilm not to mention a Star Wars picture so why the crappy 3D?
A reliable critic said the pod race scene felt like one of those theme park roller coaster motion rides! At my theater it did not, no sir. I'll find out from some folks I know that watched it at the new theater in Ozark/Nixa if their 3D experience was any better? Even if it was better and that is indeed the theater to experience EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE it's just to late for me to care anymore, and I am perfectly fine with that.

BLUBBERELLA

2012-02-06T22:42:00.002-06:00

BLUBBERELLA the latest “comedy” from Uwe Boll makes MEET THE SPARTANS look like BLAZING SADDLES. Seriously! The entire time I was watching this “movie” I actually was wishing I was watching MEET THE SPARTANS, VAMPIRES SUCK, and even STAN HELSING which are actual comedies compared to whatever BLUBBERELLA is!

What is BLUBBERELLA? Your guess is as good as mine? My guess is that Uwe Boll finished filming BLOODRAYNE: THE THIRD REICH twenty-eight days ahead of a thirty day schedule. So with all that spare time and budget Uwe thought it'd be funny to give his producers and financiers the middle finger and make BLUBBERELLA.

This very well may be the worst attempts at comedy in the history of filmmaking! It's so bad that I really want to give Uwe the benefit of doubt and say that he was making this un-watchable film on purpose to really give his hatters something to talk about but I don't thing Uwe is that smart or clever.

Instead of a zany comedy about an obese half human half vampire killing Nazis in WW2 and saving the world from an army of the undead, we have Blubberella cooking, eating, and complaining about her love life. We also get unfunny fat jokes, gay jokes, Holocaust jokes, and just when it couldn't get more tasteless we get white actors in blackface!

I almost shut this movie off but I'm the one that knew better so I wasn't about to let the movie win.

I'll watch the occasional Uwe Boll film for a “it's so bad it's good” laugh every once in awhile like IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE. But I will never watch one of his comedies, oops sorry I meant “comedies” ever again.

CHRONICLE

2012-02-06T19:37:00.002-06:00

CHRONICLE is a reinvention of the found footage genre or better yet a new sub-genre we can call Point of View footage. I'm actually fine with labeling it as none of these things and just look at it as a fresh and new narrative device in movies.

After encountering a strange glowing object in a deep underground cave high schoolers Andrew, Matt, and Steve discover they have telekinetic powers which allow them to move objects with their mind. After practicing honing these new found skills with juvenile stunts and pranks, the boys realize their power is like a muscle and it's only getting more powerful.

The three of them master the ability but Andrew seems to be the most powerful one. Out of the three I got the impression he was the only one that truly embraced his new found gift. I think this is why he becomes more powerful than his friends but the movie never really explains why? Matt and Steve never take their power for granted per say but to them it's more about being able to do something cool that no one else can do. Andrew on the other hand believes he has become the next step in evolution, a new kind of Apex Predator.

My favorite part of CHRONICLE is when it essentially becomes a live action version of the Japanese anime AKIRA. All the ingredients are here – unbridled power, teenage angst, a bullied life, and a friendship put to the ultimate test as one friend tries to save the other from destroying himself and others. Another thing I enjoyed was how focused the story was on it's characters and how the phenomenal but minimal special effects took a back seat. This is important because when CHRONICLE becomes about blowing stuff up it feels legitimate because we actually care about what's happening between Andrew and Matt.

It was refreshing to see the filmmakers take a unconventional route with the comic book/superhero found footage genre tale. And what a excellent feature film debut from director Josh Trank! If 20th Century Fox is seriously wanting to reboot the Fantastic Four franchise then Josh should be the first guy and the only guy on their list for the job.

TOP 11 OF 2011

2012-02-05T12:18:00.004-06:00

Greetings, if you haven't noticed yet I just wanted to make it official that Catch A Flick has returned. I'm going to try and post at least twice a week maybe more. Currently I am working on reviews for DRIVE, CHRONICLE, and THE THING(2011). I haven't decided yet if I want to do a comparison piece with last year's THE THING and the one from 1982? Over the weekend I just discovered some awesome Italian Crime/Mob films from the 70's so expect to see some reviews of those!

Instead of playing catch up with posting new reviews along with my favorites of 2011 I'm just going to give you a list of my top favorites of last year. So in no particular order here are my favorites:

ATTACK THE BLOCK

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

X-MEN - FIRST CLASS

RED STATE

CAPTAIN AMERICA - THE FIRST AVENGER

HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN

MONEYBALL

HUGO

DRIVE

WAR HORSE

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

REAL STEEL

2012-02-01T21:40:00.003-06:00

REAL STEEL is my personal sleeper hit of last year! Nobody took it seriously, the popular joke was calling it Rock em Sock em Robots. Right out of the gate this movie didn't really seem to stand a chance. But can you really blame us? With Hollywood pumping out kid/family movie garbage like GARFIELD, ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUCKS, THE SMURFS, and TRANSFORMERS 1 – 3 a movie about Rock em Sock em Robots automatically becomes a target for scrutiny. Directed by the guy that gave us NIGHT AT THE MUSSEM doesn't help matters either.

But REAL STEEL delivered. Audiences loved it! I regret not seeing this on opening night. REAL STEEL is the kind of movie you really want to see and should see with an audience so you can share that “feel good movie of the year” unity that truly defines a theatrical experience.

I love the fantasy of REAL STEEL! In the not so distant future humans are swapped out for Robots in the sport of Boxing. This idea has a kind of Japanese Anime vibe to it. I could imagine this as a sub-plot idea in ROBOTECH or something. The production design and CGI of REAL STEEL is top notch. It's very believable that this could be our not to distant future and the robots of REAL STEEL look like something that could actually be built. Unlike another series of robot films where characters are just auto parts thrown together resembling mobile auto scrapyards.

The story of REAL STEEL is the ROCKY franchise, THE CHAMP, and OVER THE TOP all put into a blender and set on puree. A struggling promoter feels he has found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top Charlie Kenton discovers he has an 11 year old son who wants to know his father.

I normally hate and cannot stand most child acting (GROWN UPS I'm look at you) but Dakota Goyo and Hugh Jackman really end up playing well off of each other and become very believable in the father and son relationship. REAL STEEL every now and then becomes the “Boy and his Robot” movie but never lingers on it very long to become sappy and annoying.

Director Shawn Levy really put himself on the map for me and I am very interested what his next movie will be just as long as it's not NIGHT AT THE MUSSUM 3.

CHILLERAMA

2012-01-30T22:00:00.003-06:00

CHILLERAMA – It's closing night at the last drive-in theater in America and the owner has planned the ultimate marathon of lost film prints to unleash on his faithful cinephile patrons. Four films so rare that they have never been viewed publicly on American soil until this very night! What could possibly go wrong? That's what the back of the blu-ray read. Sounds awesome doesn't it! Well despite having some really great moments CHILLERAMA sucked!

Within the annals of exploitation and b-movie history is Troma Entertainment the leader of tasteless cinema. To my misfortune CHILLERAMA pays tribute to the kings of trash. Most exploitation films are trashy but Troma always sunk to a level of debauchery either fit for a junior high schooler or that would test your moral fiber. It all boils down to taste and I am not a fan.

Much like CREEPSHOW, CHILLERAMA is a horror anthology film. So like I said earlier it's the drive-in theaters last night and it'll be a night to remember, or In my case a night I'd like to forget.

WADZILLA – Remember me mentioning Junior High humor? Well here it is in all it's glory. A throwback spoof of 60's drive-in horror films like THE BLOB, WADZILLA is about a giant sperm that eats people and terrorizes the city. Bravo lame-o's! Moving on.

I WAS A TEENAGE WERE-BEAR – A mash-up of 50's and 60's b-movie horror meets beach party movie musical. Ugh, musical really! This was my least favorite segment of CHILLERAMA; but, I did like the over saturated look it had. Great job on looking like a exploitation film from it's time but the story was just silly and tasteless.

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANKENSTEIN – My favorite among the movies within the movie. Imagine if the Frank family were descendent's of the mad doctor Frankenstein and Anne's famous diary was his journal for creating life from death. This is the sort of tastelessness I can enjoy! Hitler finds the diary and creates a Frankenstein's monster for himself. This truly is the best installment with keen direction from Adam Green. I recommend trying to hunt this down on YouTube or something to see for yourself the brilliance of this spoof.

ZOM B MOVIE – The final movie within the movie climaxes by becoming the final act of CHILLERAMA. Between the segments in CHILLERAMA a sub-plot was formulating with the popcorn becoming contaminated and everybody turning into zombies. It's up to a couple of movie buff love birds to make it out alive. This would have been my favorite segment but that tasteless Junior High humor takes center stage yet again by making the zombies horny and the only way to kill them is to shoot em in the “head”. Just awful I tell you, so dumb and uncreative. I did like how ZOM B MOVIE felt like an homage to one of my favorite Italian horror films from the 80's called DEMONS. It was about a horror movie turning everybody watching it in the theater into a demon like zombie.

I cannot recommend CHILLERAMA it's just too silly and tasteless for me and I'd feel like a jerk if I did.

FAVORITES OF 2011 - RED STATE

2012-01-30T17:59:00.003-06:00

Kevin Smith is a filmmaker that's his vocation, but first and foremost he is a passionate movie goer. That is well established in his very first film CLERKS where you have it's two main characters talk about movies and make Star Wars references all day at work.

Comedies have been Kevin's bread and butter for 17 years and now he has something very different to say and share. After hearing about the infamous Westboro cult leader Fred Phelps during a conversation with a friend, Kevin thought to himself that this wacko would make an excellent horror movie villain. RED STATE was born from this idea.

RED STATE takes place somewhere in middle America and centers on a group of high school friends who are wanting to get laid. They respond to a “personal connection” on Craigslist but this invitation of sex has far more sinister plans when the boys are kidnapped by some “fundamentalist” cult followers. This is when the films true star emerges with an eerie but amazing performance by actor Micheal Parks playing Abin Cooper the leader of the Five Points Church. Abin and his followers are a little too Old Testament and down right crazy. Cooper and his followers believe that they are doing God's will (they most definitely are not) by killing off any and all immoral old testament law breaking individuals.

This is really the only true horror element in RED STATE while the rest of the film seems more like a genre mash-up. You've got a little horror, action/thriller, and some satire mixed together. A lot of viewers have mistaken this as Smith unable to find a tone for his film and therefore making it a complete mess. I disagree with this because in my opinion he pulls it off decently. While the shift from horror to a hostage/siege film is sudden and a bit jarring it fits with what is going on with the characters and does not seem one bit strange or distracting. In fact when the film all of a sudden becomes a siege film this transition is some of the best if not the best directing Kevin Smith has ever done.

I'd like to talk about Micheal Parks for a moment who most of you only know (including myself) as the very memorable Sheriff Earl McGraw from KILL BILL, FROM DUSK TIL DAWN, and GRINDHOUSE. He is one of Quentin Tarantino's favorite actors and I find it awesome that Kevin Smith had him in mind while writing the character of Abin Cooper. I am not familiar with Mr. Park's work outside of Sheriff Earl McGraw and Abin Cooper but it does have my interest. Alas another actor that I'm sure Hollywood considers a dinosaur, what a shame.

Giving one of the best performances of 2011 Micheal Parks gives a performance of a lifetime and completely immerses himself in the role of Abin Cooper who gives the devil himself a run for his money. Forget what is nominated or has already won this award season and just watch RED STATE for this reason alone! It is because of this reason that RED STATE was and still is one of my favorites of 2011!

HAYWIRE

2012-01-22T22:43:00.003-06:00

HAYWIRE the latest film from Steven Soderbergh is one of his artsy experimental films that essentially is a martial arts exploitation film. Like his other film THE LIMEY Soderbergh gives HAYWIRE the non linear style of storytelling with a flair of late 60's and early 70's style and music.

Steven Soderbergh has said that HAYWIRE is like an exploitation film staring Pam Grier directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Sure I guess? I'll agree with the Pam Grier comment because the star of HAYWIRE Gina Carano retired MMA fighter is indeed bad ass! She's the only redeeming quality of the film and I hope to see her in more action exploitation fare like say THE EXPENDABLES 3, UNDISPUTIED 4, or going toe to toe with say Beatrix Kiddo in KILL BILL 3! I can only wish!

The plot of HAYWIRE is not it's strong suit and that's fine because the film is really Gina Carano's show. HAYWIRE is about Mallory Kane (Carano) a private contractor hired by the government to do a job only to be double crossed so some loose ends can get tied up. So as you can imagine that Mallory is the last person you would want to double cross. What happens next is some of the best fight scenes in American movies in a long time. Soderbergh really knows where to put the camera and just let Gina Carano do her thing. No BORNE SUPREMACY shaky cam action here thank goodness. Soderbergh really understands what it takes for a fight scene to have impact and be memorable. My favorite scene has to be the fight between Mallory and a British agent (Fassbender) in a hotel room. They demolish the room and themselves!

It's interesting that Soderbergh can bring a cast together that consists of Micheal Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Michael Fassbender, and Bill Paxton only so that all of them end up playing second fiddle to Gina Carano. It's almost like a trick or experiment on the audience or something? I found it kinda cool actually and just went with it because I knew early on that it's not about them but her.

I really enjoyed HAYWIRE and glad Steven Soderbergh has brought Gina Carano to Hollywood's attention. Now that she has been established maybe we can see her in the next Issac Florentine picture?
Maybe NINJA 2 with her and Scott Adkins, that'd be cool!

FAVORITES OF 2011 - MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

2012-01-22T20:13:00.003-06:00

Last year I had no intention to see MIDNIGHT IN PARIS but I kept hearing such good things about it. A friend of mine who's opinion I take very seriously sent me a text one night saying MIDNIGHT IN PARIS was one of the best films he has seen in a long time, not just of 2011 but just in a long time period. Needless to say after my friends raving recommendation I had to check it out but not right away because films like HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, ATTACK THE BLOCK, and RED STATE had top priority.

So the time finally came for me to watch MIDNIGHT IN PARIS and my friend was right it was indeed one of the best films of 2011. I really like this film! I thought to myself “okay it's my favorite romantic comedy of the year” but the week I saw the movie I couldn't stop talking about it so evidently it's a lot more than just my favorite romantic comedy of the year. I'm not going to pick a “best of” for 2011 but I do have a lot of favorite's and I'll just leave it at that.

What really draws me to MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is how much of a delightful fantasy it becomes. The location of Pairs is just so beautiful during the day, the night, and even in the rain. Next is how great all the characters are, you love the one's you're meant to love and hate the one's you're supposed to hate. Woody Allen loves and cares for his characters because they are so well written. I really connect with Gil (Owen Wilson) and his sincerity, enthusiasm, and hero worship of nostalgia. His girlfriend Inez (played wonderfully by Rachel McAdams) made me think to myself that for a long time now I've been chasing after the wrong kind of girls because the character of Inez reminded me of a few I know. Scary. Thank you Woody, thank you very much!

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS opens with a couple in love on vacation in Paris. Gil who is a successful screenwriter is tired of writing uninspired Hollywood droll and wants to write his great American novel in Paris. Inez wants the rich upper-class American suburb style of life because that seems all she knows. One night Gil goes walking the evening streets of Pairs to get inspired, being a little drunk and lost he takes a breather on some church steps only to find himself being picked up by some happy strangers and brought to a party you have to see to believe. From this point a element of fantasy is introduced that is down right brilliant. Telling you more would just ruin the experience for you and I hate doing that.

So this MIDNIGHT IN PARIS review officially kicks of my return to reviewing movies. If you're a returning reader welcome back! If you're now just reading me for the first time thanks for taking the time to read, I'm a little rusty and hope to change that. I've got a lot I want to write so please stay tuned and thanks again!

BMX BANDITS (1983)

2011-04-04T20:36:00.002-05:00

Awe, childhood memories are the best. Growing up in the 80's one of the coolest things was cable television and HBO. If you had HBO in the greatest decade for movies it was the best film school money could buy! I might start a ongoing series about “hidden treasures” that I discovered on Home Box Office! Truthfully I don't think I'll be able to remember them all? But let's talk about one of my favorite understated movies from the 80's called BMX BANDITS.

BMX BANDITS is a kid's movie from Crocodile Dundee's homeland. This had to have been my first foreign film experience, when you're a kid it's easy to think all movies are made in Hollywood. The movie was released in 1983 to mediocre response in Australia and became a hard sell to USA distributors despite the popularity of BMX bikes in America. The cult classic success of BMX BANDITS didn't happen until around 1985 – 1987 thanks to cable channels The USA Network, The Disney Channel, Showtime, and of course HBO.

I remember waiting on Saturday mornings well after cartoons were over switching to channel 7 (HBO) determined BMX BANDITS was playing. This was the only way to see it because at the time my local video store didn't carry the film. This made the experience much more special plus the fact that not a lot of people knew of the film. On the playground BMX BANDITS would be brought up and sometimes sleepovers would be planned around watching the movie thanks to wonderful VHS recording.

The most popular thing about BMX BANDITS is that it has been logged in history as Nicole Kidman's first movie. Thankfully the film delivers more than that, I'm proud to say it's really really good and holds up well. The story is about a couple BMX'ers and their friend stumble upon a stash of bank robbers police transmitters/walkie talkies and sell them off to buy new bikes. The two crooks responsible for loosing the walkie talkies soon track the teenagers down and the rest of the film is a chase after chase throughout Sydney, Australia.

The acting is very good. The kids are very natural and believable which is rare in child and teen actors. The criminals are the comedic relief of the film and bring a nice Abbott and Costello touch to the characters. What keeps the movie timeless in my opinion is the direction and the stunning camera work. The rigs on the bikes and cars keeps you in the action and it's awesome.

I was so excited to find out that BMX BANDITS was going to be released on Blu-Ray! The disc is gorgeous by the way, the use of colors and the breathtaking scenery are a sight to behold!

Give it a watch if you can, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

2011-03-05T23:35:00.003-06:00

The biggest question that going through my mind was why TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT needed to be an 80's movie? During my head scratching; however, I was glad the movie wasn't self aware of being an 80's movie like THE WEDDING SINGER (which I like). Sadly TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT no more represented the 80's than televisions THAT 70's SHOW did the 70's! I mention this not as a nitpick but just as noticing the frivolous use of dates and timelines. The plot points and pop culture references made in TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT would set it somewhere between 1988 and 1989 and I am going to say the movie is set in '89. Where I'm going with this is that maybe a little detail might of made the film a little more nostalgic? Sometimes fashion, movie posters, and music don't cut it.

Here's the skinny. College grad and video store clerk Matt still hasn't figured out what he wants to do with his life. His biggest hang up is that he never told his high school crush Tori that he loved her. One day destiny gives him one last shot when Tori shops at the video store and the two get reacquainted. Matt now can finally ask Tori what he's wanted to say since high school at a party they are both going to later that night!

I love this type of genre! Some of my favorite movies are FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, SIXTEEN CANDLES, SAY ANYTHING, DAZED AND CONFUSED, and SUPERBAD. It's just that TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT wasn't very good. Uninteresting (but funny) characters, plot point dialogue, and weak 80's nostalgia. I'm also a fan of the “dream girl” plot device but this movie made me realize how silly a plot device it is. This genre can still work, just take a look at last years SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE, which if you have not seen I highly highly recommend!

I honestly can't recommend movie theater price for TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT, wait for Redbox or even Netflix Instant Watch. If it's 80's nostalgia you're looking for then seek out HOT TUB TIME MACHINE and ADVENTURELAND.

Catch A Flick Spooktacular - GALAXY OF TERROR

2010-10-25T21:46:00.002-05:00

In honor of the ALIEN Quadrilogy coming out on Blu-Ray tomorrow I thought I would share some thoughts on GALAXY OF TERROR a so called rip-off of the ALIEN. The "King" of cult B-movie cinema Roger Corman wanted his studio to capitalize on the success of 1979's ALIEN. To give his film an edge he gave marching orders for the story to have deep psychological implications.

On a desolate, storm-lashed planet, the last survivor of a crashed spaceship is attacked and killed by an unseen force. Without delay, the spaceship Quest blasts off to the planet to search for survivors. As the Quest approaches the planet’s atmosphere, it suddenly veers out of control and plunges toward the surface, crash-landing there. After recovering from the landing the crew make way across the landscape of the planet, they eventually reach the other vessel. Entering, they find evidence of a massacre that took place. The rescue team split into two and explore the craft.
After some exploration, they discover a massive pyramid-shaped structure, The exploration of the pyramid lead to a series of deadly encounters with monsters and other strange things that kill the crew members in exceedingly violent ways.

For being a low budget this 1981 science fiction horror film looks really good! A lot of that may be because future the "king of the world" himself James(Avatar)Cameron worked as the Production Designer and Second Unit Director on GALAXY OF TERROR.

I've seen GALAXY OF TERROR twice now and while the story and plot is somewhat weak and convoluted, I just love watching the special effects!
I can really only recommend this to moviegoers that love cheesy B-movies. GALAXY OF TERROR would work very well as a double feature with something like ALIEN or ALIENS.

Catch A Flick Spooktacular - THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

2010-10-23T13:36:00.002-05:00

Back in my college days one Halloween weekend I hung out with my Drury University buds. While everyone was deciding on where to go and what to do I flipped between television stations watching HALLOWEEN and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Being quite familiar with HALLOWEEN I mainly kept THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW playing because I had never seen it before. I had always heard about how great of a cult classic it was but never had the nerve to seek it out feeling that the film just really wasn't something I would like.

That night it must have played back to back because I only got to see the first half twice! We left to go do whatever and it was always when Eddie (played by the musician Meatloaf) showed up on his motorcycle. Years since I've seen clips but never had I watched the movie in it's entirety. Being a movie buff I wanted to see it but got turned off by the whole cult craze of it all. I had no interest in the midnight participation screenings at all! So for years I passed the film and it's fandom as "weird".

This year marks an anniversary year for the film (35 years) so they released a Blu-Ray(which looks to be a very impressive release)and it's currently on Netflix Instant Watch! So last night I finally got to witness THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW in it's entirety! The camp value is indeed what makes this probably the most famous cult classic in motion picture history. I liked it and in fact I think it's better than most "cult classic" films. The biggest credit I give the film is it's originality with a lot of old hat horror material. The music is good too and complements the scenes very well.

Newly engaged couple Brad and Janet encounter a flat tire on a rainy night. They seek help at a castle Brad noticed along the way. What they did not know is that it is the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Futer. The couple are invited to stay for what will become the strangest night ever for the both of them!

With the exception of a dragging(no pun intended) final act I did like the movie for the most part. It surprisingly kept my attention! I can only give THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW a recommendation to people that really want to see what it's all about, that and fans of B-movies I guess.

Catch A Flick Spooktacular - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2

2010-10-22T00:08:00.005-05:00

Oh boy! It's good. It's real good! Just got home from a 10pm advance screening and it was one of my best theater experiences of the year. I'm still a little freaked out so that's why I'm writing this immediately to shake off the nerves a little bit.

So, I'm just going to say that these Paranormal Activity movies are going to be the next horror movie craze. (Which is about time, the torture porn genre has overstayed it's welcome). The fist one everybody knows was a smash, this second one should make twice as much and it very well should. It's really good!

I never reviewed the first film so here are a few thoughts about that one first. For what PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is about the film works very well. The movie is meant to be real footage but fails ever so slightly due to that you can tell these people on camera are clearly dramatically acting. It's a little much at times. Don't get me wrong, the film is scary and has some nice spooky moments. I really love the final scare and again it really lets the audience know you just watched a movie.

The ending of the first film really had me interested in PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2. I was game when the trailer lets you know the girl from the first one returns and it's not completely the same thing over again but with different people. Now, seeing that this is a horror movie I'm not going to spoil anything for you because what would be the fun in that! I will tell you what we're dealing with story wise.

The sequel focus's on the first films sister and her family, her husband, stepdaughter, and a baby boy. It's all about little baby Hunter. To avoid a convoluted rambling rant I'll put it simply that "paranormal activity" runs in the family. Which is sort of hinted at in the first film anyway. You want more than that? "They" want the baby and that's all I'm saying.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 succeeds because it does what a horror sequel is meant to do and that's up the ante of the original! It's scarier and the story is better too! In the first movie I was freaked out, however; at the same time wondering how they did some of the special effects? The acting also took me out of the moment. With part 2 I was more invested and less concerned about how the filmmakers pulled off some of the things they did? Unfortunately some of the bad acting is still present.
My only real complaint is the ending gets messy. Shaky cam and that last fright is a little too familiar and weak. I'm willing to bet they shot the ending first and built the rest of the movie around that!

Better than the original. Highly Recommended!

JACKASS 3D

2010-10-16T20:55:00.004-05:00

Has it really been 10 years! Hard to imagine but it's true. I have always been a fan of the show Jackass. I never got into the spin-off shows as much. When that first Jackass movie came out it was one of the best movie event's of that year! It was one of those moments that shouldn't have happened but did. The opening credit sequence is still one of my favorite bits, It's like oh yeah were taking it up a notch!

When JACKASS: NUMBER TWO came out I didn't see it in theaters, it was around the same time I just didn't care too much to see a sequel and heard they upped the gross out factor so I passed.

When it was announced a third film was being made in 3D I was curious because I knew it'd be good 3D. It's good alright! It's my favorite 3D movie of the year so far (I'm sure TRON LEGACY will trump it). JACKASS 3D is what a 3D movie is supposed to be! The 3D really puts you into the action! With the addition of slow motion you see every hit and cringe like you never had before. You really feel like part of the stunts. JACKASS 3D will make you cringe more and also gag more too. This movie is so gross out at times it make John Waters probably blush! The whole audience gagged in harmony during the Port a Potty Bungee Jump stunt.

I really could have done without all the poop. This movie has a lot of it. JACKASS 3D has so much poo that I'm not even afraid to watch THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE any more, and that movie doesn't even have poo in it shockingly enough! Seriously if any of you can tolerate JACKASS 3D then I'm going to take a wild guess THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE will be a walk in the park.

Why do I like this movie so much? I don't know, it might have to do with the sentimental aspect of it all. These guys have been doing this for 10 years (on television at least) and it shows. They are older now so they complain more about the pain but we don't scoff at it we care because we understand that what they do is stupid to begin with. I'm not implying these guys have gone soft, quite the contrary because they do some of the most craziest stunts ever. It's just fun to see them be not as brave as they used to be. With that being said I really feel this is the last one, they give the movie a real nice ending. Some may return I have a feeling, you know they just love this too much! Highly Recommended (except for all the poo)!

Catch A Flick Spooktacular : A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010)

2010-10-15T22:21:00.005-05:00

As much as I want to compare this remake to the original I don't want to be "that" guy. This face lift to the classic original modern horror classic is not all that bad. Platinum Dunes last remake effort FRIDAY THE 13TH really missed the mark on what made the original film(s) iconic in the modern horror genre! Most of the Platinum Dunes remakes don't work at all, most of them.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET very well may be the best of the remakes. Everything is working here to make a good scary movie. The atmosphere feels like an Elm Street film. The dreams look great and set the mood. The teen characters are halfway decent unlike the kids in the FRIDAY THE 13TH remake who are all bad stereotypes. And the final thing that makes this new Elm Street work is the best thing, Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy! By his second or third scene I wasn't concerned I was convinced!

Where this movie faults is the screenplay and lack of character development. The film does have an interesting story but everything is rushed. It's like the filmmakers and producers decided that Freddy Krueger is so iconic that everyone knows who he is. Yes, everyone meaning real people not characters in your story. These kids suffering from nightmares are too quick to understand and realize just who and what Freddy is! This is a little extreme but it's like these kids know about Freddy from seeing the other movies! Maybe it's not as bad as I'm thinking and I'm just showing my age because I'm sure kid audiences of today(twenty-somethings that think THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is the most boring one) are fine with that. Heads up, spoiler alert! Now this film really could have been great and be a little different from the rest of the series like a real re-imagining, by making Freddy innocent of his crimes and was getting revenge because he really was not a pedophile. I really thought the story was going in this direction in the end but nope it did not. While I like this remake the powers that be had to ruin the end for me and everyone else by recreating the lame ass ending to the original by killing the mom at the very end. Come on guys! Nancy gave Freddy a pretty glorious death, no need to go screwing that up now!

Despite the negatives just mentioned I really do recommend a watch if your a fan of the series or horror in general. The atmosphere is great for a elm street picture, and the dreams look really cool. I also really liked the whole "micro-nap" addition to the series. Everyone is tired in this film so Freddy can jump out at anytime, it's sort of cool! The scene at the durgstore is my favorite!

Catch A Flick Spooktacular : HATCHET

2010-10-11T19:28:00.003-05:00

In honor of HATCHET 2 out now in theaters just not any in Springfield, I thought it would be fitting to review the first film. I'm not a very big fan of HATCHET but I see strong promise in Director Adam Green. After viewing his second feature FROZEN which is a nicely executed 90 min. film about 3 people stuck in a ski lift. The premise does sound silly and potentially dumb, the first thing that comes to my mind is that how is something like this going to be scary and keep my interest? I'm not reviewing FROZEN now but what I'm saying is that Green wrote an interesting script and cast actors that make the story seem real. That takes talent and with that I'm thinking we will see Adam Green's break out horror hit someday soon!

In the mid to late 90's we saw a return of the slasher film, the good one's were short lived and the rest of them were just watered down PG-13 wastes of time. It wasn't until early 2000 that moviegoers saw a return of the gruesome horror movie style we movie buffs loved from the 70's and 80's. While bloody good fun was back in horror it was missing something or someone? The SAW film's gave us Jigsaw and with HATCHET Adam Green gave us Victor Crowley!

Growing up Green was a huge fan of horror and a even bigger fan of the FRIDAY THE 13th films. Someone like Jason Voorhees has been missing from horror and thus Victor Crowley was born.

When a group of tourists embark on a tour of the haunted Louisiana bayous they learn of the terrifying tale of Victor Crowley. When they get lost and the boat crashes the tourists quickly learn Victor Crowley is real and anybody who enters his swamp is uninvited.

The origin of Victor is a nice campfire romp that I won't spoil for you here. If your a fan of the slasher flick especially the Jason one's then I recommend the movie to you! If when you watched these films and always rooted for the killer then I highly recommend HATCHET! If you were like me and always rooted for how the killer was going to get killed, then you might just think this movie is just okay? I think it's just slightly better than good. You see HATCHET glorifies the kills and the killer, which doesn't really do anything for me. As my friend always says and I agree that "you always kill the monster in the end". Horror movies today have it backwards, you don't have your monster come back at the end of the film ( if you do that then what's the point) you have them come back at the beginning of the sequel. In the 80's they always killed Jason and they always killed Freddy! We don't want to pay our hard earned money for evil to always triumph in the end!

In closing I have a strong nostalgic place in my heart for HATCHET but nostalgic is just about as far as it goes. I am ready however for Adam Green to stretch out his artistic wings and give the horror genre something fans can really sink our teeth into, I know he can I just hope he does too? Recommended only for the die hard fans!

Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps

2010-09-27T20:05:00.002-05:00

In the mid to late eighties I was a Micheal Douglas fan thanks to ROMANCING THE STONE, I also thought Charlie Sheen was cool seeing that he was in RED DAWN, LUCAS, THREE FOR THE ROAD, and his cameo in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. At the age of only 10 I didn't understand what was going on financially in the movie WALL STREET, I only knew that I really liked it. It was the character of Gordon Gekko that kept me always wanting to sit and watch the movie when I saw it playing on HBO. 20 plus years later the film plays a little dull but Micheal's performance still rocks.

It didn't really feel all that necessary to me for WALL STREET to have a sequel but I was very curious if Mr. Gekko learned anything in prison? I was ready for him to be the sage telling Shia LeBeouf's character the woes of being greedy and that greed is in fact not good. You do get that feeling in the beginning but then you start remembering that this is Gordon Gekko we're talking about here.

LeBeouf plays a young Wall Street trader (well on his way unlike Billy Fox from the first film) who is dating Gordon's daughter and tries to reunite the estranged father daughter relationship and at the same time getting advice on surviving the latest financial fallout and getting revenge for the death of the young traders mentor.

Sound exciting? Well it's not! This movie sucks except when Douglas is on screen but even he can't save this turd by the time the end credits roll. What you accidentally have is good actors with a boring and sometimes bad script. This story lacked the emotional weight for the audience to care what was happening on screen! Seriously! You could hear crickets in the over half full theater! What was Oliver Stone thinking! Wait, I know. He wanted to remind everybody how the Banks getting government bail outs sucked. Gee thanks Oliver for reminding us you prick!

Even though I knew this film was sinking fast I thought to myself that the pay off for LeBeouf's character getting revenge might be exciting! Nope. It's all very matter – of - fact played out. Even Gordon Gekko's emotional final scene is dull.

In closing this film is about as exciting as reading the Wall Street Journal, so maybe Mr. Stone knew what he was doing all along?

Not recommended at all.

Catch A Flick Spooktacular: GHOSTBUSTERS

2010-09-11T14:36:00.003-05:00

As much as I like horror movies the comedy genre played a big part in my childhood. Come to think of it I have always figured the comedy STRIPES was the first movie I was ever subjected to! STRIPES, THE BLUES BROTHERS, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, and CADDYSHACK were common viewings at my house growing up. By the time I was 7 and GHOSTBUSTERS was playing at now historic Tower Theater, I could not wait to see it!

GHOSTBUSTERS is such a classic that I really don't have anything to say that hasn't been said or felt before, but I love it so here we go. The thing I realize during current viewings is just how perfect the movie is. If you ever want to make a movie, watch this one and see how well everything flows together. The four Ghostbusters really anchor the story with interactions between each other and other characters. Winston - the everyday man, Egon - the brains, Ray - the heart, and Peter - the mouth of the Ghostbusters.

Adding to the talent of what makes this film great is the flow of the narrative, every gag, one liner, scare, and supernatural occurrence feels natural. My favorite examples include the gangs first real job with Slimer at the hotel, the classic montage with the movie's theme song, and Peter's first meeting with the prick from the EPA. Really the list could be endless!
Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis wrote a terrific script that they spent years and years perfecting!

And now for the reason I put GHOSTBUSTERS as part of "Spooktacular", the monsters! As every fan knows Slimer warmed the hearts of every kid watching and has sort of been the spokesperson for the franchise. And tell me who wasn't afraid of those demon hounds? I remember it taking me awhile before I watched the refrigerator scene without covering my eyes! The bellowing of Zool was some scary stuff! My favorite monster however was the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. Godzilla made out of marshmallows is pretty awesome!

25 years later it's still a classic and will remain one for ever in my book!

Catch A Flick Spooktacular - RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE

2010-09-10T17:09:00.003-05:00

Well RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE saves MACHETE from being the most convolute movie of the year! And all you Paul W.S Anderson haters can't tell me “I told you so” because I like the other Resident Evil movies but this latest installment is a tough one to sit through. It's a good thing however that the 3D is watchable! What's sad is that the film only has about 30 minutes or more that is even worth a damn!

RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE has a strong start with Alice finally confronting Albert Wesker by infiltrating the Umbrella Corp. secret underground fortress. In an anticlimactic fight due to flashy CGI our hero is successful but not without the cost of loosing her powers(if you don't follow the series, the Umbrella Corp. made Alice into a weapon). After defeating Wesker, nothing interesting happens for a long time but Alice journeys to Alaska to meet up with the other survivors from the last movie but only finds a shell shocked Claire. The two embark to Los Angeles and find some more lucky ones needing help. While at the compound they find out about a ship off shore that is virus free and offers food and safe haven and decide they all need to get on that ship. Time is short because hundreds and hundreds of zombies are converging onto the compound. It is here that the movie is really any good! Everything else just feels very meh.
The first movie did a great job creating interesting characters, plot, and zombie carnage that was suited more for a movie rather than being based on a video game about running around a mansion looking for keys and solving puzzles while fighting giant snakes and spiders. By the third film things were getting a bit convoluted and messy but all together good zombie fun
.
With RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE maybe the film makers spent too much time on the action scenes looking cool for 3D? Seriously almost every action scene they make look like a 3D money shot! I loved a lot of the action but some of it became old real fast. Another problem could have been the series just becoming to convolute and not knowing where to take the story? I just found myself not caring and wondering why should I care about this person or that person. Oh, Claire Redfield and Chris Redfield are from the video game? That's fine but who the hell are they in this movie!

For me RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE didn't work and is probably the last one I'll see...in the theater at least. Not recommended.

Catch A Flick Spooktacular: FRIDAY THE 13th PART V: A NEW BEGINNING

2010-09-09T18:51:00.003-05:00

Before I talk about FRIDAY THE 13th PART 5: A NEW BEGINNING I'll fill you in on a little back story on the series thus far. Despite how awful FRIDAY THE 13th PART 3-D was it did however make a ton of money. It was also during this time that the slasher genre was making a killing at the box office and PTA members along with bored mommies with too much time on their hands were protesting these violent and gory horror movies. So Paramount Pictures caved and decided it was time for Jason to hang up his machete for good but not without having one more romp in the woods. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER came out in 1984 and was an excellent “swan song” for the series. What happened next was obvious, the film made a ton of money. The suits at Paramount were genius, moviegoers are obviously going to come out and see the movie where they kill Jason! And kill them they did! No way he can come back from a machete through the head and being chopped to Kibbles n' Bits! Well he did come back, sort of. FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING tries exactly that by teasing us with the idea of a “new” Jason. It fails and it fails big time.

After spending years in a mental hospital for “killing” Jason in Part IV, Tommy Jarvis is sent to a halfway house for maladjusted teens. After one teen from the house brutally kills another and is sent away, it sparks anew the gruesome killings! But is it Jason, Tommy, or could it even be somebody else? Why would it be someone else? That'd be stupid! Okay so who it turns out to be is not all that stupid but just lazy storytelling. What makes this movie one of the worst in the series is not the fact Jason isn't the one doing the killings it's the fact that all the violence is edited to pieces! It really looked like every death scene with the exception of maybe a few were edited down to nothing. This might have been a decent entry in the series if the kills were not messed with. Seriously, some death scenes were just left funny and or confusing. The best kills in the movie ended up being the ones done off camera. Whenever somebody was about to get killed I was wasn't filled with suspense but rather wondering what was going to be edited this time?

Maybe the movie didn't stand a chance with the MPAA? The rumor is that FRIDAY THE 13th Part V: A NEW BEGINNING at the time was the most brutal one yet! I'd believe it after hearing the “lost scene” involving a victim getting a machete stabbed in her you-know-what! Come on Mr. Director, That's just sick!

Another thing this installment has going against it is everything looks bright and colorful or neon. The cold bleak drabness of the previous films are gone. This was important to me because the look of the films was one of the things that made me feel uneasy watching a Friday the 13th!

But leave it to one of the worst in the series to have one of the coolest but really ridiculous things in it that I love! Toward the end of the movie a Sheriff has some newspaper clippings about the killings at Crystal Lake and about Jason himself. One of the clippings has a picture of Jason, hockey mask and all! I literally began laughing my ass off! Who the heck was brave enough to freaking get that picture! Trust me if your a fan of this particular genre then you understand why that is so funny.

In closing,the film may have worked for a non franchise slasher flick but not here. Instead of a “new beginning” it's more of a “revenge” story instead. It's not until after the “real” killer is revealed that there is any inkling of a new direction for the series. Part VI oddly doesn't follow the new direction (which is a great thing) so it became all for nothing anyway. So I think the story is weak but that's not the reason I hate this film, the reason I dismiss Part V is the editing of the gore. It's down right absurd what all they cut out of this thing! I'm no gore hound but give the fans what they want and don't make your movie look like crap!

The Expendables

2010-08-15T19:34:00.003-05:00

Stallone has done it again! With ROCKY BALBOA he reminded us why we love the character Rocky. RAMBO gave us a mission we'll never forget and Stallone sent our favorite vet home. Now with THE EXPENDABLES Stallone reminded us of the glory days of 80's action movies. Back in the day if you were fans of these movies you know you had talks with friends about how cool it'd be to see a movie with Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, and whoever else all together in the mix! The movie we dreamed about wasn't exactly the movie we got, because in reality that would probably not be as cool as we thought. With THE EXPENDABLES what we have is old fashioned cheesy (in a good way) 80's and early 90's action! This my friends is Tango & Cash not Jason Bourne!

I don't think Stallone could gave gathered a better group of guys. The fact that Jason Statham is in this proves Stallone knows what he is doing. Dolph Lundgren back on the big screen is major too! He's already made his comeback but I still get that welcome back feeling when I see Mickey Rourke on screen! And the scene with the “three” at the church, let's just say it's my favorite non action scene of the film. I sure hope Schwarzenegger comes back to Hollywood when he's done with politics? I can see him make a comeback as a Dirty Harry tough guy type or something! I almost forgot Eric Roberts having an awesome time playing the villain. It's just great casting all around.

The story of THE EXPENDABLES is simple: Group of mercenary's for hire that take on missions the devil himself would pass on are offered a job to take out a dictator and slime ball ex C.I.A agent. Barney and his second in command go and get a lay of the land and decide to pass on the mission but not without having a little fun first. This little “escapade” gets the groups cute informant in trouble. Shortly thereafter Barney decides he's going back to save her. That's all you really need to know at this point.

Sadly this movie may fall victim to being labeled as “dumb macho fun” but truth be told deep within the clunky dialogue the film does have deep character development. Just listen and watch (this is a motion picture and these guys can act) when these men are interacting with each other. It's some of the best performance's we've seen from these guys in awhile. Dolph is especially amazing in this! His DTV (direct to video) work these past few years is pretty good for DTV.

The only thing I had a problem with was how some of the action scenes were edited. The car chase scene was just way too jerky and confusing; however, Jet Li was a bad ass in this scene! I loved the movie but scratch my head at some of the editing of action, especially after what Stallone showed us in RAMBO.

Overall THE EXPENDABLES is one of the best movies I've seen this year!

The A-Team

2010-06-14T18:53:00.002-05:00

My favorite of the two big summer movies of last week! As I write this I really want to see it again. A-TEAM has all the fun that a action movie should have. I really don't remember a lot of the t.v show so a few weeks ago a friend of mine refreshed my memory the best he could. He told me it was tough guy smarts mixed with Magnificent Seven attitude helping out people and friends in sticky situations every week. Four soldiers get charged for a crime they did not commit and get sent to jail. They break out of prison and go into hiding in L.A and become soldiers of fortune helping the helpless. The crime that they got set up for was never a pilot episode but rather just the shows introduction every week.
This new movie tells us how these guys became the A-Team. The director Joe(Smokin Ace's) Carnahan really knows his A-Team because right from the start he nails the tone of the series pitch perfect if not better. It's like he's telling us "You remember how fun the A-Team was? Well, get a load of this"! To start off the fun Carnahan introduces us to the future team in the deserts of Mexico in a Sergio Leone fashion, which of course I thought was very cool. What happens next is a very very entertaining strong character driven action movie!

Eight years after a fateful (and explosive) mission in Mexico united four unlikely Army Rangers, The "crack commando unit" led by Colonel Hannibal Smith are stationed in Iraq and sent on a mission by the CIA to go into the heart of Bagdad and retrieve a set of stolen money printing plates that are a threat to national security. Hannibal and his team, comprising of suave con-man "Faceman" Peck, burly B. A Baracus and comically insane "Howling Mad" Murdock, succeed in their mission. Returning to base, something goes wrong. The team in the wrong place at the wrong time, are charged with the famous "a crime they did not commit" from the series, dishonorably discharged and sent to separate prisons. Six months later, Hannibal Smith escapes and breaks his teammates out and start their first mission as the A-Team, to clear their name.

It's a blessing to see a real action director turn what most will pass off as tentpole summer action movie fluff into a bad ass action film with awesome characters! Carnahan knows his craft, all the action beats work and only improves on the fun of the original series.
THE A-TEAM just saved the summer movie season of 2010!

The Karate Kid (2010)

2010-06-12T20:16:00.001-05:00

I'll try not to sound like a jaded 33 year old movie fan because I'm sure that's what some of you will think? I am not arguing or saying that the remake of THE KARATE KID is bad, I liked it. It's not better than the original by a long shot. The original ( I really hate people are going to have to start saying that now) was not just a product of it's time but rather a classic movie made in the 80's. I wont go on and on but know this, I love THE KARATE KID (1984). It's the first movie that I wanted to see multiple times at the theater, we taped it on VHS from HBO, and I even watched it on HBO even having it taped on VHS. That VHS was the best; it had THE KARATE KID, THE LAST STARFIGHTER, and THE NEVERENDING STORY. Now that's what I call a triple feature!

Where does THE KARATE KID (2010) fall short? The two things that come to my mind are the acting and emotional development of certain characters. It wont happen but I honestly feel that Will and Jada need to stop putting their son Jaden in movies. This movie is the best work so far but I just don't know if he is going to get better? Some of his lines were cringe worthy and a lot felt like one takes to me. Don't get me wrong, he is not the worst child actor I've ever seen and If I'm wrong then cool, just don't expect him to follow in his dad's footsteps any time soon.

While being two different characters Ralph Macchio's Daniel Larusso is far more interesting and fleshed out more than Jaden Smith's Dre Parker.
The same goes for the Mr. Miyagi / Mr. Han characters. Jackie Chan is the perfect choice to play Mr. Han who teaches Dre kung-fu, but that's all it is a great casting choice. Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi was so much more, it's no wonder that Mr. Morita got nominated for an Oscar for the role. When the dynamics of these two characters start to take off it just falls short of the relationship that Daniel and Miyagi had. These two ended up best friends even on a sort of father and son level. In the new movie Mr. Han is just some guy teaching Dre kung-fu.

The film makers had plenty of chances to work on this but instead focused on a sub-plot dealing with a girls violin recital. More time could have been devoted to training for the tournament. In fact, a lot more time could have been devoted to training for the tournament. Nothing ever topped the jacket on, jacket off lesson. The best training moments were few and far between plus highlighted only in montages it seemed.

Okay so what did I like? The kung fu. As much as I like Daniel it's no contest that Dre would kick his butt. The fights and fighting style are better in this new film. The story taking place in China was a nice touch.

In closing it was entertaining and better that I thought it would be not by no means is it a classic nor will it ever be one.

IRON MAN 2

2010-05-08T20:17:00.002-05:00

I knew that IRON MAN 2 was going to be good if not great but this movie superseded all my expectations. Plus there was only two AC/DC songs which was a good thing, I was worried every song in the movie was going to be from the bad boys from down under. So many good things to say that I don't know where to begin? First let me say that MARVEL STUDIOS is quickly becoming the studio for comic book movies. I've been very impressed with what they have done so far that I believe THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and THE AVENGERS will be just as good as the Iron Man movies, oh and that new Hulk one as well.

IRON MAN is one of my top five comic book movies and it's sequel is as well. Back in the day when I read comics Iron Man wasn't one of the titles I read. I knew about him and liked the character it's just that I didn't read the series. I am more of a fan of the films.

The first thing that makes these movies great is Robert Downey Jr. (let's stop referring him as RDJ please). I don't know nor care how Tony Stark is like in the comics, I like the character Downey Jr. has created. The second thing is small but I just think that it's super cool and that is the Marvel Universe continuity. Once all the other movies I've mentioned come out it will be all that much cooler. Lastly everything else falls into place nicely; humor, great comic book action, the suits, and of course special effects.

There is a lot to explain but I don't want to ruin anything so my explanation will be brief. It's been six months since the events of the first film and Tony has proclaimed world peace but the U.S government thinks otherwise and wants Mr. Stark to hand over the Iron Man or “weapon” as they like to call it. Tony won't give them the pleasure so to make matters worse Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries helps the government by applying more pressure. To make matters worse a mean Russian bad ass engineer that has a grudge on the Stark family creates a suit using similar technology from Stark Industries and makes some wicked looking electrical whips. I know you may be thinking but these whips are awesome! To make matters worse Tony is dying. A element that is keeping him alive is also making him deathly sick. He doesn't have much time left. The short of it is Justin Hammer hires the Russian Whiplash to make him an army of Iron Men that would put Stark out of business. During which Whiplash is planning his own revenge. War Machine is born ( I smell a spin off). Nick Furry and Black Widow tell Tony more about the Avengers. I think I told you enough without giving to much away.

What makes this movie great is everything that made the first one awesome but just multiply that and you get IRON MAN 2. More action, more laughs, War Machine, did I mention more laughs, and the new Iron Man suit at the end is killer! Start the summer of right and see this movie!

Rolling Thunder (1977)

2010-02-15T22:24:00.001-06:00

It is such a great feeling when you finally see a movie that you have been waiting to see for years pays off when you see it. ROLLING THUNDER is that kind of movie. Quentin Tarantino who is one of my favorite directors working today loves this movie so for years I have tried to track it down but the thing is it's not on DVD. After years of waiting I became convinced that the movie was just going to become that sort of film that's really cool and if you missed out you just plain missed out. Well my friends I finally got to see the movie I only dreamed about seeing. No it didn't finally get released on DVD which I hope someday it will? A friend of mine who apparently wanted to see it more than I did ,went ahead a bought a bootleg DVD version of it. I was almost afraid to watch it because I didn't want to jinx the idea that ROLLING THUNDER is the coolest movie that I'll never see. Did the movie and my watching experience play out 100% like I thought it would? No, but man this movie is cool!

Major Charles Rane comes back from the war and is given a number of gifts from his hometown because he is a war hero. Some greedy thugs decide that they want to steal a number of silver dollars from him. In the process they also manage to kill his wife and son and destroy his hand. The Major wants revenge so he enlists the help of his war buddy Johnny to meet the thugs in a final showdown.
This history of this movie hails it as a 70's gritty exploitation B-movie which very well may be true but in my opinion it has the heart and soul of an A list movie. That maybe why it's a cult classic?
I urge people to see it, so I'm not going to give much away. The things I love most about ROLLING THUNDER are the interesting characters and how the movie builds up to the moments of revenge. When it gets to the final showdown you know without a shadow of doubt that Major Charles Rane and his war buddy Johnny are going to show these low life greedy thugs just exactly who they are dealing with. At all costs please see this movie! Enjoy!

The Wolfman (2010)

2010-02-13T16:25:00.005-06:00

These kind of reviews are the hardest when you have mixed feelings of the movie you just watched. Was THE WOLFMAN the movie I saw last night the film I was expecting to see since it's production began in I believe 2007? I'm leaning toward no. Did I hate the movie I saw last night? Only in regards to that the movie seemed to have a lot of stuff cut out of it. I'm not talking about gore or anything like that, I am talking about that it just seems a lot of content was trimmed down, way down. This could have been the result of a studio taking to much control and the fact the film started with one director and ended with another. The short version of that story is the first director left due to “budget” reasons so the studio hired someone else but this director didn't quite have the same vision of what the first director intended the film to be. You can learn more about this on the Internet I'm sure, the bottom line is that THE WOLFMAN film was a end result of too many cooks in the kitchen. I should give Universal Pictures the benefit of doubt but I won't, they are to blame on this one.

Since the 90's Hollywood has been revamping the Movie Monsters and so far only a few times has it worked. DRACULA (92) directed by Francis Ford Coppola worked for me but FRANKENSTEIN (94) directed by Kenneth Branagh was a disaster. I have not seen WOLF(94) but I've heard that I really don't need to. In 1999 THE MUMMY was a good fun Universal Movie Monster adventure but the squeals ended that ride real quick. Then the ultimate was set to be unleashed with VAN HELSING (04) but what we got was with this film was a director who was like a kid with A.D.D in a candy store. In 2007 we were to get THE WOLFMAN but conflicts got in the way and the end result was what came out last night. THE WOLFMAN indeed has some problems but I really like it for the fact that it's scary and yes bloody. It is light years away from VAN HELSING and thats a great thing.

Lawrence returns home after receiving a letter that his brother is missing. When he gets home it is discovered that his brother was slain by some beast believed to be a bear. Some locals are convinced that the wild beast was a bear but some believe that the attack was done by something else, something like a wolf man. During a night of trying to hunt and kill whatever killed his brother Lawrence gets bitten by the beast itself. Thus begins the dark transformation of Lawrence but what will drive him to the point of insanity first, his estranged relationship with his father, or the curse of the Lycan?

As weak of a film THE WOLFMAN is I will say it does deliver on what a fan would want, gore, blood,atmosphere, and great looking werewolf wolf man. If your a die hard fan take in a afternoon theater matinée and skip the full price. Enjoy!

--Caleb

The Lovely Bones

2010-01-16T14:59:00.001-06:00

My thoughts are very conflicted with Peter Jackson’s (The Lord of the Rings) new movie THE LOVELY BONES. I love everything about the movie except for some key elements of the story. The film had my full attention all the way leading to the murder of the main character. After that THE LOVELY BONES started to loose steam fast. It started to become something like WHAT DREAMS MAY COME but way more entertaining. This may just be some nitpicking because the movie is indeed well made but I just got tired of the story and some of the acting. The main characters voice over throughout the movie started to get on my nerves with her wispy sounding voice. The film’s version of Heaven or I should say The In-Between got to be a little too “Lovely” for me. Susan Sarandon bugged me too. Like I said, nitpicking.

Don’t worry I didn’t ruin the movie telling you that the main character gets murdered because THE LOVELY BONES is about a young woman who gets murdered on her way home from school. Based on the best selling book by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones is the story of a 14-year-old girl from suburban Pennsylvania who is murdered by her neighbor. She tells the story from Heaven, showing the lives of the people around her and how they have changed all while attempting to get someone to find her lost body.

I felt the message of the movie was more about moving on in life, in the real world and the afterlife but less about finding the killer. It’s a good story only it’s one that I started to care less and less about. The good things are many with good direction by Peter Jackson, great cinematography (the 70’s are recreated masterfully), and an above and beyond performance from Stanley Tucci as the killer neighbor George Harvey. I think a lot of people that see this movie will not believe the range that Mr. Tucci has as an actor especially with previous roles in movies like THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and JULIE & JULIA.

My final thoughts on THE LOVELY BONES is that while I did not like the story as much as I wanted to (and I really tried), the end product is still a good movie and Peter Jackson is still a great filmmaker.

Up In The Air

2009-12-27T17:11:00.001-06:00

Not the feel good movie of the Christmas (that's right I said Christmas not Holiday) season, but UP IN THE AIR is a good one. It's not the best film of the year by any means and I honestly believe that the critics say UP IN THE AIR is the best is because they don't like it when genre films are the bread winner of 2009. George Clooney is cool. Men want to be him and women want to...date him. Clooney is 100% in this movie. He plays Ryan Bingham a corporate headhunter who's job is his life. Home for him is traveling, connections at airports, and executive status at the Hilton. He has a number in mind for frequent flyer miles only he hasn't hit it yet. Set in his ways Ryan's life is threatened when his company brings him home and “grounds” him. His company now fires people over the Internet. Unhappy with this Bingham proves to his boss that the new system is flawed. With success Ryan's boss puts him back in the air but with one condition, he takes the young woman that helped create new Internet job firing tool with him to show her the ropes in the real world. Along the way Ryan meets a woman who's business also includes a lot of flying. Will Ryan finally “connect” with someone besides his job?
Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno) does a really good job at keeping George Clooney and the story around his character interesting. A lot of people left the theater not liking the ending but I thought it ended the only way it could end. The only thing this movie should get is a Oscar nomination for Clooney basically playing a character loosely based on himself which is a hard thing to pull off, just ask Mike Tyson for when he was in THE HANGOVER.

I give UP IN THE AIR a very high C+

~Caleb

Avatar

2009-12-18T21:15:00.001-06:00

This particular review has taken me several hours to even start writing because I am still pondering what I saw at 12:00am this morning? Leaving the theater I felt awe struck and let down at the same time. My biggest problem with the film I will get out of the way and that's the fact that the movie is long. When I see this again very soon my problem with the length very well may go away because it wont be 3:00am.

AVATAR has been a film seven plus years in the making and in a lot of movie geeks opinions the movie to end all movies. The director of AVATAR James Cameron is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time and I consider myself a fan of his work. What I am not a fan of our some of his fans who think he is the god of action/science fiction film making. Come on guys ALIENS and T2: JUDGEMENT DAY were forever ago, its time to move forward and thats what Cameron has done with AVATAR. I am not going to bore you with how one can make the observation that AVATAR could be DANCES WITH WOLVES in space. The Internet is already filled with that stuff like that. Yes, the story going on in AVATAR has been done over and over again but you have never seen it told like this.

In the future Earth is out of resources and finds what they are looking for in deep space on a moon called Pandora. Jake which is a paraplegic war vet takes the place of his late twin brother on a project to learn about the moon's indigenous humanoid race called the Na'vi and this is achieved by a taking on a “avatar”identity. A “avatar” is more or less a incarnation of a hybrid Na'vi and earthling humanoid.
In Jake's “avatar form he is sent to get to know the culture of the Na'vi and tell them to move away from their home so the corporation he works for can mine and bulldoze for Pandora's rich and wonderful resource. Jake falls in love with the culture and race of Pandora so naturally he joins forces with them to protect what the Na'vi call home.

I got really bored with this part of the story because these moments just seemed to drag out forever. With that being said, what makes me really like this movie a lot is how the groundbreaking 3D and motion capture effects made Pandora come alive. This has to be seen to be believed and you just have to trust me on this because trying to explain what I saw on screen would just come across as rambling.

Blockbuster or flop one thing is for certain AVATAR has set the standard for 3D special effects film making.

B+

Black Dynamite

2009-11-14T14:20:00.006-06:00

A movie like BLACK DYNAMITE is one I almost took a pass on, because with an idea of a film that is a blaxploitation homage, it has the chance to have a million things wrong with it. The trailers I had seen made the movie out to be awesome but jokey and spoofy as well. I didn't think Hollywood needed nor did I want to see another I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA. Well I am glad to say that BLACK DYNAMITE is more of a true homage than a spoof. The movie does have a lot of funny moments that may very well be spoofy but at the same time it's bad @$$ cinema, which I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA was not.

To understand where a movie like BLACK DYNAMITE is coming from you first have to understand the films that stared the likes of Fred Williamson, Jim Kelly, and Pam Greir.

BLACK DYNAMITE is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite. The Man killed his brother, pumped heroin into local orphanages, and flooded the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. Black Dynamite was the one hero willing to fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House.

The thing that I love most about BLACK DYNAMITE is that it's well crafted and thought out and shows a great attention to detail. On the website www.moxiecinema.com I read that the movie itself is meant to have this long lost gem of a film quality, and it does I'm happy to report!

It gets a little too silly at the end but for the most part BLACK DYNAMITE should be the best time you had at the theater in a long time.

It's a high C+ from me, enjoy!

-Caleb

The Proposal

2009-10-19T20:51:00.003-05:00

When a high-powered book editor faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she's actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant, who she's tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade but he has a few demands of his own. The unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family. With an impromptu wedding in the works and an immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences.

THE PROPOSAL was not as bad as I was expecting it to be. I began watching with very low expectations only to find out that I was enjoying the flick. Sadly, Sandra Bullock's character is not the one that makes this film work. She does however play a very convincing witch. I believe this type of character is a first for her which was cool to see, but IMHO even though these types of movies are her bread and butter it's time to see Sandra do something else. What makes THE PROPOSAL work is the comedic talent of Ryan Reynolds and Bettie White. Ryan is already a established movie star and films that make quick and easy millions like THE PROPOSAL will only help him to become a mega movie star, which is a good thing.

Not much else to say about this sub standard romantic comedy except that I did happen to like the role reversal between the two leads, it's subtle but watch for it. The small cameo role of the jack-of-all-trades of the small town played by Oscar from the television show THE OFFICE is priceless.

THE PROPOSAL gets a C-, Enjoy!

Caleb

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

2009-08-22T15:04:00.010-05:00

If most of you do not know already, which I think the majority of my readers do, is that I am a huge Quentin Tarantino fan. PULP FICTION was the film that was a breath of fresh air to me and most if not all of America. It was not until his KILL BILL movies that I became the Tarantino fan that I am today.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is the Tarantino WWII film I have been waiting for almost over 5 years. He has had this movie in his head for 10 years. It has taken so long because he had just kept writing and writing to where eventually it became almost like a novel.

With me being a huge fan of Quentin's work it would come off as sounding very elitist of me when I say that INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is the masterpiece of Quentin Tarantino. In my honest opinion this new movie is his masterpiece; however, this is not the Tarantino WWII I expected or wanted to see. I was expecting to witness a balls to the wall World War II Men on a Mission DIRTY DOZEN film done Tarantino style. This movie is not that. Quentin definitely threw his hat into the ring of the WWII sub genre, but INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS turned out be oh such more. What most people misunderstand is that Quentin's filmmaking is more reinventing than paying homage. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is the re-imagining of how World War II did indeed end.

Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France... a young Jewish refugee Shosanna witnesses the slaughter of her family by the "Jew Hunter" Colonel Hans Landa. Narrowly escaping with her life, she plots her revenge several years later when German war hero takes an interest in her and arranges a movie premiere at the theater she now runs. With the promise of every major Nazi officer in attendance, the event catches the attention of the "Basterds", a group of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers led by the ruthless Lt. Aldo Raine. As the plans are set in motion, their paths will cross for a fateful evening that will shake the very annals of history. I really want to tell you how Shosanna, Aldo and the rest of the "Bastards" end WWII but you really must see for yourself. How they stop the war? So are you telling us that this is a fantasy? No, it's more like if these men, these "Bastards" were really in the big one, then this is how WWII would have ended.

While not being the Men on a Mission movie that I was hoping, I still love this film LOVE it. After seeing it twice I like everything about it every shot, every scene, every performance, and every bit of music. I love it. Tarantino has created a WWII universe that we only get to see glimpses of. A sequel or something like the BAND OF BROTHERS mini-series would be awesome. I am satisfied but also longing for more. Please Mr. Tarantino let this be not the end to your wonderfully crafted WWII universe, please?

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS gets an A-

~Caleb

District 9

2009-08-15T16:57:00.006-05:00

Okay so I lied, sue me. The week I thought about quiting must have been a bad one for me. You still may not hear from me much on here but that's okay because I don't think that many people still read this blog much anymore. Friday morning @ 12:01am I had the privilege to see one of the best most important science fiction films since who knows when, maybe THE MATRIX. What about the movie MOON Caleb, as some of you may be wondering? MOON was awesome and one of the coolest films of 2009 but found it just did not move me like District 9 did.

This film like every film ever made will have have it's lovers and haters. I only state this because with this film it will happen, sadly. All reviews of art be it amature or professional is subjective, but haters be wrong because this movie is just too cool. I really hope that DISTRICT 9 does more than just find it's target audience during the film's theatrical run. Moviegoers who know what DISTRICT 9 is beyond just the trailers, will more than likely end up loving the movie just like they thought they would. Others may cry bologna sauce and outrage over the mockumentary first 15 minutes and utter lack of Hollywood star power. Most just want that double cheeseburger from MacDonald's and for Will Smith to welcome the alien invaders with a "Hell No" and a punch to the face. Moving on, enough with the soap box jazz.

Years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Nothing happened. It turns out that the aliens were refugees. The creatures, which are called Prawns because of their crustatious like features, were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa's District 9 as the world's nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when MNU field operatives come into District 9 to move the aliens into a more controlled environment like a concentration camp. Wikus van der Merwe , a MNU worker contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide, District 9.

The trailers and website can set you up for what you want to happen next, human verses alien carnage. You will have no idea what is in store for you, no idea. The action in this film is wild and the alien weapon technology is bugnuts crazy! Bolts of energy that blows people, aliens, and other stuff up. Some moments are like something out of the video game Halo, but this is no video game.

If the awesome action does not grab you then the unapologetic social commentary might. The reactions from this aspect of the film will be just as brutal as some of the films most gory of moments.

DISTRICT 9 is a smart genre film that will be talked about and picked apart for years. It will be if not already a science fiction classic.

It is a strong A+ for DISTRICT 9! Enjoy!!!!

~Caleb

G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra

2009-08-07T15:53:00.002-05:00

From the very first trailer this movie looked all shades of bad. Hollywood has tried this formula before with the '90's STREET FIGHTER and MORTAL KOMBAT movies and we all know how thoes pieces of crap turned out. The fact that a G.I. JOE movie was going to be helmed by the guy responsible for VAN HELSING wasn't very promising to me to say the least. I just felt this movie was doomed from the very start.

Would it be fair of me to say that G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA is a good movie or one of the best of the summer? No it would not because quite honestly it is not. What the movie is I can honestly say is a honest to goodness; bad to the bone Saturday morning sugar coated crazy G.I.JOE movie. This film is 100% G.I. JOE!

Purists will scoff at a lot of what the movie did not translate from the cartoon or the comics, but all of that can be forgiven in my opinion because what the filmmakers did do right was capture the essence of what playing with the toys or the cartoon was about and that is FUN. I have only one big flaw with the film and that is the stupid slow motion action. I am fine with a slow motion punch, kick, and even the occasional gun blast. What I am not okay with is when this over used special effect is used for stupid stuff like A JET DODGING A MISSILE OR BLAST OF SOME KIND! This happened in the movie way too much.

What I love most about this film is that it's JOE'S fighting COBRA. The movie does have a weak but not too dumb back story for some of our favorite characters to create some drama to carry the action along. Unlike that other 80's toy and cartoon movie that is more about a boy and his robot changing car.

So if you were a kid growing up in the late seventies and early eighties and watching Saturday morning cartoons was your thing, then you should love G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA! B+ Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Caleb

FROM THE BARGIN BIN - Slaughter High (1986)

2009-08-01T16:33:00.004-05:00

SLAUGHTER HIGH was one of the million FRIDAY THE 13TH knock offs to come out in the 80's. Being that the film came out in '86 I had that feeling that it was going to be bad. Yes the movie is bad but also very entertaining for a slasher film from 1986. The bad is just what you would come to expect from a slasher film from the eighties. SLAUGHTER HIGH has not aged well at all. The dialogue is awful and filled with slasher movie cliches. Someone scares some girls with a hockey mask and even mentions Jason. The best one I thought was when one of the teens tells everyone that they all just need to stay awake. Stay awake? Last time I checked this guy wasn't attacking you in your dreams?

A group of popular students play a cruel prank on a shy nerd resulting in a terrible accident. Years later a reunion is held where each of the students face a stalker killer who may be the same nerd out for revenge.

Some of the kills and special effects have held the test of time quite well than I remember as a kid watching the movie on USA's Up All Night hosted by Gilbert Gottfried.

$4.99 was the cost of fun and SLAUGHTER HIGH gets a D+!

~Caleb

The Collector

2009-08-01T15:22:00.005-05:00

What a truly great surprise, I did not expect this movie to come to Springfield at all! This film also it seems just came out of no where and sadly may only last a week. If tonight is date night and you like a good horror movie, skip FUNNY PEOPLE ( it will still be waiting for you next week) and go see THE COLLECTOR.

THE COLLECTOR is the best thing that is happening in horror right now. Ever since say like 2002 horror movies have been like they were in the late seventies and early eighties, cool and scary. Today horror is in a bind. The genre is and has been over saturated in stale ideas (j-horror), torture porn(that's SAW for all my non horror readers), boring haunted house tales, and the uninteresting horror remake. When I say that THE COLLECTOR is the best thing to happen in horror I am telling you that this film is an anything but ordinary nail biter horror movie. The premise is what I love best about the movie.

A thief has been scoping out a house he is going to rob for weeks. The family that lives in the house are going on vacation. Times are rough because his wife owes a lone shark some money sooner than later. Our jewel thief has to do the job before midnight despite what his boss(or partner) says. This is truly where the story begins. What the jewel thief does not know is that a masked killer has been staking out the family as well. The thief breaks in to find the house is set full of nasty traps for the family to fall prey to. So begins a very interesting and awesome cat and mouse game as the thief uses his skill to save the family without becoming a victim himself.

Never before have I been on the edge of my seat in the theater than I was for THE COLLECTOR. The ending sort of lost me but other than that everything worked for me.

It's a B+ for THE COLLECTOR! Enjoy at your own risk!

~Caleb

Coraline

2009-07-25T15:45:00.006-05:00

A friend from work let me borrow CORALINE to watch over the weekend. This is the first stop motion animated films I have seen. Yes, I feel like a dork for never seeing A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS or CORPSE'S BRIDE. Too many movies and so little time. I actually plan to purchase A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS when I get a Blu-Ray player.

CORALINE is a really great film and that is just from watching the 2D version. From what I hear the 3D version is the way to really watch it! 2009 is really shaping up to be a very cool year for kid's movies! UP, CORALINE, and in October is WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE which the buzz is nothing but good things.

CORALINE is a nice little spooky story for children. A young girl finds a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. At first glance this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life, only much better. But when her parallel life turns dangerous, and her "other" parents try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, bravery, and some new friends to get back home.

CORALINE really soaks the viewer in the aesthetic and intelligent storytelling. This is not ICE AGE 20 OR THE WILD; however, it is a tale that will resonate for a portion of the moviegoer hitting on their own feelings of selfishness and wanting the spoils without the work. This is a story and a movie for the ages. If I had seen this movie when I was say 8 or 10, by the time high school rolled around I would have been like "you remember that movie Coraline? Wasn't that movie cool?". Trust me, some of your kids will be saying this down the road.

Can't wait to see this in 3D, I give CORALINE a B+! Enjoy!!!!!!!!

~Caleb

Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince

2009-07-18T16:11:00.005-05:00

It is a sure bet that anybody or everybody that reads this blog has or will be seeing this movie. HARRY POTTER and the HALF - BLOOD PRINCE is the movie event of the summer or perhaps the year! I could have posted a review earlier in the week but after two screenings I wanted to let the dust settle before giving a true opinion. Do I think that this sixth movie is the best movie in the series yet? No. Do I like the movie? Yes, yes I do like it a lot. While I like the movie very much I can't help but scratch my head at some of the adaptation choices. The main one being at the end with the very anti climatic battle at Hogwarts. The only thing that I can come up with is that the filmmakers went this route so that not to make these last three films in the series redundant? The other thing that I thought was weird was how very matter of fact the whole revelation of who the Half - Blood Prince was? The book made a big deal about it and it is the title of the film, so whats up with that? Now on to what I did like.

Two factors will always bring me to watch HARRY POTTER and the HALF - BLOOD PRINCE with a smile on my face. The first thing is Jim Broadbent as Professor Slughorn is hands down some of the best acting I have seen all year and one of the best performances in the film series ever! The second thing is the three main characters of Harry Potter. Watching these movies you the viewer really feel invested as a part of these kids lives, we have grown up with them. This factor is what really does it for me. It is the comradery going on between Harry, Ron and Hermione that makes this installment special. Budding romances are not the only thing going on, the movie has plenty doom and gloom.

In the sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, and in both wizard and muggle worlds Lord Volemort and his henchmen are increasingly active. With vacancies to fill at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore persuades Horace Slughorn, back from retirement to become the potions teacher, while Professor Snape receives long awaited news. Harry Potter, together with Dumbledore, must face treacherous tasks to defeat his evil nemesis.

An excellent calm before the storm HARRY POTTER and the HALF - BLOOD PRINCE gets an A- Enjoy!!!!

~Caleb

I Love You Beth Coopper

2009-07-11T19:23:00.003-05:00

Several if not all genre movies are for the most part meant to be comfort food. When you watch a slasher flick, mafia film, teen comedy, and even the chick flick. All these types of movies have rules that the audience loves or knows by heart. The really great genre films always tend to bend, reinvent, or the very risky changing of the rules. The type of films I tend to enjoy the most are genre movies. I really enjoy the familiar. I don't buy into the 'It was bad because it wasn't original' way of thinking when watching movies. The thing that I have been saying for years is that 'it's not always about the story, but how you tell the story'. This brings me to I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER the new teen comedy that will get lost in the multiplex this weekend due to BRUNO, ICE AGE: 3D, and whatever else is playing at a theater near you.

I did enjoy the movie but my being entertained I will admit is somewhat bias because I just really like teen comedies. The problems with I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER is that it plays the teen sex comedy too safe, which in turn really makes the movie look like a bad overplayed cliche. Too many times the movie was trying to be an R rated comedy wrapped up in a PG-13 one. The PG-13 comedy teen sex comedy can be done and the proof is the very funny and underrated FIRED UP. I blame the studio 20th Century Fox for this tiny blemish. Before I mention the rest of the things that I did not like or hurt the movie, let me tell you what it is about.

A nerdy valedictorian proclaims his love for the hottest and most popular girl in school, Beth Cooper during his graduation speech. Much to his surprise, Beth shows up at his door that very night and decides to show him the best night of his life.

Let me start with the nerd/geek factor, the movie nails it, but once these characters are established the script doesn't know where to take it. A character who constantly recount movie quotes the entire movie gets old very fast. You are a movie buff, we get it now move on! If that's all you got then you make yourself one dimensional and cliche. Now that I think about it the movie is just really cliche and weak. The things that I did like was that as cliched as the movie is the script does have good witty moments to it. The actors, especially the two leads play the characters very good. These people seem very real to me and not some fake MTV crap. The movie does have it's moments but they just come too little too late. I would hardly call the night Beth Cooper gave our hero the best night of his life.

It's a C- for I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER

Public Enemies

2009-07-04T12:18:00.002-05:00

The more I think about this film the more I like it. I have been a fan of the filmmaker Micheal Mann since the 1995 classic Heat. Mann has a style all his own when it comes to making films about cops, robbers, crooks, and thieves. It is a style that I have grown to love. When you go in to see a movie that's directed by Mann say MIAMI VICE be prepared to get sucked into the characters and the world they live in. Mann's movies are very character driven and I think that's why most of them are great films. It's important to point out that Mr. Mann is not an action movie director, but the cherry on top of his crime dramas is his action. Before this review I should have done some research on the background of Micheal and see if he ever worked as a police officer or ever was a detective. I mention this because the way his action scenes unfold loud, fast, and sometimes brutal. He makes the realistic hyper realistic, I say this because as real as it all may feel, we are still watching a movie.

PUBLIC ENEMIES is a film about the most famous year in the life of the 1930's most popular bank robber, John Dillinger. This film wastes no time and gets right to what Dillinger was good at which was robbing banks. This is no “who is John Dillinger and why does he do the things he is good at?” film, this is the “ Dillinger was an iconic bank robber and this is how it all went down!” film. Watching the movie Dillinger seems like a very charming man and who better to play him then Johnny Depp. Depp is one of the coolest and most likable actors working today and Dillinger was well liked doing what he did in the Depression Era. The woman in the “red dress” Billie Frechette played by Marion Cotillard was very stunning in her performance. The love between these two was believable but dragged on at times. If this movie does good I hope to see more of Marion in the future.

Agent Purvis the man after Dillinger played by everybody's favorite Batman Christian Bale was another top notch performance for the actor. Purvis is a hunter in every sense of the word and will stop and nothing to get his man. Purvis and his squad are the good guys but Dillinger can't help but be the hero, because it is his story nonetheless. The rest of the cast is amazing and is a who's who of quick roles. When I was watching I kept going saying 'cool, he's in this movie!'.

What I did not particularity care for was the choice to film the movie in digital. Mann has used digital since I believe COLATRAL and on modern movies it looks great, but it just does not work for me when your movie is set in the '30's. My other gripe is that Micheal Mann likes to make long movies so a lot of sub plots get left on the cutting room floor thanks to Hollywood suits. So even though it may be 30 minutes longer I would like to see a director cut of PUBLIC ENEMIES when it comes out on DVD. Most of his films have director cuts and it really helps the flow like it or not.

It's a B- from me for PUBLIC ENEMIES. Enjoy!!!!

~Caleb

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2009-06-24T19:47:00.002-05:00

The big question on a lot of my readers mind is did I or did I not like this new Transformers movie? The answer is yes, yes I did like the movie, this new film felt very much like Transformers to me. Does the movie have problems, of course but I forgive a lot of them. The movie is getting a lot of hate in the national media and on the Internet. Too much action, too many robots, and not enough substance is in a nutshell what people are screaming bloody murder over. I won't spoil every thing but here is a taste of the anger in a few sentences give or take. Non politically correct stereotype speaking Transformers. Action moving the story instead of long boring dialogue scenes. All the Decepticons looking the same and very hard to tell them apart. Whenever the Transformers fight each other and it's not shown in slow motion it just doesn't look very good at all. All these reasons are very forgivable in my opinion with the exception of the last two.
I do not love TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, but I was sold from the very start of the picture. It has been two years since the events from the first movie and the Autobots have teamed up with the military to hunt down and destroy any and all Decepticons roaming the planet Earth. The movie could have used about 15 - 20 minutes more of this, but instead the filmmakers show us lots of Sam going to college which is fine because it works and is very funny at times. The humans are still and always will be the main characters, which in the long run really hurts these movies. The filmmakers should realize that what fans really want is a Transformer movie where the robots are the main characters. As long as the future sequels will always have Meagan Fox running slow motion, I will be a happy camper.
The first movie was an origin movie told through the eyes of the humans, so it had a lot of build up and little action dealing with the Transformers. In REVENGE it was not like that at all, in this movie the action moved the plot a lot more than in the first movie.
The plot is simple, a Decepticon named The Fallen wants revenge and is seeking a very power weapon that will harness Energon which in turn will destroy the Earth.
Bottom line is TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is not a great movie, but had a lot more Transformers fighting each other which made me very happy!

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN gets a C+! Enjoy!!!!

~Caleb

UP

2009-05-29T20:09:00.003-05:00

My love for PIXAR films has been a tough one. I thought TOY STORY was awesome and then came A BUG'S LIFE and that one didn't do it for me so I was done. TOY STORY 2 came along and I was hooked again, but just only on that series. It wasn't until THE INCREDIBLES that I took the guys at Pixar seriously. CARS was a let down for me, too much of a kid's movie. I really want to take a second look at the one about the rat that wants to be a chef and I still have yet to watch MONSTERS INC. Then came WALL-E, this was the first time in my adult life that a animated movie could very well be a best movie of the year for me. Pixar was starting to make actual films and not just eye candy for kids and parents. This studio is getting the love it very so much deserves from critics, movie geeks, and most importantly moviegoers.

How much did I like UP? I liked it enough to turn around and go see it again in a heartbeat. I have loved adventure movies since birth and UP is one of the coolest I have seen in a gosh darn while! My head is still spinning over this movie. I haven't felt this way towards a movie since KILL BILL VOL.1, that was way back in '03 so I may be missing a movie or two, but that just shows you how much I really liked UP. I need maybe a few days to get my thoughts together. In fear of just rambling gobs and gobs of praise I will sum it together with saying that this movie has it all.

In closing I realize that I don't really need to sell people into seeing UP, it's a Pixar movie and the quality that comes from this studio sells itself. People will see it and like it and say 'yep, another masterpiece from Pixar'. I hate spoilers so this holiday season I will give a more detailed review seeing as this one will no doubt be one of my top ten of 2009!

A+ Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

~Caleb

Terminator Salvation

2009-05-22T20:42:00.002-05:00

“Terminator” is one of my all time favorite movies. It was also my introduction to Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, I couldn't watch “Conan The Barbarian” because of the nudity. Everyone who knows 80's cinema knows why this movie is a classic. In the early 90's “T2: Judgment Day” became all the rage and old fans and a generation of new one's hailed the sequel as the best action science fiction movie of all time. To this day “T2” is still considered the best, I disagree. The popular sequel is an achievement of cinema and a high mark in special effects but just not my favorite. The third installment of the franchise is a very entertaining installment but is just more of the same old same old. It was time for a Terminator movie to be about the future war. With “Terminator Salvation” that time has finally come!

What a rough bumpy road it has been with just weeks before this new movie was to hit theaters across the country. The ugly word of mouth was that it's main star the Dark Knight himself really did not want to play John Conner in the first place. The much talked about leak of the ending raised some eyebrows of shock including my own. It was just days before wide release that world renowned movie geeks were calling it a steaming pile of dog poo. This fan was afraid, very afraid.

The time had come and it was show time at the good ole Springfield 8. From the very start of the film I was having fun, I was finally seeing a Terminator movie that was the future war. Was it as dark and bleak as the glimpses we all saw in the first two films, no, but man this was awesome. The only complaint I have with the movie is that since it's a prequel I lost the sense of suspense of what may happen to these characters. I loved everything else about “Terminator Salvation”! The action is cool and in my opinion the movies hero Marcus Wright was very cool. In still liking what I saw very much, I did think that the last act could have had just a few more T-800's and the scene with everyones favorite Terminator could have been longer too.

“Terminator Salvation” gets a B+ from me! Enjoy!!!!

~Caleb

Star Trek

2009-05-18T20:17:00.004-05:00

Ever since I was a kid I have been a die hard Star Wars fan. I grew up on the trilogy which to this day is still one of my favorite sagas. Another series of movies I grew up one was the Star Trek films. Sadly it is a memory forgotten, but my dad tells me that the family went to see “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” at the drive-in eons ago. Back in the early eighties at the Radio Shack in the Mall I remember watching parts of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn”. “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” was the beginning of seeing the rest of the series at the theater, the Tower Theater. Watching these films were really special to me. I had always felt that I was watching the Star Wars that my dad had when he was a kid. Going to a Star Trek movie with my dad is a tradition I will never forget. I never cared much for the original television series or for that matter any of the spin-offs. There was the occasional watching of a few episodes from time to time. In high school I became a casual fan of the next generation series watching episodes at my friends house after school. In short I guess you can say that I am a casual fan, but not enough to call me a Trekkie, I mean Trekker, or whatever the kids are calling them now.

The new movie is great and probably going to be my favorite of the summer this year.
This review is somewhat late seeing that I have already talked to a lot of friends and acquaintances and everyone's reaction seems to be the same, everybody likes the movie and the reboot concept. If you haven't seen the film yet, your in for a treat and I won't spoil a thing. The special effects are amazing, ILM really hit it out of the park with this one. The reboot concept ended up working really well in this new era of a franchise that has been lacking since say part IV. I am in the minority that thought “Star Trek: Nemesis was a good Trek film. With the new film Paramount again has a mega hit franchise on it's hands. Back to the film, the cast is off the charts superb. Everyone shines in the roles that they play. The stand out performance for me was that of Karl Urban as McCoy, I had a feeling that J.J had an ace up his sleeve in casting Karl in a role like that, but I just had to see it to believe it. Eric Bana as the villain was a good choice as well.

The only thing that I thought the film lacked was that it was too short, but honestly that really may be a good thing? Since this review is late, I can't think of anything to add that already been said in reviews already? Next up is “Terminator Salvation” which I am already having a hard time keeping an open mind after hearing a bunch of stuff I have heard about the story so far. I will try to have that review up Thursday evening? In the meantime I may or may not see “Angels & Demons” I am not 100% sold on this one seeing that I thought the first movie was REALLY BORING. A small little science fiction action movie comes to DVD tomorrow called “Outlander” that I have been wanting to see, so you may see a review of that. Go see “Star Trek” if you haven't already! I give the reboot an A+! Enjoy!!!!!

~Caleb

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-05-01T18:53:00.003-05:00

Stop! If you have not seen this movie yet you may not want to read what I have to say until you have seen the film. The review you are about to read will contain spoilers, so reader beware. I am not real happy with the movie, so beware of what I may say as well. Continue at your own risk.

"Wolverine" is not a bad movie by any means, it's just not a very good one. Most theaters across the nation had midnight showings so Catchafick went to the ole Springfield 8 to witness the first blockbuster hit of the summer. For months the Internet movie geek community would not shut up about how "Wolverine" was going to suck and that 20th Century Fox is raping many a popular franchises by making awful film adaptations. I will admit that Fox is doing something wrong, so very wrong. All three X-Men movies were for the most part solid, even the much hated X3 which I liked quite a bit. So with a solid franchise like the X-Men, how could Fox mess something like this up? The only thing that I can come up with is that the suits at the studio don't care about making a remarkable film about the most popular mutant of the X-Men. The only thing that they know is that based on the success of three movies, it doesn't really matter how well "Wolverine" does, because they know that we will go ahead and give them are hard earned cash. FOX doesn't make these kind of movies for fans, the fanboy is the minority. The real money comes from the regular movie going public. That's enough FOX hate, on with what I thought about the movie.

My feelings on the movie are this, it's for the most part an okay Wolverine film but a horrible X-Men movie. It has a strong promising start. The characters of Wolverine and Sabertooth are strong and acted very well. I have always liked what Hugh Jackman has done with Wolverine, even in this movie. Liev Schreiber is the dark horse of "Wolverine", every time Victor Creed was on screen I was happy. What makes this origin movie just a so-so movie is that a lot of what happens in the story seems very one dimensional, nothing ever truly seem that bad@$$. Things seemed to happen so matter of fact, and that is a real let down. The tone of the movie is also a mess. Jackman being a Executive Producer said that the character was going to be a lot darker this time around. It seems the finished product got it half right. Stryker's special team do sound like a bunch of mean motor scooters, but the action in this movie is just cartoonish. When Wolverine and or Creed attack people blood is not really anywhere to be seen. Even X2 had some blood when Wolverine was fighting in the mansion?
For the most part I like the beginning and most of the middle and none of the end. My first problem I have is with what Stryker says after Logan who is now the successful unstoppable killing machine Weapon X goes AWOL,(sorry for paraphrasing)"Well, the only thing we can do now is kill him". What? You just got done making the perfect killing machine, how are you going to kill him? It's just that what Stryker said came off really lame sounding. What came next is the worst thing about the movie. The solution someone that works for Stryker came up with is that "...the only thing that can stop him now is if we shoot him in the head with an Adamantium bullet.", lame. What happens next is even worse, they come to the conclusion that the bullet in fact won't kill him, but make him forget how any of this ever happened. Wait a minute, the film just made a big plot hole just now. With how the pieces of his origin are gathered in the first and second X-men movies, it sure seems that it is implied that Logan's memory loss was due to the intense process of grafting Adamantium to his skeleton? Two more things then I am done, I promise. The thing that killed this movie for me the most is Gambit. Let's just say that his mutant power is momentum killer. A fight scene between Wolverine and Gambit occurs in the movie for no real reason except for Logan to hack and slash a fire escape...lame. This whole fight scene just really took me out of the movie. I really didn't care much after that. The climax with Deadpool at the end was just poor. In the end, I realize that I may have had too high of hopes for this movie, but not once do I feel that I have been to hard on it. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" gets a high D+. Enjoy.

~Caleb

Adventureland

2009-04-11T20:46:00.003-05:00

I have loved movies for a very long time. HBO and the VCR were two of my favorite inventions until Nintendo came along. As a young boy and still to this day the High School comedy or Teenage coming of age movie has been one of my very favorite types of movies. For years I have wanted to be a filmmaker or have a career that is involved with movies. I am in the current process of writing my first real screenplay to show somebody in the business to see if I even have what it takes. I have many stories to tell and I am sure none of them are good...yet. I have been trying to put on paper an idea of a hitmam/slasher film. Even though I love those types of movies, I just don't think I'm the one to make "that" kind of film. It wasn't until I saw Adventureland that I seriously thought about this. I should go with my gut, so we will see what happens.

Adventureland is a great movie that will find an audience the older the film gets. This movie comes from the director of Superbad but is not the in-your-face comedy that that movie is. Do not believe your friends if they have told you Adventureland sucks, it's nothing like Superbad. Subtle is king with this film.

The movie is very funny, you only have to look for it and find it. Adventureland is very character driven, the comedy is in the "that's happened to me too" moments.
Set in the summer of 1987 and centered around a recent college grad who takes a job at a local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world. My favorite thing about this movie is Kristen Stewart. She was the only thing I liked about Twilight and she is the cherry on top of Adventureland. Her performance in this movie took me back to the feelings of my first love. She is well on her way to greatness.

If your thing is sweet, funny, heartwarming, and true love stories then Adventureland is a must see! A+ Enjoy!!!

P.S I think these are the types of stories I want to tell.

Columbus Day

2009-03-29T17:47:00.003-05:00

Val continues to impress me, but this movie was just awful. I really don't know what was going on with this movie? When I saw this at the video store I was like cool, Val Kilmer playing a expert thief and it's his last job, sounds cool to me. Wrong! This movie should have been titled "Phone Booth 2: Columbus Day", because that's what he does pretty much through the whole darn movie, calling people on the phone. I sit watching and waiting for something cool to happen, but to no avail the movie just kept getting more and more boring. That's the only thing that I really hated about the movie, it was just so boring. I also got tired of the style choice of flashbacks, and that he used the phone way too much.

The acting in the movie is good for the most part, Kilmer can and has done better in recent times. I understand what the filmmakers were going for, a more 70's style thriller. It is a shame that they missed the mark by a long shot.

Columbus Day gets a D- Enjoy!!!

~Caleb

Twilight

2009-03-28T17:50:00.003-05:00

Before I start this review I will make one thing clear and that is I understand that this movie based on books for teenage girls, was not made for guys or even people interested in vampire lore. Pointing out how bad the vampire lore is treated in the story and movie is a complaint that has already been beaten by a dead horse. I will not go into detail on the matter for this reason; however, I think it sucks. This movie/series is the latest pop culture phenomenon, so naturally I just wanted to have a fair opinion if asked about my thoughts. This week someone at work bought the movie and I asked to borrow it, I was really interested to see what the good, the bad, and the ugly of this movie was. Watching 'Twilight' I understood the appeal, this is like 'Sex in the City' for tweens and above. I would use a Harry Potter comparison because of the supernatural fantasy element that 'Twilight' uses, only thatsaid element is not cool. When I first heard about these series of books, the first thing that came to my mind was something like 'The Lost Boys' for tweens? It turns out that I was off, way off.
The movie was not completely horrible once I got past the watered down vampire mythos. Bella Swan is a good strong character for pre-teen girls. Edward Cullen played the unattainable bad boy well too, but most of the time I could not help but cringe and laugh at the things he would say or do. The rest of the characters end up being not very interseting, but thankfully real. I hate it when the teenagers in teen movies come of as fake or people you can't really identify with.
The fans seem to be happy, so the movie must be doing something right.

I give Twilight a D+

~Caleb

P.S Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Seasons 1-3 are now on hulu.com, a far better love story between a girl and a vampire.

I wanted to quit...

2009-03-28T17:24:00.002-05:00

It has been well over a month it feels since I last posted on the blog. I write in this blog for myself first and foremost, but I would like to think that the other half of catchaflick gets a kick out of what I say about the stuff we have seen. Speaking of Sam I am sure that a lot of readers of this blog miss what he has to say about movies, I know I do. He may or may not return, if the comments from our readers increased, he may just drop us a post once in awhile.
As for me, I have felt the need to follow other interests other than writing about movies. Writing a script is more difficult than I thought, this is the other interest if you didn't know. Maybe when I get DSL at my house, which is sooner than later, the blogs will start post more often.
Almost 4 months into the new year without a post on a movie from 2009. I may continue to do this or maybe not, time will tell. If you read the blog sorry for the lack of posts, but thanks for reading.

~Caleb

Ten Movies That I Really Want To See In 2009!

2009-02-24T18:17:00.002-06:00

10. Watchmen - This is a big one. From the director of '300', comes one of the most famous graphic novels ever. In most geek circles this story is looked upon as the holy grail of graphic novels. I am not a hardcore fan, but the novel is a great story and the previews look amazing.

9. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen - I am expecting more of the same this second time around. Until they make the Transformers the main focus of the movie/story, I will only be half way excited.

8. GI-Joe: The Rise of Cobra - The Joe's were my favorite toys when I was a kid, so of course I am a little excited. I just hope the director watched 'Street Fighter: The Movie' before he started filming.

7. Jennifer's Body - Screenwriter of 'Juno' + Megan Fox + A Comedy about a dead cheerleader = I am so there!

6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Duh.

5. Wolverine - In cyberspace it is sounding like the majority of movie geeks everywhere are wanting this movie to suck. 20th Century Fox and movie buffs are not on the best of terms right know. FOX has been on a very bad movie streak, I think 4 of their films were some of the worst that I saw last year. I just hope Mr. Hugh Jackman wont let us fans down.

4. Terminator: Salvation - The future war finally told...yes please!

3. Star Trek - I never thought that this series would ever or could ever look as cool as the previews look. J.J Abrams, you rock!

2. Inglourious Basterds - He will always be known as the guy who gave us 'Pulp Fiction', which is cool; however, I am going on record saying that this movie will be Quentin's masterpiece.

1. Public Enemies - The director of 'Heat' made a Gangster movie; I repeat, the director of 'Heat' made a Gangster movie!

Best Picture of 2008

2009-02-21T15:11:00.005-06:00

It's my list so I can make or break the rules of the list. I want to change it up a little bit for my choice of Best Picture of 2008. I have three movies this year that I truly consider the best of last year. I wanted to post these before the Oscars tomorrow night. Sorry for the lateness and the rush, reviews will come out on DVD release, which only one has not come out yet...enjoy!!!!

Best Drama 2008 - 1st Runner Up & Winner

2009-02-21T14:45:00.008-06:00

1st Runner Up - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I really let time get ahead of me on my best of picks for 2008, sorry. I promise to have a review of the rest of these movies when they hit DVD. The case of Brad Pitt's latest has been bumpy one with me. I was really looking forward to this movie since seeing the previews last summer. When I saw the film, my first impressions was utter disappointment. I have only seen the film one time, and the more that I think of the movie the more I find myself liking it more and more. The film has this great sense of fantasy to it. The only golden boy this film really deserves is the one for best special effects.

Gran Torino - Winner

If you haven't seen this movie yet, go tonight. Clint does it again.

Best Horror 2008 - Dance of the Dead: Winner

2009-02-07T19:25:00.003-06:00

For two years running DTV or independent horror has been beating out big budget horror in terms of substance and just plain horror movie fun. For several years the horror genre has been on this kick of torture, dreadful, sick, and terror prevails kick. I get that, but I am sort of sick and tired of it. When I was almost done with horror, it was nice to see a movie like last years Grindhouse, to remind me how fun seeing horror movies can be.

Dance of the Dead was a small zombie film I saw last year, that I totally fell in love with. It is a great feeling when you watch something that you are expecting to suck and it ends up one of the best movie watching experiences of the year.

Dance of the Dead revolves around the mysterious reanimation of the dead and the efforts of Jimmy, Lindsey, Stephen, and Kyle to save their local high school prom from attack.

The movie just kept getting better and better, it amazed me at every turn. It is something really special when you have similar ideas that a director has. A high school rock band playing the prom and fighting zombies, how cool is that! A lot of silly stuff happens in this movie, but it is clear that nothing is taken serious. Not trying to sound to obvious, director Gregg Bishop has made a John Hughes meets Return of the Living Dead film. Have a movie night with some friends, and have a great time with Dance of the Dead! A+ Enjoy!!!!!

~Caleb

Best Horror 2008 - 1st Runner Up: Rogue

2009-02-07T18:29:00.005-06:00

One of the most anticipated movies for me last year was the Australian creature feature Rogue. The only disappointment was that the movie became a DTV (Direct to Video) release. This made me very nervous, thinking that the movie very well may suck. Turns out that Rogue in fact does not suck. In the age of the multiplex and the price gouging of ticket prices, Hollywood can't or won't take chances on movies like this. I guess Hollywood knows what they are doing, just look at Paul Bart: Mall Cop?

I am glad to say that Rogue is finding an audience! I bought my copy at a second hand DVD shop, and until recently it was a hot item. I took the movie over the other half of catchaflicks house to watch on his birthday. His response was overwhelming, I think he likes it more than I do. Rogue could very well be Sam's favorite movie of last year. It took him awhile to find it on DVD, but he did and bought extras for Christmas presents!

An Australian wildlife cruise turns bad when the tourists become hunted by a man-eating crocodile! The tour captain investigates a distress flair before returning to land. The boat gets damaged by the croc and the tour party become stranded on a tiny bit of land in the river. They must quickly decide a plan of action before it's too late. With the river having a rising tide, the group decide to trap the crocodile and quickly try to escape. Nothing ever goes to plan and the beast can't be fooled to long. The croc takes the tour guide to it's lair to feast on latter. Does our hero, the wildlife tour travel writer save her in time? You have to watch it to find out.

Rogue is truly a sight to see, the camera work capturing the Outback is absolutely breathtaking. Some of these areas have never been filmed. I believe this is Sam's favorite aspect of the movie. I love that and the amazing creature feature suspense/horror. A+. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

~Caleb

Best Horror 2008 - Nominees

2009-02-07T18:26:00.005-06:00

The Ruins
Dance of the Dead
Teeth
Rogue
The Strangers

Best Grindhouse 2008 - Death Race: Winner

2009-02-05T19:12:00.001-06:00

Ex-con Jensen Ames is forced by the warden of a notorious prison to compete in our post-industrial world's most popular sport: a car race in which inmates must brutalize and kill one another on the road to victory. That is what Death Race is, pure and simple. If this plot or title alone does not interest you, then the exploitation genre might not be your thing. A remake of the cult classic Death Race 2000, this modern day take stars subtle action movie star Jason Statham, my favorite tough guy making movies today. Death Race is way more mainstream and accessible than this years 1st runner up. Action fans and Statham fans will not be disappointed in the slightest. Not much more to really say, the synopsis really and truly says it all. B+ Enjoy!!!

~Caleb

Best Grindhouse 2008 - Hell Ride: 1st Runner Up

2009-02-05T17:52:00.002-06:00

What does Grindhouse mean? It is an American movie theater term for Exploitation films,a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising.

It doesn't get much more gridhouse than a biker film. Forget the plot, a motorcycle movie only needs to follow three rules; the 3 B's, Bikes, Babes, and Booze. Like most exploitation genres, the biker film genre is a risky one. Most of them are bad, as in unwatchable, so bad it's good, and the very rare bad@$$! For the casual movie watcher, I recommend the very well known biker classic Easy Rider.

The biker genre never interested me, it wasn't until I found out that Quentin Tarantino was going to produce one that I became curious. The early word on the film was that Tarantino gave director Larry Bishop his blessing to go make the best biker movie ever. When it comes to QT I know that the integrity of the film comes first, and that's why he is one of my favorites!

Hell Ride is modern day take on the biker films from the '60's that Larry Bishop was a part of. Bishop plays Pistolero, the leader of the biker gang The Victors. Pistolero along with the rest of his gang hit the road seeking vengeance against rival gang the 666ers. The 666ers are responsible for the death of Pistolero's old lady, Cherokee Kisum. The road to revenge becomes a wild one filled with the 3 B's, convoluted plots, and awesome Spaghetti Western style!

Is Hell Ride a good movie? The quick response is no, it's a very hard movie to watch. Larry Bishop is clearly making a movie he wants to see, and catering to a very particular audience. It wasn't until my third viewing that I really started to get what I was watching. It is a movie that I would never recommend to anyone that has no clue or interest in grindhouse type movies. With that being said, Hell Ride really is the best modern day biker movie I have seen, or care to see.

B+ rating is based on exploitation films Rated R for a reason, watcher beware!!!

~Caleb

Best Grindhouse of 2008

2009-02-05T17:45:00.002-06:00

Nominees

Rouge
Hell Ride
Teeth
Sukiyaki Western Django
Death Race

Best Comedy 2008 - Tropic Thunder: Winner

2009-02-03T18:04:00.005-06:00

I have had my fill for the time being, but I must have watched the Tropic Thunder DVD 4 times after I bought it. The more times I watched it the more jokes I picked up on, and laughed harder at the jokes I was already familiar with. The movie is just genius. The talent alone makes this a must see, Stiller, Black, and Downey Jr! Tropic Thunder is a concept that comes from a place that is bizaro world, an action war movie within an movie Hollywood satire. The beginning of the film brilliantly sets the pace for what the viewing audience is in store for. I don't think I ever laughed as hard as I did in a theater than I did during the opening moments of Tropic Thunder. Some of the best spoof/satire stuff I have seen in a lonnnng time.
A Vietnam-war memoir film is being made. The movie is Tropic Thunder and it's early in the shooting, but they're already behind schedule and over budget. In danger of the movie being shutting down, the director takes the cast and crew into the heart of the jungle to really capture the essence of war. When the production is attacked by local guerrilla drug dealers, the cast and crew don't realize these aren't actors who are stocking them. The guerrillas kidnap Tugg Speedman, an actor whose star seems on the decline, and it's up to the rest of the ragtag team to band together long enough to attempt his rescue.
Tropic Thunder is not my favorite comedy rated on laughs(with exception to the fake trailers). I honestly laugh harder with Pineapple Express and Role Models. What makes Tropic Thunder my 'best' pick is weighed on how smart the comedy is. I have enjoyed it more every time I have watched it. My favorite moments in the movie are every moment. It's an A+ and as always enjoy!!!
~Caleb

GI Joe Trailer

2009-01-31T18:01:00.001-06:00

Best Comedy of 2008 - 1st Runner Up: Pineapple Express

2009-01-29T19:09:00.007-06:00

Best movie lists are subjective, especially when it comes to Best, or favorite comedy lists. Everyone doesn't have the same tastes in comedies, and you can't convince someone that something is funny, if they don't feel the same way. Two great examples are the television show 'The Office' and the movie 'Napoleon Dynamite'. Either you get it or you don't.
2008 had a lot of great comedies and some not so great (The Love Guru, The Rocker). Comedies can be a weird thing, they have two purposes, to entertain us and make us laugh. I don't own most comedies, because most are disposable, I see them and leave my laughter in the theater. The best example that comes to mind is 'The Animal', is that really worth owning? I see most comedies like this. The last Adam Sandler movie I would consider worth owning is 'The Wedding Singer'. '...Zohan' is his best since his Hollywood prime.
My top five comedies of last year really blew my mind, it's hard to say what was my favorite. The two movies that stand out above the rest were 'Pineapple Express' and 'Tropic Thunder'. Both movies reminded me of my favorite comedy of '07, 'Hot Fuzz'.
The concept behind 'Pineapple Express' alone is comedic genius. Imagine Cheech & Chong in a Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay action movie, that's 'Pineapple Express'!
Lazy court-process clerk and stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city's most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him--and it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they're not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both.
The cast is so good in this, Seth Rogan who plays Dale is quickly becoming one of my favorite comedic actors these past few years. He has the slacker character down to an art, just watch 'Knocked Up' to see for yourself. Then came Saul Silver, man James Franco rocks in this! I want to see Franco in more comedies, period. He is an amazing actor and his performance in this is a must see. Mentioning the amazing cast would not be complete with out talking about the master of improve himself, Danny R. McBride. This guy will leave you in stitches, he just plays off wonderfully with the other actors. Every time he appeared on the gag reel or line o rama, it had me laughing out loud.
Fun to be had by all, It's an A+ for 'Pineapple Express', and as always Enjoy!!!
~Caleb

Best Comic Book Movie - Winner: Iron Man

2009-01-23T19:32:00.008-06:00

What? Wait a minute, isn't 'The Dark Knight' like the best comic book movie ever made? I will get to 'The Dark Knight' soon, don't worry. 'Iron Man' is my pick for best comic book movie for 2008. This is the first film that I know of in history that was 100% produced by a comic book company, Marvel Enterprises. The studio is Marvel Studios, so what we have is a movie made and produced by comic book people. You can thank the success of the Spider-Man and X-Men movies for this. Hollywood had made some good and even great comic book movies, but at the end of the day it is still a studio movie. 'Iron Man' is still a studio movie, but it was made by a studio that understands and loves the source material. Now here is the icing on the cake, Mr. Robert Downey Jr. as the title character Tony Stark/Iron Man. This choice in casting in my opinion sealed the deal on the success of this movie. Downey Jr. brought charm and appeal that attracted an audience interested in entertaining movies. My mom has zero interest in comic book hero movies, and she loved 'Iron Man'. The things that I liked about 'Iron Man' was an excellent cast, the humor of Downey Jr., classic origin structure, great script, and excellent special effects.

Now I have listed a bunch of great things about this movie, but the thing I love most, well maybe second is that moviegoers are loving it. Yes, finally a superhero movie that can have general appeal and keep true to comic book tone. For those that have been living in a cave, rent or buy this movie now. Tony Stark is a millionaire playboy weapons manufacture that gets kidnapped during a weapons demonstration. He is told to build a missile for a terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings. Mr. Stark does not negotiate with terrorists, so instead he builds a suit of amour to escape his imprisonment. After his success, Tony wants to stop making weapons for defense and get to the bottom of who's selling his weapons to the wrong kind of people. He improves his armor and thus Iron Man is born. That's all that I am willing to tell you,I don't want to ruin it for you. So 'Iron Man' gets an A+. Enjoy!!!!
~Caleb

Best Comic Book Movie - 1st Runner Up: Hellboy II:The Golden Army

2009-01-10T18:27:00.005-06:00

My runner up for best action movie, is one that you may have missed out on, or didn't even know it came out. Hellboy II was one of my favorite films to come out in the jammed packed Summer of movies. It found it's audience, but came and went with barely a mention. As you are reading this, some may be wondering who or what is Hellboy? A demon whose true name is Anung Un Rama (the Beast of the Apocalypse), Hellboy was brought to Earth as an infant by Nazi occultists. He was discovered by the Allied Forces; amongst them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). In time Hellboy grew to be a large, red-skinned demon with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind the signature circular stumps on his forehead, to make his appearance more "normal"), and an oversized right hand made of stone. He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanuts. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demons, and works with other strange creatures in the BPRD. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as a normal boy and taught him how to behave normally. This is a reference to the nature versus nurture debate. Hellboy has been dubbed the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".

In 2004 Guillermo del Toro co-wrote and directed a film adaptation of Hellboy.
The film starred Ron Perlman as Hellboy (the favorite of both del Toro and Mignola for the role), Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Rupert Evans as FBI Special Agent John Myers (a character created for the film), John Hurt as Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien (voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce), Karel Roden as Grigori Rasputin, and Jeffrey Tambor as FBI Senior Special Agent Tom Manning. The film received generally positive reviews, and a fair performance at the box office. The movie was good but not great; however, Ron Perlman was and still is awesome as Hellboy.

Hellboy II took the myth and imagination from the first film and multiplied it by a thousand. Hellboy II finds our character fighting an evil elf in search of The Golden Army, a deadly group of fighting machines that can destroy the human race. As Hell on Earth is ready to erupt, Hellboy and his crew set out to defeat the evil prince before The Golden Army can destroy humanity's existence.

Del Toro has created a wonderful world of normal and fantastic living together. The production design in the movie is too good to be true. The troll market scene alone will leave you stunned. Every good comic book movie always has a memorable villain and Prince Nuara does not disappoint. Once again our main hero does the job well. Perlman was just born to play Hellboy. Everything about this movie just rocks.

A+ Enjoy and have a blast!

Best Action Movie - Winner: Rambo

2009-01-10T17:55:00.003-06:00

My original post says it all why this movie is the Best Action movie of 2008. Enjoy!

Finally got to see this last night. All I can say is Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
Rambo has put back the action in action movies. Think about that famous lobby shoot out scene in The Matrix, remember all the gun mayhem going on? Quite the scene wasn't it, only take that gun battle and times it by 100 and throw in real bodies (not computer programs) and that’s the last part of Rambo. Stallone who also directed the movie understands 100% what an action movie needs to be. Bravo Stallone, I only hope Hollywood has taken notes on your film and thrown away the scripts for Bourne 4 and Mr. and Mrs. Smith part deux.

The film starts with footage of terrible, terrible, acts of violence and genocide happening in Burma. Burma is nothing to take lightly; these Burmese soldiers are truly evil nasty men. John Rambo has been living a fairly quiet life somewhere around Burma. One day these missionary folks visit him seeking passage up the river. He tells them he won't take them and suggests they go back home. Rambo has given up hope on humanity; he thinks the opposite what the kind good-hearted missionaries believe. No more does he believe in making a difference, everything he was taught to believe in, as a solider has been a waist. One of the missionaries convinces Rambo, so he takes them where they wish to go. Something bad happens (naturally) and Rambo has to fix it the only way he knows how. This time around Rambo has the help of a rough group of mercs, which adds a nice touch of depth and coolness.

If you see Rambo and you squirm or get all liberal about the violence of the film, pinch yourself because there is nothing PC about war and most importantly you ARE watching a action movie. Rambo gets an A+.
Take a raincoat and Enjoy!!! ~Caleb

Best Action Movie - 1st Runner Up: The Punisher:War Zone

2009-01-10T14:48:00.007-06:00

Ranking 'Punisher:War Zone' as a first runner up was a tough decision to make. It's going to be one of those choices where it will be one day 'Rambo' is my favorite, but then the next day I will be thinking that 'Punisher:War Zone' is the best. Ultimately, the .50 cal scene in 'Rambo' will win the argument every time.
The history of Punisher movies is a bumpy one. In 1989 Frank Castle/The Punisher made his movie debut on home video. The result was a cult classic among fans, but not a true representing of the popular Marvel Comics vigilante. It wasn't until the Comic Book movie boom of 2000 that Punisher would get a movie true to it's character. The movie was an improvement and decent comic to movie adaptation. Thomas Jane did not want to reprise his role as Frank Castle, due to the script not meeting his approval. So yet another relaunch was in process. The 3rd installment was set with an awesome actor Ray Stevenson(who's performance is and was the definitive Frank Castle). Met with Internet rumored production problems and Internet movie snobs backlash, Punisher:War Zone was set to fail even before it's box office debut. The critic's hated it(duh) and the movie failed at the box office(if you really care about that). The movie did however find it's audience and that number will continue to grow in DVD and Blu-Ray sales.
For me, Punisher:War Zone is the best Punisher movie ever made. Finally we have an actor and director who understand the who and what this character is. The movie like the comic is no holds barred action. Fans of the comic and action movies in general, are in for a good time.
Fans of comic book movies who take their characters seriously will have a hard time adjusting to what will seem like one of the worst comic book movies ever. My advice to these movie geek snobs is simple, get over it. A+ Enjoy!!!

~Caleb

COX's Best of 2008

2009-01-04T19:19:00.002-06:00

Sadly this is going to be a multi part segment, because I still haven't seen all that I want to see that may or may not effect this list. If everything goes right I will have all my picks posted before the end of the month. I have a few catagories ready to post, and you can expect reviews or comments of my picks in the coming days. Watcher beware, but I always encouage my readers to give these movies a look if they want, heck, they are my favorites of the year. Enjoy!!!

Nominees for Best Action Movie

Punisher: War Zone
Wanted
Rambo
Death Race
Doomsday

1st Runner Up: Punisher:War Zone

Winner: Rambo

Nominees for Best Comic Book Movie

The Incredible Hulk
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Punisher: War Zone

1st Runner Up: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Winner: Iron Man

Nominees for Best Comedy

Role Models
Pineapple Express
Step Brothers
The Foot Fist Way
Tropic Thunder

1st Runner Up: Pineapple Express

Winner: Tropic Thunder

2008 Summary

2009-01-04T19:05:00.002-06:00

2008 was one of the greatest years for movies in a very, very long time. So many cool movies, there was Cloverfield, which had one if not the best buzz for a movie since The Blair Witch Project. The best part of the craze over the movie Cloverfield, was that the movie rocked and lived up to the famous hype. I will always remember the reaction I had when seeing the 01-18-08 trailer in front of Transformers. When the movie was over and people were exiting out of the theater, the overall chatter was “well, it was better than I thought it would be...yep, that's a Micheal Bay movie...but holy cow, what the heck was that 01-18-08 trailer, that looks awesome.” 01-18-08 later became Cloverfield and wasn't the only coolest movie to bring in the new year? Rambo started the new year off with a bang, and already became my favorite action movie of the year. It had some stiff competition this year but Rambo held strong and remained the action movie of the year.
The Spring movie season had one of the best exploitation movies of the year, Doomsday. The Summer movie season was so great, that it all just seemed to good to be true. Here are some of my favorites, Iron Man, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones: and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Wall-e, The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. This already is a good list of summer movies for the year, but trust me folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The end of the year was hit and miss with the Winter movie season. The winter kicked off with a movie that was a failure at the box office (if you really care about things like that), but was one of the best comic book movies that will ever be made. I did not say that it was one of the best movies ever made, I am saying that it is the best Punisher movie ever made. Punisher: War Zone is the movie that finally got the look and essence of the title character right. Christmas day was a good day for movies. I saw what I thought was going to be my favorite Drama of the year, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. To some the movie is the best of the year, but for me, it fell way short. The Tom Cruise WWII thriller Valkyrie, superseded my expectations and became one of my favorite movies in the last quarter of '08.

~Caleb

JCVD

2008-12-15T20:51:00.003-06:00

'JCVD' is a movie that should not exist, seeing Van Damme reveal a human side spilling guts of introspection onto celluloid is truly bizaro world stuff. One of my favorite movies of the year, 'JCVD' is a fictional story staring Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself. The movie opens with one of the best opening title sequences I have seen all year. A fit but tired and weak 47-year-old Van Damme doing the best he can in an action sequence for his latest movie. This isn't your father's Jean-Claude Van Damme. Our hero had seen better days, he is in a nasty custody battle for his kids, his agent is worthless, he's broke, and he can't pay his lawyer. Planning to pay his lawyer the money he owes, Van Damme goes to the nearest bank only to end up getting tangled up in a back hold up. He is now a hostage, but the police and his fans believe that the Muscles from Brussels is one of the bank robbers. Inside the bank, the situation seems like something you only see in the movies, but Van Damme doesn’t have the movie magic to save the day.

The story has a non-liner fashion to it where timelines and fractured and scenes are repeated from other characters perspectives. The film has this really cool washed out look to it. Not to spoil anything, but action lovers may not agree with the final showdown. To call 'JCVD' an anti-action movie may be too easy. Before the final showdown, the movie breaks the fourth wall (Van Damme talks to the audience) and Jean-Claude tells us he is at a breaking point in his life. What happens next, you'll have to find out yourself, but being a hero or killing the bad guy may not always mean saving the day. 'JCVD' gets a B+. Enjoy!!! ~Caleb

Let the Right One In

2008-12-15T20:13:00.002-06:00

Being a kid can sometimes be rough. It can especially be rough if you are a 12-year boy who has an awkward time dealing with bullies at school. Meet Oskar, a melancholy young man whom while waiting for the undivided attention from his estranged parents, spends his time play-acting. Oskar seems to be fascinated with violence. He cuts out news reports of recent crimes and deaths. Outside of his apartment he makes believes getting revenge on the bully’s who torment him at school. One night while playing outside, he meets his new next-door neighbor Eli (pronounced Ell-ie). The two quickly bond over a Rubik's Cube. Something is mysterious about Eli, she doesn’t go to school, her age is 'something' like 12, she smells funny, and the bitter winter cold does not bother her at all. To make the relationship more complex, Eli is a vampire. Even though 'Let the Right One In' is 100% more of a vampire movie than 'Twilight', it's deep down a coming of age love story. Make no mistake; while the movie is about friendship and love, it's also a moody gruesome horror tale. It is also one of the greatest vampire movies to come along in awhile.

To help keep her secret safe, Eli has a father figure named Hakan helps her feed by collecting blood at night. This is one of the many dark humor elements in the movie. He is not very good at getting food for Eli. It is quite funny but quite twisted, poor guy. Frustrated by Hakan, Eli goes out one night to get something to eat herself. If you want something done right, you got to do it yourself. Eli proves to be just as sloppy herself; she gets spotted while sucking the blood of her victim.

Oskar and Eli both help each other out by dealing with bullies and trying to skip out of town before the townspeople catch a vampire. One of my favorite horror movies of the year 'Let the Right One In' gets an A-. Enjoy!!!
~Caleb

The Day The Earth Stood Still

2008-12-12T17:39:00.002-06:00

I am not one of these movie geeks that cry in outrage whenever remakes are made. Remakes can be a good thing, key words 'can be'. Not only movies but also ideas are 'remade' all the time, hardly anything is original anymore. It's what you do with the existing material that counts. One of my favorite movies of all time’ John Carpenter's The Thing' was a remake. The result was a better movie, not just a newer looking one. Look at 'The Ten Commandments' and 'Ben Hur', both huge movies and both remakes improving on the ideas of the originals.

When I saw the trailer for the new 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' the thought of 'unnecessary' didn't cross my mind, it was more like 'boring'. The last movie I cared about CGI blowing stuff up was 'Independence Day'. A preview of trucks and football stadiums disintegrating before my eyes, I just don't find cool anymore. So what drove me to see the new TDTESS? Curiosity.
It wasn't till last night that I saw the original TDTESS, which if you did not know is a science fiction classic from 1951. An alien with a mighty robot lands their spacecraft on Cold War-era Earth just after the end of World War II. They bring an important message to the planet that Klaatu wishes to tell to representatives of all nations. However, communication turns out to be difficult, so, after learning something about the natives, Klaatu decides on an alternative approach. After seeing the movie, I can see why it is a classic. It was made during the atomic age; the whole movie is a message for peace and not nuclear war. Without doing any research, it was easy to see the huge influence it has had on other science fiction films. I did like the movie and think it holds up considering how old it is. I give the original a C+.

This afternoon I had the privilege to go see the new TDTESS. The new movie is much more darker and has a different message this time. Instead of peace, Klaatu sends us a message that Humans are destroying the earth because we haven't been 'green' enough. Too bad they didn’t pick a real problem with the world today. Is the new movie better than the original? I can't answer that; however, I will say it is very respectful of the original and makes ideas better. The robot GORT does not disappoint like some will think or say. The new GORT is bigger and has some new weapons to show off. His big scene at the end was a real let down, but for the most part I loved the new GORT just as much as the old classic GORT. In summery TDTESS is a great remake that sadly will never get the attention that it deserves. The better and not just newer TDTESS gets a C+! Enjoy!!!

~Caleb

Australia

2008-12-04T18:44:00.002-06:00

Don't let the 165 min. runtime scare you; Australia is worth the time to see on the big screen. If you like classic movies then you should like what this film has to offer, old school silver screen entertainment. Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stockman in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drives 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand.

From the same guy that brought us Moulin Rouge, Australia has stylized backgrounds, unique camera work, and talented actors. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman make their characters real fun to watch. They really know what to bring to the table, they understand what kind of movie Australia is, epic. With this movie, the director Baz Luhrmann had made his Gone With The Wind.

With winter upon us, Australia may just be the perfect night out, out of the cold.

It's a C+ for Australia, enjoy!

~Caleb

Man on Wire

2008-12-04T18:08:00.002-06:00

This is my favorite heist movie of 2008! The awesome documentary Man on Wire is about tightrope walker Philippe Petit and how he with the help of friends sneaked into the World Trade Center in 1974 and performed a high wire act between the Twin Towers.

The film had me from the very start. The movie plays like a heist film including all the planning, suspense, and mistakes that may botch the entire operation. Brilliant moviemaking from director James Marsh. Marsh lets us get to know Philippe really well, so by the time you see this daredevil on the wire, you feel that you know him and understand his passion.

Man on Wire is a great movie that is now playing at the Moxie. www.moxiecinema.com

Go see it! B- Enjoy!! ~Caleb

Sukiyaki Western Django

2008-12-04T17:07:00.002-06:00

Man, was this movie cool! What a great love letter to one of my favorite film genres, the good ole Spaghetti Western. What is a Spaghetti Western you ask? The simplest answer to that question could be the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Are you still confused?

Spaghetti Western, also known in some countries in mainland Europe as the Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced by Italian studios, usually in co production with a Spanish partner.

The typical team was made up of an Italian director, Spanish technical staff and a cast of Italian and Spanish actors, sometimes a falling Hollywood star and sometimes a rising one like the young Clint Eastwood in many of Sergio Leone's films. The films were primarily shot in the Andalusia region of Spain, and in particular the Tabernas Desert of Almería, because it resembles the American Southwest. (A few were shot on Sardinia.) Because of the desert setting and the readily available southern Spanish extras, a usual theme in Spaghetti Westerns is the Mexican Revolution, Mexican bandits, and the border region shared by Mexico and the U.S.

The best-known and perhaps archetypal Spaghetti Westerns were the Man With No Name trilogy (or the Dollars Trilogy) directed by Sergio Leone, starring then-TV actor Clint Eastwood and with musical scores composed by Ennio Morricone (all of whom are now synonymous with the genre): A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Atypically for the genre, the last had a relatively high budget, over one million $USD. Leone's next film after the so-called "trilogy" was Once Upon a Time in the West, which is often lumped in with the previous three for its similar style and accompanying score by Morricone, although it differs by the absence of Clint Eastwood in the starring role.

Thanks Wiki for that wonderful insight.

Now, Sukiyaki Western Django is not for everybody, the film will be an acquired taste. It has moments of mainstream appeal, but it's just not that kind of movie.
If the plot of Sukiyaki Western Django sounds familiar to you, that's because the movie takes a lot of cues from other Spaghetti Western classics such as Yojimbo(really a samurai film) and Django. A gunslinger crosses paths with two rival gangs who are both on the hunt for hidden gold in a remote western town. Knowing his services are valuable to either side, he offers himself to the gang that will offer up the biggest share of the wealth. This is a story that's been done to death, but what makes me like it, is the way the story is told.

Style is what this movie has. The whole production is done well with everything from beautiful camera work, surreal set design, cool costumes, and a very awesome chain gun in a coffin. Sukiyaki Western Django true eye candy and a really great tribute to some of the greatest Spaghetti Westerns of all time!

Sukiyaki Western Django gets an A+! Enjoy!!

~Caleb

Hancock

2008-11-28T21:38:00.003-06:00

This summer was the best movie summer that I can remember in a long time. It was so good that I neglected Springfield's best and coolest movie theater The Moxie. The Moxie is now open at their new location, which is bigger and better than ever! The summer movies came to a screeching halt with the preview of Hancock. The trailer told me I could wait to see it. I love the idea of a mean homeless looking drunk with superpowers, but what the trailers were showing me just wasn't enough. Time went on and I just figured that the King of July 4th had another Wild Wild West under his belt. This week Hancock was released on DVD, so I went by the ole Redbox to see what I was missing. It turns out that Hancock wasn't all that bad, but it wasn't that great either. The powerful alcoholic and clumsy John Hancock is the most hated person in Los Angeles, and in the process protecting L.A and saving lives; he also destroys properties causing high cost to the city to fix his damages. When he saves the life of public relations agent Ray Embrey from a train, the executive feels in debt to Hancock and wants to help change his image.

I love the idea of a superhero dealing with the consequences of the real world. Hancock truly is a bull in a china shop when it comes to fighting crime, and the city won't stand for it. It is those moments in the film that Will Smith truly shines as the title character.

Sadly the movie does have a pivotal twist that I can't mention at all. This twist is an interesting story device, but the outcome made for a very weak final act in the film. Hancock could make for an interesting franchise.

It's a C+ for Hancock! Enjoy!!! ~Caleb

The real Twilight

2008-11-28T20:31:00.005-06:00

To see Twilight or not to see Twilight, that is the question, and the answer is, nope. Before my claws come out, let’s get one thing clear, I understand the whole point and draw of the film. Do I agree, absolutely not? In my research and talking to friends, I have found some laughable and inexcusable things. Concerning the subject of vampires and what myth Stephenie Meyer created. I love vampire movies and there are rules that you do not mess with, period. Tons of films and novels have had different takes on what a vamp can or cant do, creatures of the night that can eat garlic and wear crosses is fine, but day walking and reflections in mirrors is going too far. In the novel and movie Twilight, why even call them vampires? If the so-called vampires can walk around during the day, why call your novel/movie Twilight? I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Stephenie Meyer's favorite books are the Harry Potter series, and that her favorite movies are Underworld and Underworld 2.

If you like the Twilight books and movie may I politely recommend something that has a love story with real vampires?
That's right kids, Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Except no substitutes, trust me and buy or rent seasons 1-3 and you will start to forget about Twilight. The two lovebirds in Twilight have nothing on Buffy and Angel.

~Caleb

Bolt

2008-11-28T19:30:00.002-06:00

I am not one of those thirty something film geeks that has always loved animated movies. I can't even remember the last animated movie I saw as a kid in a theater. It might have been an American Tail; the majority of my cartoon film watching was on home video. As a teenager I had some bad luck with Disney movies. I saw Aladdin and Lion King in high school; it was only then when I thought, okay time to see one of these in the theater. Bad move, Pocahontas anyone? So time went on and Toy Story was amazing, Shrek was genius, then Shrek 2 bit the big one, and finally The Incredibles reminded me what is was like to be a kid again. Pixar's latest film Wall-e will show Hollywood and moviegoers that an animated film can win a Best Picture Oscar.

Bolt is not Pixar but Walt Disney's latest animation tour de force. Bolt is the canine star of a fictional sci-fi action show. Bolt has always thought that his powers are real. Separated from his owner, Bolt embarks on a cross-country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real.

The previews to this movie really didn't do much for me. When I saw that it was going to be presented in 3-D, I became more interested. Like I figured it would, the 3-D only made the animation pop more, a feature not worth an extra $2.00. The movie is actually quite entertaining. Like Kung-Fu Panda, gone are silly pop culture references that are really played out in animated movies today. The story in Bolt is kids stuff, but has enough substance for adults to be entertained, and all in all makes for a good family fun film. Bolt gets a B! Enjoy!!

~Caleb

P.S. The hamster is awesome!!!

Quantum of Solace

2008-11-15T12:45:00.002-06:00

First of all no post in over a month is very sad, on behalf of Catchafick, I would personally like to apologize for the lack of blogs. My poor pity excuses is that I have no computer at my place of residence, and also because I am very lazy as of late. The computer deliria may be taken care of this Christmas, and if not by then, next spring may work out as well. I know the other half of Catchaflick would love to blog all day long about movies and such, but he has a lot on his plate, so I take full responsibility on the poor management of this blog.

Last night I saw one of the best Bond films ever, and my second favorite Bond movie of the 21st Century. Quantum of Solace has been receiving some bad national reviews. Do not believe them, which a lot of moviegoers don't, thank goodness. I do not read reviews of movies until I have seen the movie first. I have only read a couple so far and from what I can already gather, the critics’ distaste is that QS has no plot.

Plot /plot/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [plot] Show IPA Pronunciation
noun, verb, plotted, plotting.
–noun 1. a secret plan or scheme to accomplish some purpose, esp. a hostile, unlawful, or evil purpose: a plot to overthrow the government.
2. Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.

Are you ready for this big surprise? Quantum of Solace is about, (drum roll) James Bond seeking revenge for the death of his love, and in the process sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country's water supply.

Sounds like a plot to me, a great one at that. My love for Bond movies is not that great, so this is not an OO7 fan boy review. In my early 20's, my taste for Bond movies had gone bad. I didn't care anymore for gadgets and over the top super villains; however, I still loved a hot Bond girl. I just no longer became the audience for an OO7 movie anymore. Die Another Day was the last Pierce Brosnan Bond picture, and what I thought was going to be the last Bond movie period. Hollywood's most famous super spy needed an extreme makeover. Casino Royale in my honest opinion is what the 20-picture franchise needed. This movie fan now cares about James Bond again.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE is a gritty Bond film that puts one character in focus. Everything is about Bond getting the answers he wants, but in the process finds out about an secret organization and gets in the way (the only way Bond know how) of a slimy environmentalist. Not only does the title of this 22nd installment sound cool, it speaks volumes by the end of the movie. Daniel Craig's Bond (the second best and my favorite) has some unfinished business, and watching him piece it together is what makes Quantum of Solace my favorite Bond film of the 21st Century! Enjoy!!!

A+

~Caleb

Fireproof

2008-09-29T14:39:00.004-05:00

Watched this movie last night. Is it the best acting, cinematography, effects, and directing? No, but that is not the point. The point is that the movie has a Great message. It is wonderful film for couples to watch together. It is very eye-opening. It will be a great tool for people to use to influence & encourage others.

I was personally touched by the film. It left me feeling sparked with a spirit of love for God, my family, my wife, and others. Go see it. "If for nothing else, do it for me".

After watching the movie, I learned a few details:
1. Kirk Cameron is the real deal. I knew that he was a Christian, but this movie has further proven to me on his character intentions. I heard in an interview that the cast & crew were ALL volunteer (minus about 10 people, and this did NOT include Cameron).

2. Kirk refused to kiss anyone other then his real wife, so the actress that plays his movie wife was substituted for his real wife during the filming of the kissing scene. It was backlit, so that only the silhouette of her was seen.

3. A portion of the proceeds from Kirk Cameron's new movie Fireproof will be donated to the community where the film was made. The people of Albany, Georgia will benefit from the success of the film

The Growing Pains star says, "There's a community sports park that's being built and they have basketball courts, tennis courts, walking trails, horse stables and riding trails and a hockey ring and all kinds of things. "So we're investing back into the community that helped volunteer to make the movie."

4. The box office opening of Fireproof, although it debuted in fewer than 1,000 theaters, earned $6.5 million which placed it fourth. It was heavily promoted among church groups.

The top 10 films for the weekend:
1. Eagle Eye, $29.2 million;
2. Nights in Rodanthe, $13.6 million;
3. Lakeview Terrace, $7 million;
4. Fireproof, $6.5 million;
5. Burn After Reading, $6.2 million;
6. Igor, $5.5 million;
7. Righteous Kill, $3.803 million;
8. My Best Friend's Girl, $3.8 million;
9. Miracle at St. Anna, $3.5 million;
10. Tyler Perry's the Family That Preys, $3.2 million.

I encourage you to check this movie out. It was a great experience for me, and I know that others I have spoken to have been touched by it as well.

You can see more about this movie here: www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Goodbye Paul

2008-09-27T14:57:00.002-05:00

A true living legend of cinema has left us, Paul Newman passed away at the age of 83 from cancer. I believe for the record and without a shadow of doubt, that Mr. Newman was one of the best actors to grace the silver screen. The man was an icon and a benchmark for other great Hollywood leading men. 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' to my best recognition was my first introduction to Paul Newman. Watching the movie with my parents on T.V and remembering hearing such great things they would say about Newman and Redford, as their child I took every word to heart.

In high school and ever since then, my favorite Paul Newman movie is 'Cool Hand Luke'.

Anybody not familiar with Newman's work, I urge you to check out his body of work on www.imdb.com and see for yourself what classics he has made.

Paul Newman was also a humanitarian, which he won an award for in '94. Newman's charitable giving include Hole-In-The-Wall Gang, a camp for seriously ill children, and his famous Newman's Own products.

My little Buttercup

2008-09-26T21:41:00.001-05:00

The Peanut Butter Solution

2008-09-13T00:06:00.001-05:00

anyone remember this one?

Righteous Kill

2008-09-12T16:32:00.003-05:00

Before I begin, I want to say that I'm sorry for the lack of reviews. Not having a computer at home really makes it hard to post daily. I at least tried to hit the major highlights of the summer, and even then I missed a few. This summer was the best summer for movies since 1999. To save time I will only tell you what was the best of the best, and what was the worst. 'The Dark Knight' is sort of a no brainier when it comes to the best movie of the summer. The second best movie of the summer in my opinion was 'Wall-e'. The biggest dud for me this summer was 'Wanted'.

Summer is over and now it's the Fall/Winter movie season, which is the time of year for your 'I could have rented that on video' type movies. A perfect example of this is the movie I went to see this afternoon. All my life I have been a big fan of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. It doesn't even take a movie buff to know that these guys are film icons. 13 years ago they shared the screen in one of my favorite movies 'Heat', but it just wasn't enough, they only had two scenes together.

When 'Righteous Kill' was announced last year, I was very excited to see a movie with these two legends again. I was already at peace that the movie might not be awesome. These guys really haven't been in anything really cool since the late nineties. I saw the movie this afternoon, and my thoughts were correct, the film was good, really good, but not great like I had hoped. What I liked, DeNiro and Pacino did not disappoint they were great, and even the whole cast was good as well. 'Righteous Kill' despite the predictable ending, was a very enjoyable dark mystery, which has a lot going for it. What I didn't like was the lack of emotion the film had, the story and acting was decent, but the director failed to emotionally hook me into what was taking place. Over all 'Righteous Kill' should not disappoint.

This decent cop thriller gets a C+! Enjoy!!!!!! ~Caleb

G Movies

2008-09-04T08:25:00.006-05:00

OK, these weren't exactly G-rated movies (as most of the "kid" movies weren't back then), but they all started with the letter G.
I showed the following movies to my kids last week. They all definitely brought back memories, especially watching them with my kids and hearing their commentary.

So, here were the "G" Movies that we watched:

1. The Goonies

"Once a Goonie always a Goonie"
- There are WAY too many memorable scenes here to quote.
- Definitely my favorite one of the 3.
- Goonies on IMDB
Here is a picture of a Goonie Reunion:

2. Gremlins

"....and whatever you do...dont feed them after Midnight!"
- and did you know that Corey Feldman was also in this movie.
- along with Howie Mandel being the voice of Gizmo.
- Gremlins on IMDB

3. The Great Muppet Caper

"Lady Holiday and the fabulous Baseball Diamond"

- Great Muppet Caper on IMDB

Do you remember these? What do you remember? What are some of your favorite lines? scenes? etc?
Lets hear it.

This is what I have in store for the next viewing with the kids. I think that I will make it an "L" Movie weekend:
1. The Last Starfighter

2. Legend

3. Labyrinth

Harry Potter & Half-Blood Prince Trailer

2008-07-31T01:15:00.001-05:00

leaked Wolverine trailer

2008-07-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

Find more videos like this on The Spill.com Movie Community

The Dark Knight

2008-07-19T14:51:00.002-05:00

My love for Batman began when I was a kid watching a cartoon called 'Superfriends'. I even remember that episode(s) of Scooby Doo when Batman and Robin showed up to help solve a mystery. I am still a fan of the very campy 60's Batman T.V show.
Sometime around the mid eighties at the mall, the North Town Mall, the family was doing some shopping after dinner at Heritage Cafeteria. I was walking around with my Grandpa when I saw my first comic book store. A store devoted to comic books, strange but yet super cool. It was like going to a toy store but with comic books.
I remember the clerk asking if we were looking for anything, and I told him 'what's that’, pointing behind him at a big poster of Batman holding what appeared to be a dying Robin in his arms. 'That’s an ad for the 'Batman: A Death in the Family' trade paperback, which I still have some first prints for $10.00, if you would like one'.
Long story short, I became a Batman fan for life.
Fast forward to the late eighties and early nineties when the Batman movies came out, the first two were good, but have lost my appeal over the years. The last two, 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman and Robin' are abominations of Hollywood celluloid.

'Spider-Man' brought back the superhero genre, so Warner Bros. decided that it might be time to make another Batman movie, and redo the franchise. 'Batman Begins' became the Batman movie to end all Batman movies. Never before had a movie got the essence of whom the Batman really is. This review is not for this film; it's for the sequel.

'The Dark Knight' is a masterpiece dark Batman film. The movie really transcends the label of superhero movie. This is a Batman for adults; it's deep and dark. Not too dark for kids, but they may enjoy 'Iron Man' better.

Like I said before this movie is a note perfect Batman film. The end of the last film really sets the pace for this second installment. When you have a vigilante like Batman protecting Gotham, the worst of the worst is bound to show up. Escalation of crime and justice is happening in Gotham City. Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets.
The hype is correct, the late Heath Ledger is awesome as the Joker, really awesome. Heath becomes invisible in the role, his eyes containing madness, genius, sadism and childlike glee. The stories he tells are brilliant little mind games. The Joker seems so spontaneous, filled with a gleeful inspiration from chaos itself. It is a performance of a lifetime. Ledger will be missed.
Heath Ledger as the Joker and of course Batman is only two pieces of the puzzle that make up 'The Dark Knight'.

The movie may belong to Joker but the story is really about Harvey Dent, the movie's second greatest surprise. The heroes of Gotham City make some awful compromises in 'The Dark Knight', and all of them pay for it. You either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain.
You should know most of the plot from the trailers and from what I have told you. What you don't know is how perfect, relentless, and how tragic 'The Dark Knight' is.
Go see this film! A+ Enjoy!!!!!!

Raiders of the Lost Ark

2008-06-23T12:45:00.001-05:00

Star Wars: A New Hope

2008-06-23T12:43:00.001-05:00

The Goonies

2008-06-23T12:41:00.000-05:00

Back to the Future

2008-06-23T12:35:00.001-05:00

Ghostbusters

2008-06-23T12:31:00.002-05:00

Be Prepared for the Awesomeness!

2008-06-12T20:45:00.002-05:00

I went into this film with no expectations other than some good laughs and good looking kung fu, animation style. KUNG FU PANDA exceeded all expectations. The story is simple but the journey to the end is entertaining and well executed.
Po who is a lazy Panda must somehow become a Kung Fu Master in order to save his village from the villainous snow leopard, Tai Lung. Set in the legendary world of ancient China, Po must enter the rigid world of Kung Fu by learning that if he believes in himself, he can do anything.
The 5 masters that Po looks up to are all very good characters. The monkey is my favorite; the looks on his face are priceless.
Kung Fu Panda will hold a spot in my video collection, not for being an animated kung fu movie, but for the sole purpose that it's a good movie about a Panda who doesn’t want to sell noodles for a living, but wants to be the greatest most awesome martial artist who ever lived. B- Take the kids and enjoy!!!!! ~Caleb

HULK @ Midnight!

2008-06-12T20:11:00.003-05:00

That's right Sammy, and it's going to be a good one!!!

Rambo - The Complete Collector's Set

2008-06-12T18:19:00.002-05:00

That's right, all 4 films baby, OH YEAH!!!!!! When I was a young lad, growing up I had 3 movie heroes, Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and John Rambo. I have lost count how many times I have probably seen Rambo: First Blood Part II. Back in the VHS days I had a taped off of HBO version of the movie. I watched that thing so many times that the picture quality became very soft and fuzzy.
I am very happy to have these films on DVD.

First Blood

First Blood is an action classic that makes you think. The first and best of the series is a very different film than the sequels that made the character so popular. John Rambo, a former Green Beret, is plagued by the awful changes that are common in Vietnam vets like him. A small town sheriff, who is used to getting things his way, arrests a drifter on his way to get some food, Rambo. In jail, Rambo soon finds himself reliving the awful memories of his fighting days in 'Nam as he is put through the basic tests that are mandatory for all prisoners of the law. Rambo escapes and what follows is an intense manhunt for a man who only "wanted something to eat." As the publicity of Rambo's one-man war escalates, Colonel Trautman, Rambo’s former commander and the only one who may be able to stop the terrible fate awaiting everyone involved, confronts the Sheriff and his deputies. Awesome drama with some tense action. A+!!

Rambo: First Blood Part II
My favorite as a kid growing up because it was the one I saw first and because of the action. Once I saw the first film, part 2 became my second favorite.
Rambo is serving time in a federal prison. When the US military hears of American soldiers missing in action from the Vietnam War possibly still being alive and held captive, Colonel Trautman is authorized to send Rambo in to rescue them. For Rambo, this is what he would do best. If only the pencil pushers would stop getting in his way. Still one of my all time favorite action movies. It's still just too cool. A+!!!

Rambo III
John Rambo, unwilling to accompany old friend Colonel Trautman behind Soviet lines in Afghanistan, ends up going there on an unofficial rescue mission after Trautman is captured. Bullets and bombs fly in all directions as the indestructible Rambo quickly works his way through a large camp of Soviet soldiers. When part 3 came out it seemed apparent that moviegoers were looking for a new kind of action hero. The film was a success but the character was becoming stale and target for Hollywood parody. While my least favorite, Rambo III is still dear to my movie buff heart. The action still holds up after all these years. I still think the tank vs. helicopter is bad to the bone. C+!!!
Rambo Let me tell you, this picture says it all. Rambo is well on it's way to be my favorite action movie of '08. John Rambo has been living a fairly quiet life somewhere around Burma. One day these missionary folks visit him seeking passage up the river. He tells them he won't take them and suggests they go back home. Rambo has given up hope on humanity; he thinks the opposite what the kind good-hearted missionaries believe. No more does he believe in making a difference, everything he was taught to believe in, as a solider has been a waist. One of the missionaries convinces Rambo, so he takes them where they wish to go. Something bad happens (naturally) and Rambo has to fix it the only way he knows how. This time around Rambo has the help of a rough group of mercs, which adds a nice touch of depth and coolness. A+!!!

This set is a must have for any action movie or Rambo fan. Enjoy!! ~COX

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

2008-05-28T06:28:00.005-05:00

Treasure seeker Ben Gates is back after his family’s honour is put into question by a rival, who offers alleged proof that Gates’ ancestor, was not a Civil War-era hero, but an Abraham Lincoln assassination participant. Ben gets the help of his father, side kick, and estranged girlfriend to puzzle trot all over, which leads them all over the world, and to the eventual conclusion that Ben must kidnap the President of the United States.
Following a great looking opening sequence, Book of Secrets goes back to the mediocre style of the first movie. None of the characters learned anything from the first National Treasure movie. It seems that everybody is in similar predicaments as before, only this time a few cogs are thrown in to give Book of Secrets that great sequel appeal. Sadly all of this seems like one big cliche. Ben and his girlfriend are in a lovers spat, his sidekick doesnt pay his taxes, and the Gates'family name is ran through the mud. Awesome! Let the adventure begin.
The truth is that National Treasure did not ever need a sequel in the first place. It was a very entertaining Saturday matinie adventure movie. Ben Gates is no Indiana Jones, or Captian Jack. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets is exactly what I knew it was going to be,a sequel that upped the ante on very basic entertainment level puzzles and car chases. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets gets a D+. Enjoy? ~Caleb

Rambo

2008-05-27T14:06:00.003-05:00

This blood soaked masterpiece is now on DVD. If you are a die hard(no pun intended)fan of action movies, then this is a movie for you. I have already been saying that it is the best action movie of the year. Eat your hearts out liberals, Rambo's back
Wear a raincoat and Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!! COX

Indiana Jones in the Fifties

2008-05-22T06:32:00.005-05:00

I am going to start this review off by answering the question a lot of you will want to know,where does Crystal Skull rank? For a long time now I have placed Radiers of the Lost Ark as a separate masterpiece from the rest of the series. The 11 year old kid in me ranks Temple of Doom as the best, leaving The Last Crusade as the perfect ending to the series. Doom still has that special place in my heart, Crusade still has that perfect ending, but Crystal Skull is my second fave. 1,4,2,3 is the order for me.
After 19 years since Last Crusade, Spielberg and Lucas can still make an amazing Indiana Jones film. Everything I love about this series is still strong as ever in Crystal Skull. I really enjoy this latest installment and think it's better than just o.k.
In this latest adventure we see an older Indy adjusting to life in the 50's. So long Holy Crusades, hello nuclear age. A young James Dean type seeks the aid of Dr. Jones to help find his mother and old friend, who was a colleague of Indiana. An ancient artifact called the Crystal Skull(s) ties everything together in the fourth film of the classic series. This review is so late that its not even funny. I promise a more in depth review when the DVD comes out. My final word or words is this. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is just equally good and fun as other films in the series. A+. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

Indiana Jones

2008-05-21T10:27:00.001-05:00

Indy 4 !!

2008-05-21T08:57:00.005-05:00

Are you ready for this?
Tonight at Midnight!
Oh.....Yeah!