Movie Review: Wanted

Movie Review: Wanted
CS Rating: GO get it!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493464/

Wanted has a dash of everything, beautiful tough kick ass girls, the geeky guy who realizes he has super powers, a superbaddy with charm, and amazing chase scenes. When a film tries to be all these it usually ends up with a shamble, a mess - but somehow Bekmanbetov pulls it off.

This film may herald the final confirmation Hollywood has been waiting for: Comic books are the richest pickings for action flicks with attitude.

James McAvoy gives a good performance as the Peter Parker type who leads a lowly existence only to discover he is in fact part of a thousand year old cult of super assassins.

Heavyweights, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman add a touch of class to the cast and although the film drags midpoint, it more than makes up with a thrilling last act.


What may save Wanted from being another big action movie flop this year like 'Speed Racer', is the tongue in cheek, break the 4th wall and talk-to-the-camera moments in the movie. The voice over is in pure 'Ed Norton Fight Club' style, with the same cynicism and dead pan tone.

If that doesn't do it for you the action scenes will. Jolie and McAvoy have enough charisma to watch in the more pedestrian scenes and as a Brit, I was very impressed with McAvoy’s American accent. Compared to fellow Scot, Ewan McGregor, McAvoy is a master.

Movie Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Movie Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
CS Rating: Apatow does it again!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800039/

How could anyone forget Sarah Marshall? She's the hot one from Heroes and the excellent TV Series shamelessly axed for no good reason, Veronica Mars.

If your from the school of Apatow (Knocked Up, SuperBad, 40 Year Old Virgin) you gonna see this movie anyways. If your fan you certainly wont be disappointed. If you’re not so much a fan, this may just be the movie to convert you over to the Apatow invasion of all comedy coming outta of Hollywood these days. If you can’t believe that, then it’s worth checking out this movie for Mila Kunis (70’s Show) who looks so hot in this movie, it’s hard to care about plot or anything.

TV Show composer Peter, Jason Segal( How I met your Mother) is dumped by the delicious Sarah Marshall, Kristen Bell, a CSI –type TV Star, who upgrades her slobby muso boyfriend for cool British Rocker, Aldous Snow, the British comedian Russell Brand. Peter can’t forget Sarah Marshall and who can blame the guy? He heads to Hawaii, in an effort to put his life back together, but of course Sarah and cool Aldous are on holiday there, in the same hotel.

Luckily, hotel receptionist, Rachel, Mila Kunis, provides sympathy for Peter and the romance ensues. Apatow’s motley crew of Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill and Bill Hader are all here to crank up the comedy and all deliver.

A lot smarter than 40 Year Old and Knocked Up, but still stuffed with situations that even the most hard to please will at least smile for some scenes. Perhaps the only missing ingredient is some of that tenderness that made SuperBad so good. This is only a small gripe, as the sight of Kunis and Bell more than make up. As a Brit, it was also good to see the talents of Russell Brand, a Brit comedy superstar, being unleashed on an unsuspecting American public, Jonah Hill’s take on a British accent for me made up the price of the ticket alone!!

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Movie Review: Street Kings

Movie Review: Street Kings
CS Rating: Keanu fans only
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421073/

Keanu is back as tough LA Cop, Tom Ludlow, the toughest white boy in Los Angeles. We know he's a bad ass, as in the first 10 minutes of the movie, he gets drunk, kills crims without trial and doesn't give a sh*t about the paperwork.

With a cast that includes 'House's' Hugh Laurie, heavyweight Forest Whitaker and a sprinkling of good actors such as Chris Evans, Jay Mohr and Cedric the Entertainer providing some comic touches to a very dark, moody film, this should be a kick ass movie. The problem? Keanu.

Keanu's character has all the usual flaws; his wife is dead, he drinks too much, he doesn't believe in trials and justice for the scum of LA, all good, but Keanu Reeves never convinced me he was capable of all this. Perhaps it was brilliant casting, the bad cop who's really an Angel deep inside, like his old partner, who Reeves spends most of the movie trying to avenge his death.

This movie reminded me of one of my fave LA films, 'To live and Die in LA'. Like that movie, this movie is as much a homage to the city as it is a homage to the evil men do, who are charged with dealing with evil.

Like 'To Live and Die in LA', there are no 'good guys' or 'bad guys', in fact the only true street criminals come across as inept bystanders compared to the good/bad guys with the badge.

Living in LA, and seeing your city portrayed as a seething hot mess of corrupt cops, from top to bottom, didn't leave me full of hope and the black and white Cop car that passes me as I left the theatre, sent a shiver down my spine.

In that sense you can praise or condemn this movie that has no real moral centre, only shades of gray. With another lead, this could of been a landmark movie like 'To Live and Die', one of those rare movies that doesn't take the viewer on a nice safe ride into crime and delivers him out on the other side feeling all is essentially good in the world.

I didn't mind as Whitaker says, 'We're all bad', what I had a problem with was Reeves lightweight acting. If your not a fan of Reeves (guess what I am) then you will have problems chewing on this movie. What saves it are the efforts of the rest of the cast and some truly jump out of your seat violence.

Rappers The Game and Common give a gang cred to the movie and the great James Ellroy penned the screenplay, all which mix it up to make this movie more than watchable, especially when Reeves is off screen

One for the fans of Reeves or the fans of gritty crime against the palm trees and bright lights of LA.

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Vantage Point: Movie review

Vantage Point
Reviewed by Marti
CS Rating: 24 the Movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443274/

I suspect this movie was sold as 24 the movie. 'Jack' from 'Lost' is in there as the man who's job is to save the president. So we have a president in peril, a Jack, terrorists and a complex conspiracy.

All the ingredients for a kick ass film. The movie's trick is to re-run the events of a terrorist attack on a US president, over and over again, from different vantage points.

We have the view of the media (GNN), the secret service agents, the local police, an American tourist, the President himself and finally the terrorist.

The film deserves credit for it's unique approach, it challenges us to solve the puzzle, which is as complex as a spiders web!

Acting from Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker and William Hurt is solid and Matthew Fox breaks out from the small screen of Lost, effectively.

I keep coming back to 24, as characters shift sides and by the end of the film, you just don't know who to trust. Perhaps this is overdone to the point you stop caring who's motivated by what.

Without sounding too pretensious, the film in many ways is a tribute to Japanese classic, Rashamon, where different witness to the same story show that the truth gets lost.

The action has that breathless quality of 24 and it never feels over done. One can't help to have that creeping feeling that all too common televised terrorist events have. Manipulation, by the media, by the government is a strong theme in the movie, but Vantage Point doesn't forget to inform that the biggest manipulation is from the terrorist.

American Gangster: Movie Review

American Gangster
Reviewed by Marti
CS Rating: Bigger and Badder DVD Release!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765429/

This weeks DVD release of American Gangster isn't the usual mix of commentary and a few deleted scenes. Here we have another version, almost 20 minutes longer than the original. American Gangster was passed over by the major awards, except for a supporting actress award for the outstanding Ruby Dee, but don't let that put you off.

We have a classic rise thru the ranks for plucky Frank Lucas(Washington), who grows a huge drug crime empire in 1970's New York's Harlem. His nemesis is the un-corruptible Cop, Richie Roberts(Crowe), struggling in a corrupt ridden Police Department, to shut down Lucas.

There the film deviates from predictable crime story; building into a story that amazes even more knowing this is all based on true events. Crowe and Washington are excellent as the two men in different worlds, who come to realise they have a lot more common than initially one would think.

The 70’s are captured well and Ridley Scott deserves credit for playing Lucas as an anti-hero in the Godfather sense. We have as much conflicting feelings for Lucas, as the characters have for those around them. This DVD release offers a new viewing experience by re-adding cut scenes into this stand alone verison with an extended ending.

Most DVD's nowadays offer a few deleted scenes, one after another with no real context. With these added scenes, we can get a bigger picture of the excellent portrayal of that rare breed of the noble criminal and the noble Cop who never bends the rules. This sets American Ganster a cut above the mountain of New York Harlem crime films out there. If your expecting some funky Shaft type adventure, this film delivers a lot more than that.

Jumper: Movie Review

Jumper
Reviewed by Marti
CS Rating: Spiderman meets the Matrix
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489099/

We have the geeky kid who really likes the cool girl, we have the dis-functional family home, and we even have a voice over. When Jumper kicks off, we are in familiar hero, comic book territory. I'm not knocking this; I'm buying it, so far.

About half way thru the movie, I'm not so sure. The structure of Jumper is sound, the plot twists and turns, but the missing link in making this a joy to watch is the lead, Hayden Christensen. Now I know he got slated for the new Star Wars films, but I was willing to give the young Darth Vader another chance. Hayden as the self interested boy with amazing powers to jump anywhere in the world he chooses, works. He's perfectly cast as the arrogant kid with the power of a God, it's when he starts to care that it all starts to fall apart.

Samuel L Jackson plays the lead Baddie, and turns in a good performance, but the old rule of make your hero and anti hero equal doesn't quite add up. The end of the movie is screaming for a sequel, and if/when it comes up, I'll be getting my ticket. But not expecting to be thrilled from start to finish.

Jamie Bell helps carry the movie; he's brilliantly cast as the other loner guy with amazing powers. The scenes with him and Hayden make the best parts of the movie, look for the scene in Tokyo for a driving sequence that takes car scenes to a new level.

Despite my criticism of Hayden in his fluffy moments, he is playing against the OC's Rachel Bilson. She looks hot and soaks up the screen from Hayden's wooden moments as the leading man.

Jumper is such a cool concept, it's hard to not like this film, with another lead -this could have been the best of Spiderman meets the Matrix. As it is, Bilson, Bell, Jackson and a whole lotta of CGI make this an enjoyable romp and any Sci-Fi geek (like me) will lap it up

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Rambo IV: Movie Review

Rambo 4
Reviewed by Marti
CS Rating: Rambo the comic book hero!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462499/

Despite popular opinion, Rambo (the original movie) was a heartfelt, serious, tale of America's forgotten heroes from Vietnam. Like the Rocky films, they grew into something altogether larger and glossier. Some could argue the original message was lost.

Rambo 4, pits the ex Green Beret, John Rambo against the evil military of former Burma, to rescue a group of stranded Christian Missionaries.

Those hoping for a high body count won't be disappointed! Some of the action scenes are awesome, but it's hard to see how the kids will get into this one. Like Die Hard, it's a push to see someone this.....mature, kicking ass in an action movie.

What saves the movie, though is that this is no ordinary man, regardless of age. Like Die Hard, Rambo has moved into a cult legend that is ageless, this is comic book action hero stuff.
If the movie is viewed as a comic book and not taken seriously it works well. With Rambo, it's like an old friend who we've either stopped calling or lost contact with, or waiting for him to call. Whatever you think of him, he demands an opinion.

You can't help but feel the myth of the man come over on the screen. The mumbling dialogue, the scowl - the knives, arrows and guns.
But something else shines; the loneliness of Rambo is still there, the haunted shell of a man.

Unless you're a fan; or at least aware of the Rambo myth, the movie is a hard sell. Newcomers to this comic book like hero will struggle much like old John has for all these decades past.

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Charlie Wilson's War: Movie Review

Charlie Wilson's War
Reviewed by Marti
CS Rating: Hoffman saves the day
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472062/

I love Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter of Charlie Wilson's War. He's what you think of when you think 'writer', the way a writer should be. He has all the qualifications: He's lived hand to mouth in crappy jobs when he was young, he's had past drug problems, has chain smoked; and he looks like a geek.

I was an avid fan of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and it was a crime it was cancelled by NBC. At least Sorkin had had his long day in the sun with the Oscar nominated A Few Good Men and the Emmy worthy West Wing because not even Julia Roberts in a bikini or naked girls doing coke in a hot tub can save this film. Which is a real shame, I wanted to love this.

It's Golden Globes blow out didn't surprise me. The film is certainly informative and parts are entertaining, especially in Charlie's office, it's like Charlie's Angel's meets the West Wing. But does it work as a movie? Not in the traditional sense.

I walked out of the movie house and I still have no idea of who Charlie Wilson is. Only Hoffman's character (Gust Avrakotos) comes across as a real, 3 dimensional character.

Is Sorkin's writing to blame or is it the no show acting of Hanks and Roberts? I watch this movie and it’s like a war is going on between Hanks and Roberts dealing with their lines.
But it dawns on me, Sorkin's script and Mike Nichols' Direction meant all this - that unremarkable people can do remarkable things, that politics is all show business and the best things in show business are the shallow and fun loving.

The women of Charlie Wilson's War are fun and captivating, from the radiant Julia Roberts, the young and blood boiling Emily Blunt, to his sexy all girl admin staff led by the sweet Amy Adams.

Critics have pointed to the appeal of this film as 'grown up', but I think they miss the point. Grown up subject matter doesn't equate grown up film.

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Juno: Movie Review

Juno
Reviewed by Marti
CS Rating: Teenage angst has never been this good!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467406/

Teen pregnancy has never been so entertaining! Not the obvious ingredients for a hit, but Juno is scooping up Globe nominations and blowing the critics away.

Ellen Page turns in a dazzling performance as 'Juno', pregnant 'geeky' teen. This is Daria meets My So Called Life. There are some cool observations here; Jocks secretly pine for geeky girls, Cheerleaders aren't brainless and teenagers will always confuse sex and love.

This aint just another teen movie.

Superbad's Michael Cera is perfectly cast as the uber geek love interest of Juno. Like Superbad, Juno is a teenage love story. Superbad concentrated on the man love between two friends, forcing it to play for a lot of slapstick laughs, Juno is a more traditional love story.

Pro-lifers and pro-choices will find little nourishment here. This isn't a statement on teenage pregnancy, Juno learns more about herself and the world through observation than any revelations she goes through being pregnant. That's why the movie works so well.
Another revelation here is Jennifer Garner. Jennifer Garner looks amazing as the desperate wannabe Stepford mom, we want to dislike her so bad, like her husband Jason Bateman, but the pair of them deliver their best performances I've ever witnessed. There both a long way home from Alias/Arrested Development.

Screenwriter Diablo Cody, ex-stripper and that rare thing, a celebrity writer, delivers a tight script with over the top dialogue, good use of showing the story rather than telling. You'd think she'd been writing movie scripts for years. We know Juno realises she's falling in love with Cera when she fills his post box with the orange Tic Tacs Cera is addicted to.

A sweet little movie about a sweet little girl who like all teens, thinks she knows everything, painfully waking up to the fact she only just learning how the big bad world works.

One key criticism is the oh-so-cool chats about favourite movies and music that doesn't ring true and clunks in an otherwise cliché free teen movie.

And did I mention Jennifer Garner? No-one told me she could act this good!

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Cloverfield: Movie Review

Cloverfeld
CS Rating: Like a rollercoaster into a brick wall
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1060277/
http://1-18-08.com

This is one of those movies that everyone is going to love to hate. You might love it... it may be the best thing you've seen in a while but at least 2 of the people you saw it with hated it. They hated it because it made them nauseous, or it didn't have enough resolution for them or they just love to hate things that are different.

The audience I saw this with both booed and clapped. People that sat silently may not have really known what they just saw... it hits you like a brick in the face.

There's no 'formula' here. The movie starts with some titles, indicating that what you are about to watch was found footage, property of the US Government. Then it starts, and for about 20 mins it sets up the characters though different points of view via the camcorder. Just as I thought to myself "Ok, when are the yuppies gonna shut it and..." BOOM - the whole city shakes. From there it's not really a movie as much as it is an experience. This is the closest thing to putting on some virtual reality glasses and 'living' through a monster attack of epic proportions.
The actors are good enough. You might feel like they aren't re-acting enough but when I imagine what I would do in that situation - I imagine that you wouldn't have time to stand around and scream. You move or get a plan going because you'll die if you don't. You don't have time to process what you're seeing. Fight or flight time, the adrenaline is kicking in and I know that if someone I loved needed help I would everything I could to get to them.

This is the story of the film - at it's simplest is a love story: save the one you love, against all odds. These young people are in love but are forcing distance between themselves because Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is going to Japan to start a new job and Beth (Odette Yustman) is starting to date someone else in retaliation. When all hell breaks loose its Rob's mission to save Beth.

The camera is Rob's, the story is Rob's and that's it. There are no explanations for the monster. The military are there fighting it, but we're with Rob and crew and we never cut away. To me that was refreshing. How many monster movies can we watch where it's the same military, the same screaming pedestrians and the same Presidential orders to blow it up with every bit of arsenal we have available?

Now the monster is awesome. This is Rob's story but the monster gets more than enough NYC-wrecking screentime. I felt the CG was seamless with the video footage and you feel the danger when Rob and party get too close. The things the monster does are surprising and orth the price of admission for any monster movie fan.

I really enjoyed this film, er- experience and it goes by so quickly that I'm sure I missed things. Knowing JJ Abrams theres got to be some hidden fun things to find on repeat veiwings. If it had been a roller coaster I wouldve gotten right back in line to ride it again.

If you hate 'shaky cam' you're probably gonna hate this too.

So choose your side of the fence and prep your watercooler arguements! You'll need them I'm sure.

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Sweeney Todd: Movie Review

Sweeney Todd
CS Rating: Don't Miss (unless you hate musicals)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236/
http://www.sweeneytoddmovie.com/

Filled with style, Tim Burton's ambitious take on a musical legend pays off in every scene. I got nervous when I heard that Burton was doing this film. I got even more nervous when I heard that he was keeping it a musical with Depp and cast signing the Broadway tunes. Given that Tim's movies (when he doesn't write them, i.e. Planet of the Apes) just come off as weak, style over substance pieces of goth art I expected this to suck.

Much to my surprise, the movie succeeded on all fronts - in fact it's one of the more entertaining movies I've seen this year. Johnny Depp is fantastic as Sweeney Todd and the rest of the cast fill out the scenes perfectly. Helena Bonham Carter oozes her quirky madness, Alan Rickman is pure evil as Judge Turpin and even Sacha Baron Cohen handles his part well.

The trailer for the film does it's best to disguise this film as a non-musical but this is a straight up, full on Broadway musical in film form. Rarely is a line in the movie not sung. It completely works if you like that sort of thing. A friend of mine couldn't get past 'watching dudes sing to each other' enough to enjoy the movie so be warned.

Based on Stephen Sondheim's stage classic, I felt it was very faithful adaptation but it's been a LONG time since I've seen Sweeney on stage. Theater purists will no doubt be scuffed that certain songs like "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" got the razor.

The story goes that Benjamin Barker, betrayed by Judge Turbin returns to London to seek revenge. Teaming up with pie maker Mrs. Lovett Benjamin becomes Sweeney Todd and begins to exact his revenge for the loss of his wife on the unsuspecting city. Lovett, in dire need of pie sales, grinds up the bodies of Sweeney's victims and serves them in her meat pies.

Based on a 19th century 'legend' of sorts Sweeney was considered a serial killer and may or may not have actually existed.

From the Sweeney Todd Wikipedia Entry:
"Todd's first appearance could have been in a British penny dreadful called The People's Periodical, in issue 7, dated November 21, 1846. The story in which he appeared was titled "The String of Pearls: A Romance," and was written by Thomas Peckett Prest,[6] who created several other gruesome villains. He tended to base his horror stories partly on truth, sometimes gaining inspiration from real crime reports in The Times."

Sweeney Todd has already garnered a Best Picture nomination at the Golden Globes and will no doubt stir up some Oscar noms later this year.

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Movie Review: Into the Wild

Into the Wild
CS Rating: Don't miss - especially if you've ever dreamt of giving it all away and heading off across country
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
IntoTheWild.com

This is a Sean Penn movie and knowing that you know you can count on three things: It's gonna be depressing, there will be cameo's from famous actors and it's gonna be artsy. Given that, I felt this was the most enjoyable and least pretensious of Sean's works. I didn't leave feeling so depressed and let down as I did with The Pledge.

I left this movie surprised and out of all the movies I've seen recently, it really stuck with me. Everyday since I've thought of it. It's haunted me a bit but not in a bad way.

See, I've always had that urge to drop it all, give away my slice of society and drive off into nothing. To renounce it all and head into the wilderness. This kid actually did it. He graduated college and disappeared after giving away his savings. No one knew where he was going aside form the mismatched lost souls he would encounter on his way to Alaska.

I hadn't read the book or even heard the story, hence my surprise at the conclusion which I won't spoil for you. It was heavy and profound but I never once felt like it was the pretensious nonsense I had been expecting.

The cinematography is beautiful to watch, the varied characters (some played by Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Jenna Malone, etc) were wonderful to encounter as I'm sure it was for Christopher as he encountered them in real life and the music by Eddie Vedder fit so well that the whole movie really felt like an experience and an experience I'd not only watch again but bring my friends to. Only time will tell if holds up and if it does this will be a classic movie.

Sean makes some interesting choices and all of it worked for me. One scene even breaks the 4th wall as Emile Hirsch suddenly acknowledges the audience with a haunting omniescence that brings you deeper into Christoper's world and journey.

Hard to believe this kid's journey wasn't taking place in the 1970's but only a little over 10 years ago. Times are different now and I wouldn't expect it to be so easy to take off and lose one self as Christopher does so easily.

For some, maybe reading the book would be a better experience but I've always been a movie guy and this was a satisfying experience for me on all levels.

See Emile Hirsch as Speed in the upcoming Wachowski Brother's version of Speed Racer.

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Movie Review: The Kingdom

The Kingdom
CS Rating: Too Pro-American for it's own good
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431197/

Impressively executed, The Kingdom might suck you in but something just isn't right and it took a few post-movie discussions of the film for me to finally figure out what it was. More on that later.

The movie sets out to shock. We live with real violence thanks to the Television shows that lack the class NOT to show the effects of just how bad it can get when one human being does their worst on another. But after the initial terrorist attack the shock wears off quickly as a group of FBI agents (Jamie Fox, Jenifer Garner, Chris Cooper, etc) show up to turn the movie into CSI: Saudi Arabia.

The FBI investigates and jokes it's way through the 'crime scene', putting the clues together in typical convienient fashion and putting the Saudi's to shame as the movie is set on showing that they just can't investigate a terrorist attack.

The 'America is Awesome' feel gets tiring as the movie is stubborn in it's mission to prove that it's us poor American's that keep getting crapped on by these damn backwards third world civilizations.

The movie starts off with a catch up animation piece showing the timeline of the region and oil conflicts that have led our world to where it is today. This to me meant there would be a message to the film. My friend thought that message was incredibly anti-muslim. I felt that the message wasn't so much anti-muslim as it was just typically pro-american. The overall message was lost on both of us - because I think it had something to do with 'violence begets violence' and the film ended with a both American's and Muslims alike swearing to continue the revenge killing.


The actors could have been cardboard cutouts and as much as Jennifer Garner is beautiful to watch, she had very little to do in most of the film. It was disappointing seeing so many quality actors just phone in their performaces.

Jeremy Piven shows up out of nowhere and whoever casted him should be banned from casting for the rest of time. He comes in like his character from Entourage and completely derails the scenes he's in because he sticks out like a sore thumb. He just has no place in this film.

Despite the flaws, I still had a good time watching it - particularly in the final action sequence which in retrospect feels very tacked-on. Someone somewhere obviously thought the movie needed less message and more terrorist ass kicking.

So onto what really just didn't sit well with me and you may not want to read this as it may be spoilerific: The American's had no sacrifices. Everyone on the team got out alive. No one made any mistakes, no one fucked up in anyway shape or form and yes all the characters live. Not one American died and certainly Piven's character should have been blown up. The movie seems to confidently say "Americans get will get in, kill all the baddies, get the main terrorist and get out within a few days and well, Americans' just rule." Did the writers forget that this country has been incapable of finding any well known terrorist in the past 7 years? Bin Laden anyone?!

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Movie Review: Resident Evil 3 - Extinction

Resident Evil 3 - Extinction
CS Rating: A Must if you liked RE1 and RE2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432021/

This series has always come in a bit shy of where it should be in my opinion. While it's fun to watch and for me, Milla killing zombies is always gonna be fun to watch -the Resident Evil movies always kinda fell flat. My guess is that they just lack the budget to really make these movies epic but as translations of a video game these really are some of the best.

Despite the western-style overhaul this 3rd installment fits right in with the other two. This time we find Alice out on her own, dodging the Umbrella Corporation riding through what has become a deserted wasteland of America. Umbrella is up to no good as they try to domesticate the infected and a travelling band of survivors travels the desert in a badass caravan led by Ali Larter (Heroes). The surreal tone of the first two is very present in this one as well.

The action is entertaining and the special effects are good enough. If you enjoyed the other two you'll certainly enjoy this one. It ties the storyline together and Milla Jovavich looks hot as ever. I think it's a great twist of fate that Milla has become an action movie star.

Ali Larter does a decent job and I recently read a rumor that she would headline the fourth Resident Evil installment. Resident Evil without Milla wouldn't work for me - Ali's character just isn't strong enough to carry a movie so I hope they ditch that idea. Leave it at a trilogy if Milla won't come back.




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Movie Review: Balls of Fury

Balls of Fury
CS Rating: Up there with Harold and Kumar
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0424823/

If you've seen the commercial, you've seen about 75% of the jokes in the movie and that's pretty lame. A lot of fellow reviewers felt as disappointed as I did but I didn't hate the movie. I still laughed. I've seen that commercial 100's of times and laughed everytime and the actual scenes were still funny... just wish I hadn't seen the commercial first. The 25% you haven't seen is just as funny if not funnier and if you can't wait for video, might not be a waste of money if you get a good group of friends to go with you.

The cast is fantastic and plays the stupidity well. This movie is stupid like Harold & Kumar was stupid but in that is the humor. It's got it's basic premise and it runs it into the wall. Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) is enlisted by the FBI to help ensnare an organized crime lord (Walken) that runs underground deadly ping pong matches.

Randy, although once a master ping pong player as a kid is rusty and needs training. Enter Master Wong the blind teacher (James Hong) and his smoking hot niece Maggie Wong (Maggie Q). Wong and Wong train Randy in the typical training montage and somewhere -- it's not clear where -- Maggie Wong falls for Randy.

From there it's off the big game and I'll leave the rest unspoiled as some of the funniest stuff comes once the characters are at Feng's palace.

Christopher Walken is great as Feng, but when is Walken not just awesome to watch? He's very funny.


Maggie Q sticks out like a sore thumb due to her stunning beauty and martial arts skills which come as a welcome surprise. You may have seen her in Die Hard 4 or Mission Impossible 3. She had wanted to try something out of character and this is certainly it, but thankfully she still gets to show off her... well everything. She's not nude - but she doesn't need to be.

The plot is weak but what do you expect from a ping pong movie called "Balls of Fury"? What you should expect is a pretty decent stoner comedy that I'm sure will warrent many a repeated viewings once added to any DVD collection. If you enjoy Reno 911, Dodgeball, Harold and Kumar - you'll enjoy this I think.

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Movie Review: Superbad

Superbad
CS Rating: See it now, then see it again
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829482/

Don't you think it's time you go online to get your free credit report?! No it's not... it's time you go out and see Superbad if you haven't already.

The reason for this delayed review was that I just couldn't get it together to see the movie earlier. It was part timing and part not wanting to be disappointed since the movie got hyped quickly.

From the open sequence I was entertained well beyond the price of admission. The film starts with a great throwback to 70's intros with our main characters dancing in colored silohette while the credits role. From there Superbad is one laugh after another while our main characters do everything they can to try to make it to a girl's party with alcohol.

The plot is weak and there's some slow moments. I personally thought the subplot with the cops and a great character self-nicknamed McLovin was drawn out a little too long and it really gets frustrating watching these guys go through so much trouble to get laid. These are but minor quips.

The 3 main characters (played by Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse) have a great realism and play unique character types for the often worn-out teen comedy genre. The 3 girls the guys are trying to score with (played by Martha MacIsaac, Emma Stone, Aviva) are played with heart and are great to watch.

Superbad was written by Seth Rogen (star of Knocked Up) and Evan Goldberg whose next movie The Pineapple Express hits theaters next year. The real success with this script is in the heart the movie has. It's not trying to be just another teen movie and while most of it is played for laughs, the ending has real sense of accomplishment for the main characters (named Seth and Evan) and shows a bit of actual growth.

This is the movie all my friends wanted to make in college and it's great to see it's been #1 at the box office for two weeks running.


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Movie Review: The Last Legion

The Last Legion
CS Rating: Not worth the cost of popcorn.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462396/

An Excalibur prequel of sorts, The Last Legion fails on almost every level. I think we'd all agree that the marketing campaign really didn't set up high hopes to begin with but I'm sure you really never expect a movie to be this bad. I mean alot of people came together to make this piece of crap, surely someone higher up must have had an hunch that this was just pure shite.

They should have pulled the plug long before the first reel was run through the camera.... although some of this movie looks like it was shot on video.

Battle scenes are layed out like a kindergarten production of Lord of the Rings and the dialouge is as bad if not worse than the prose on a Hallmark card.

Character motivations change on a whim, as needed per scene and as much as the movie thinks its clever in avoiding mention of Arthur, Merlin or Excalibur it still feels like a rip off of every King Arthur movie ever made. Someone even whispered "Run Away!" as the characters fled from some uninteresting looking extras in bad wigs.

Colin Firth phones in his performance as Aurelius, the roman guard charged with watching after the young Ceasar. Ben Kingsley seems to actually be trying to convey something through his bland lines and the film's
Scriptwriter 2000 scenes. The only actor that stood out and was enjoyable to watch was Bollywood's own Aishwarya Rai who did her best to stand out as the token mysterious woman warrior.

Movies like this are great in that they prove anyone can make a movie
and even get somewhat decent stars in it. The Weinstein Brothers seem to have lost their magic. There hasn't been a single hit that I can think of from them since they went out on their own.


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