ILikeToWatchMovies

The Suspect

2008-06-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong action picture directed by Ringo Lam about an ex-con who is released only to be set-up as the assassin of a political candidate.

The story sounds familiar but I can't place the title of the American version.

Lot's of action and tension as both the police and mob are after the ex-con - one to capture him and one to kill him.

This movie works for me as the situations and action seems believable.

Worth a watch.

Strangeland

2008-06-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

Also known as Dee Snider's Strangeland, this most was written and stars Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider as a sadist who meets victims in internet chat rooms under the name Capt Howdy.

The plot revolves around the sadist who is caught, reformed in prison, released, and lynched by the townspeople which sets him off again.

The movie is really well paced and seems to fly by but it's just not really scary.

It also seems to lack a commitment to really embrace the violence which would increase the terror.

Worth a watch but could have been much better.

Eaten Alive

2008-06-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Tobe Hooper's next picture after The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is about a psychotic hotel owner who kills his various guests for things he deems to be bad in his crazy eyes.

Then he feeds them to the crocodile he keeps in the pond that butts up against the front of the hotel.

You'll recognize a couple of the actors from television the most notable being Carolyn Jones( Morticia in The Addams Family) as head madam of the local brothel.

There's also an early performance of Robert Englund as Buck who likes to ____ (if you've seen Kill Bill you'll realize Tarantino has seen this movie).

To say this movie lacks any redeeming qualities is the absolute truth.

It lacks any of the terror that made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fun to watch and is just awful.

I couldn't wait for this one to end.

Give it a pass.

The Devil's Rain

2008-06-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

This is a mid 70's horror movie about a group of Satanists who kidnap a 2 son's parents and they try to get them back.

Starring Ernest Borgnine (I'm not kidding!) as the head Satanist William Shatner and Tom Skerritt (as the 2 son's).

Ok, it's hokey and you'll chuckle when Borgnine channels the devil and the he's wearing the hornas and devil makeup but it's not the worst movie I've ever seen.

Worth a watch but this is no Exorcist so you'll have to temper your expectations.

What could have made this better is more of Shatner just being Shatner.

A Tale of Two Sisters

2008-04-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

Korean suspense film about two young sisters who arrive home after being hospitalized following their mothers death only to find their father has already remarried.

The stepmother turns out to be some sort of evil and there is another presence in the house who is tormenting the stepmother as she makes life miserable for the two sisters.

It's a rather creepy movie as you try to figure out what is going on and why.

Worth a viewing.

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

2008-04-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Tony Jaa stars in this action packed movie about a young Thai man who goes to Bangkhok to recover the head of the Buddha from his villages alter.

It's not so much about the story as it is about the fantastic fight scenes Jaa performs.

Jaa is very reminiscent of a young Jackie Chan with all the aerobatics and gymnastic moves as he takes on a wide array of opponents , many who are much larger than the diminutive Jaa.

Definitely worth watch several times as we await Jaa's future film adventures in Thailand and here in America , he's studying English.

Home of the Brave

2008-04-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Star studded cast in this war drama with Samuel L. Jackson, Curtis Jackson(50 Cent), Jessica Biel, Christina Ricci, and more.

This movie was not what I expected as it deals with veterans adjustment in coming home from combat in the Middle East.

Lot's of emotion in this movie as the veterans struggle to regain their former lives.

I have to wonder what they were thinking of casting Jessica Biel as a veteran who lost a hand.

No one wants to see that.

Give this one a pass.

The Brave One

2008-04-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Jodie Foster stars in this girl gone vigilante flick.

Foster plays a radio talk show host who is attacked while walking her dog in Central Park with her future husband.

He is murdered during the attack and she awakes after 3 weeks in a coma to try to piece together her life.

When the police have no luck in finding her attackers she takes things in her own hands.

Lots of feelings with violence thrown into the mix.

Think Death Wish with emotions and you know what you are getting here.

Worth watching.

Memories of Murder

2008-04-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Korean suspense movie about 2 rural cops as they try to stop Korea's first serial killer.

It's more about the cops as they follow leads and work stakeouts rather than focusing on the killer or the murders.

The limitations they worked under with almost no forensic labs, had to send samples to America to compare DNA, make for a tough pursuit.

The biggest problems with this flick is it does lack action and a resolution to the search.

Worth a watch, in the same vein as Zodiac.

Revolver

2008-03-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Saw this movie on Netflix and thought it might be good.

Guy Ritchie directed Snatch and Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels which are two entertaining movies with Jason Statham in the cast.

This one stars Statham as an ex-con gambler...I think?

I'm just not really sure as the plot is a convoluted mess where it turns out, ***SPOILER ALERT***, that Statham is both the good guy and bad guy.

Don't worry, by the time you find out this fact you will have lost all interest in this dud.

No where, is the cool style of Ritchie's earlier films and while Statham has his limitations as an actor I blame his performance on the distracting hairpiece he wears throughout this flick.

Avoid this movie like jury duty.

Bloodrayne 2: Deliverence

2007-10-07T16:07:00.001-07:00

Sequel to possibly one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

No one returns from the original and who could blame them.

In this one Bloodrayne is in the Old West tracking a group of vampires led by BILLY THE KID, I kid you not.

Even with this lame plot I actually think this was better than the original in which the actors seemed like they did not want to be there.

Bot too say that this was in any way a good movie.

Interesting casting for Billy The Kid was Zack Ward who played bully Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story.

Ward played the western legend as a vampire with a Dracula like accent.

Avoid this movie unless you liked the first movie.

The Condemned

2007-10-07T15:56:00.001-07:00

From WWE productions is this movie starring wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

A guys sets up a pay-per-view web cast reality show where 8 condemned killers are sent to an island where a "survivor" type game is played until only one is left alive.

Pretty decent concept for an action movie but the execution is just so poor as the fights are not really that brutal with most ending by the winner of the contest setting off the ankle bracelet containing a bomb of the losers.

The ending is also pretty much predictable.

Worth a viewing to see what could have been.

TMNT

2007-10-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yep, this is computer animated installment of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The turtles need to stop an immortal from building a machine to make himself mortal and fight the rest of his immortal cohorts from stopping their leader from succeeding.

It's not brain surgery, turtles good , bad guys bad.

This is a much better movie than the live action movies with guys in turtle suits.

Worth a viewing but nothing more.

Public Enemy (2002)

2007-10-07T15:43:00.001-07:00

Korean police drama/action movie about a dirty cop under investigation by internal affairs who is tracking a businessman he believes has murdered several people.

The problem with this movie is the lack of extremes in the characters.

The dirty cop really doesn't seem that bad and the businessman doesn't seem too crazy.

There is one scene in which the cop has brought a knife expert in to figure out what type of weapon was used in the slayings that is priceless.

The expert is just a little too enthusiastic about demonstrating the various techniques to use with the different knives.

This film is okay but nothing special.

2007-10-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Nicholas Cage stars in this movie based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick about a man who can see 2 minutes into his own future.

Cage is Las Vegas magician who supplements his income by playing low stakes blackjack at various casinos.

In the biggest leap of faith ever, somehow a government agency figures out Cage has the power to see 2 minutes into the future and want to use his powers to help with terrorist threats.

The only time Cage can see further into the future is he can see farther into the future of his love interest (Jessica Biel).

The seeing into the future thing is neat at first but gets old really quick.

But by far the worst thing about this movie is the ending as it just ends with no conclusion to the story at all.

Oh, before I forget what is up with Cages hairstyle in this movie?

By far the worst hair by a big movie star since Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code.

Pass on this clunker.

Bug

2007-10-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

William Friedkin ( The French Connection, The Exorcist) directed Ashley Judd in this psychological thriller about a lonely women who takes a drifter into her bed and life.

Shortly after they get involved the drifter begins to see small bugs in their room.

Judd's character doesn't see them at first but slowly becomes convinced ass the movie unfolds.

Then the drifter becomes convinced the bugs are coming from him and were implanted by the military before he was discharged.

I like freaky movies and I had a hard time not ejecting this from the DVD player, not because of gore, but because of a general awfulness of the movie.

There are just plot holes that just don't work for me such as how could the woman be convinced she is seeing bugs too

Don't get roped in by the trailer to this movie , you don't need to see this.

Watch The Exorcist or THe French Connection instead.

Spider Baby

2007-10-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is a mid 60's horror flick with Lon Chaney as the caretaker/chauffeur for 3 teens.

Some distant relatives come to take the 3 teens home to live with them.

Unfortunately, the teens turn out to be mentally defective due to inbreeding.

Ok, this movie is kind of like the Addams Family gone wrong.

It's hokey but it definitely shows the direction horror movies would go several years later in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and others in the genre but without the gore.

Not the best movie but worth a viewing to see where horror films were heading.

1408

2007-10-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson star in the movie based on a Steven King short story.

The basic plot is an author of haunted house travel logs goes to stay in a New York hotel room where many deaths have occurred in over the years.

The author( Cusack ) is a complete skeptic who hasn't seen any proof of ghosts in any of his previous assignments.

Unfortunately, this time the room is haunted or just plain evil.

This is a very claustrophobic film as almost everything takes place in the room as it screws with the author's mind.

It's nice to see the steady Cusack in a decent movie that is not a romantic comedy.

Worth a watch and may get better with multiple viewings.

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer

2007-10-07T14:24:00.002-07:00

This one shows the introduction of the Silver Surfer(obviously) as the herald of world eater Galactus.

If you saw the cartoon or read the comic books you know the story and this movie really doesn't go much deeper.

Must say that a couple of things disappointed me in this movie.

How can you not EVER see the main villian(Galactus) in the movie ?

Could the final battle have been more anti-climatic and shorter?

A very poor second effort, my guess if there is a 3rd it will be a direct to video release.

Pass on this stinker.

Wild Hogs

2007-10-07T14:24:00.001-07:00

This is a comedy about 4 middle aged suburban bike riders who want to get out of the ruts their lives have become by riding west to the Pacific ocean.

Starring John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence , and William H. Macy as the 4 friend who head out on the trip.

Got to say my hopes were not very high for this movie and I'd have to say that this film did nothing to dispel my fears.

I have to say that this movie just isn't funny, it's more of a make you smile movie.

The characters are one dimesional and don't really get any depth as the movie goes towards it's predictable finish.

Wild Hogs would probably have made an okay TV movie of the week.

Pass on this one as there is just nothing to see.

Dead Or Alive Final

2007-09-13T14:52:00.001-07:00

The 3rd movie in Miike's Dead Or Alive Trilogy.

Again starring the same Sho Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi as the first 2 movies in the trilogy.

This one takes place in the future in a town where the mayor is drugging the population to keep them under control.

Aikawa plays a replicant who is fighting with the underground to overthrow the mayor and Takeuchi is a cop on the payroll of the Mayor.

Things all lead up to the star fighting it out at the end until a contrived ending ties the trilogy together.

This is by far the weakest of the trilogy and you'll be dissapointed by the way the 3 movies are tied together at the end.

I recommend you pass on this one and enjoy the first 2 movies in the trilogy.

Gozu

2007-09-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Yet another Takashi Miike directed film.

This is about a young Yakuza who is assigned to take his insane boss out to a small town where the Yakuza dispose of their "problems".

When he get's to the town he goes to a pay phone to get directions and when he turns around his boss has disappeared from the backseat.

The rest of the movies is spent with him searching the town to find his boss.

In his search he runs across bizarre characters and situations that leave you wondering whether if he may be dreaming the whole thing up.

There is a very "Twin Peaks" feel to Gozu.

If you liked Twin Peaks you'll probably enjoy Gozu.

Worth a watch.

Fudoh: The New Generation

2007-09-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Another Takashi Miike directed film.

Based upon a Japanese manga (comic).

This one is about a young high schooler who is organizing to take over the Yakuza from his father as vengeance for his father sacrificing his older brother as part of doing business.

This movie has some of the usual Miike staples of perversion and the unusual including a hermaphrodite (including sex scene) and a girl assassin who uses a dart gun stuck in an unusual place to say the least.

Miike's penchant for the bizarre in his films makes for a very David Lynch feel to his movies.

Fudoh isn't the best of Miike's work but this is still worth a viewing.

Ju-Rei : The Uncanny

2007-09-13T14:25:00.001-07:00

Japanese horror movie with a similar feel of The Grudge with a vengeful spirit.

The most interesting thing about this movie is that the story is told backwards from the ending to the beginning.

Unfortunately that is also part of what it leads it to be a disappointing film.

All the scares are up front so as the movie progresses it gets less and less creepy.

The other problem is that there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the spirits attacks.

See Ju-On : The Grudge or the Amercan version The Grudge for a much more entertaining movie.

Pass on this movie.

A Bullet In The Head

2007-09-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

John Woo directed this Hong Kong action pick about 3 friends who go to war torn Viet Nam for 3 different reasons.

One goes to get rich, one goes to avoid prison, one goes to be with his friends.

They become smugglers and become intertwined in the conflict and get sent to a VC prison camp.

They escape but the story doesn't end there as one of the friends is permanently damaged in the escape.

The movie is about friendship and what can end it.

A Bullet In The Head is much more personal movie than many of John Woo's more stylized action classics- The Killer, Hard Boiled , and A Better Tomorrow- which leads to it being a very powerful experience.

Definitely worth a viewing.

The Street Fighter

2007-09-06T17:08:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is the old Sonny Chiba martial arts flick.

Chiba plays a karate fighter for hire who is hired to kill a young heiress by the Yakuza but then turns to the other side to protect her.

He doesn't switch sides because of a sense of right or wrong but because the Yakuza won't pay what he asks and try to kill him because he knows their plans.

The special effects are hokey by today's standards and it's really not a good movie.

But it's good bad so it's fun to watch.

Worth a viewing.

Dead Or Alive 2

2007-09-06T16:54:00.001-07:00

The secound of Takashi Miike's Dead Or Alive Trilogy.

Not really a sequel even though the stars are the same as the first movie.

In this one an assassin is getting ready to pull the trigger on his targets when one of the Yakuza opens fire on his own group.

Turns out the assassin and Yakuza are childhood friends who go on the run together after the assassin collects payment for the job he didn't do.

While I did like this movie it's hard to believe it's directed by the same person.

Where the first movie is loaded with frantic action this is more melancholy and touching as it's more about friendship than the action.

Worth a watch.

Pathfinder

2007-09-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

Based on a graphic novel about a Native American who is fighting to stop an invading Viking force from destroying more villages after they have destroyed his.

As expected there is lots of carnage in this one, just as in 300, but this time there is nothing to back up the violence.

There is no character development or really much story here.

It looked like a movie I would like but I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Pass on this movie.

Bobby Z

2007-09-06T16:33:00.001-07:00

This is a crime/action flick starring Paul Walker and Lawrence Fishburne.

In this one Walker plays a 3 time loser who happens to look like a missing drug dealer.

A cop (Fishburne) gets him sprung to be exchanged for a captured police officer.

There is a double cross at the border and Walker is now in the hands of the drug cartel.

Ok, the fact that no one realizes he's not the real Bobby Z is the biggest plot hole in this story(they don't look that much a like).

Other than that big hole this a relatively amusing movie.

Worth a watch.

The Contract

2007-09-06T16:25:00.001-07:00

This one stars Morgan Freeman and John Cusack in a thriller about a man(Cusack) and his son who are out bonding on a camping trick.

Out hiking they stumble upon a hand-cuffed man(Freeman) and a dead police officer on the edge of a river.

The man, a former cop, decides to teach his son a lesson in right and wrong and is determined to take the man to the authorities.

Turns out Freeman's "friends" want him too and pursue them through the woods.

This could have been decent but wasn't mostly due to the totally miscast Cusack.

Cusack is obviously trying to expand his repertoire beyond romantic comedies but this part just didn't work.

Pass on this one.

Dead Or Alive

2007-08-30T15:19:00.002-07:00

Takashi Miike directed this cops and robbers film.

A straight forward police detective is tracking an aggressively violent criminal though the Japanese underground.

In the hands of any normal director this would be a predictable ride, but with Miike's penchant for the strange this is wild roller coaster ride.

The first 10 minutes are an adrenalin charged frenzy of jump cuts among the various characters and images leading up to the first barrage of violence that it leaves you craving more.

And more is coming all the way to the outrageous ending.

Much like the truly disturbing images in his other movies you'll find that Miike is truly a filmmaker who knows no bounds, whether it's subject matter or style.

As a warning, in Dead Or Alive this is very true as there are some really vile things happening - drug use, bestiality, skat, & other sexual acts are hinted at and shown.

Due to his grueling schedule of making so many movies, 74 and counting, Miike's movies are kind of like songs on an album, some are better than others.

Dead Or Alive is definitely one of his better movies.

Out Of The Past

2007-08-30T15:19:00.001-07:00

Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas star in this 1947 film noir that was remade into Against All Odds.

Mitchum plays a detective hired by a gangster(Douglas) to find his ex-girlfriend who has run off with $40K.

The detective tracks the girl to Mexico where he makes the mistake of falling in love with her.

The gangster shows up, they run and then the twists and turns start.

A noir classic where bad and good people make bad decisions that ultimately seal their fate.

Blades Of Glory

2007-08-30T15:10:00.001-07:00

Will Ferrell ice skating movie.

Ferrell and Jon Heder play rival male figure skaters who are both banned from competition and get back into the game by become pair competitors as a male male pair.

It's as mindless as it sounds.

It's also not very funny.

Ferrell seems to be going through the motions in movie after movie while he's still a hot commodity.

I'm a Will Ferrell fan and I couldn't wait for this to end.

Wait for this one to hit the movie channels.

The Last House On The Left

2007-08-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

Early , really early, 1972 Wes Craven horror movie that somehow I had never seen.

In this one 2 teen girls on there way to a concert try to score some drugs but instead are kidnapped by 4 escaped killers.

They are sexually abused and ultimately murdered.

Somehow the killers end up at one of the girls parents' homes.

The parents figure out that their daughter has been murdered and exact revenge upon the killers.

Ok, let me get this out of the way, DON'T SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

There is good-bad and bad-bad, this is bad-bad.

It feels good to get that out of my system.

I saw an interview with Bob Clark who directed the original Black Christmas in the early 70's where he said that as a new director on a limited budget your choices back then were to make a porn movie or a horror movie.

Well The Last House On The Left had the feeling of a porn movie made in the early 70's - same bad acting, same bad film production, even the same bad music.

I looked on IMDB and lo and behold some of the actors were porn actors too.

A re-make is in the works but has not begun production.

I'd wait for the re-make but with this trash as it's basis it'll probably be bad too.

I admit I'll probably see it though.

NEVER SEE THIS MOVIE if you can help it.

Full Metal Yakuza

2007-08-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Another film from the prolific Takashi Miike.

This one is about a lowly Yakuza who is killed along with his surperior in an assassination only to awaken in a "doctor's" operating room.

Turns out this doctor has been working on a process of re-animating corpses using spare body parts and, yep you guessed it, robotic parts.

Similar concept as RoboCop but this time the man-robot is a criminal out for vengeance for his murder.

While not one of Miike's better films this one has flashes of what I like best of his movies - fast action and unpredictable events.

Worth a watch.

M

2007-08-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

The first "serial Killer" movie directed by Fritz Lang in 1931.

Stars Peter Lorre as a compulsive child murderer.

The Criterion Collection presented this version of the DVD which is a surprisingly well preserved early "talkie".

Interesting movie despite it's age as the police apply pressure to organized crime until they take care of the problem killer.

Much more thought provoking than many movies of it's day.

A classic of foreign cinema.

H

2007-08-22T16:28:00.001-07:00

Korean film about 2 detectives who catch a serial killer who confesses to killing 6 women.

A year later the killings resume.

I had read where this was a gruesome movie but it's not that bloody.

It tries to be like Se7en but it's just not as good because it's very slow paced.

Interesting ending when you figure out what the title "H" represents.

Fast forward to the last 1/3rd of the movie and you'll see all the important things.

You should pass on this one unless except for the ending.

Yakuza Demon

2007-08-21T15:24:00.001-07:00

Another Takashi Miike directed Yakuza movie.

In this one a crime boss is setup and goes to prison and his 2 underlings go on a rampage to find out who set their boss up.

This is a pretty straight forward crime movie with none of the wild stuff you expect from a Miike film.

Even for a fan of Miike this was a dissapointing movie.

Pass on this one.

Harsh Times

2007-08-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

This is a Christian Bale drama witten and directed by the guy who wrote Training Day.

Not the movie I thought it was going to be as it's about a psychotic war veteran who wants to get into law enforcement.

The LAPD won't take him as he filed a psych test.

The Feds will take him but only as a DEA advisor in Columbia.

In the mean time he's drinking, doing drugs, robbing people.....

Really not much of a story here though as it's more about the characters.

Bale gives another strong performance in this gritty drama.

It's only a matter of time before he wins an Oscar.

Worth a view as Bale doesn't disappoint.

Perfect Stranger

2007-08-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Halle Berry stars as and investigative reporter who is trying to find out if a stranger in a chat room may have murdered her friend.

She is aided by her co-worker , the always dependable Giovanni Ribisi.

The stranger turns out to be an advertising bigwig played by Bruce Willis.

This movie is a case of cat and mouse as you think the reporter has found the killer than other clues appear which make it look like she's wrong and vice versa.

Unfortunately this is done in a very dull and slow paced way.

Then at the end there is a nonsensical twist which will just leave you scratching your head.

Sometimes a movie just doesn't work.

Pass on this clunker.

Fracture

2007-08-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Courtroom drama starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling.

A husband(Hopkins) is charged in the attempted murder of his now comatose wife by a young prosecutor(Gosling).

Pretty straightforward stuff as it's a battle of wits between the husband and the prosecutor.

I don't want to give away any of the plot twists as they are the only reason to watch this movie.

Hopkins has been better playing this character type in the past and Gosling's performance is kind of lackluster as the prosecutor.

Some of this is due to the lack of character development in the film.

Wait for this one to show up on tv.

The Lookout

2007-08-15T14:27:00.001-07:00

I've been waiting to see this one after seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick.

In this one Chris(Joseph Gordon-Levitt) plays a former high school athlete who is living with a head injury incurred when he had a car accident.

He struggles to remember things, similar to Memento, but manages to get a job as a janitor at a bank at night.

He is "be-friended" by a group of guys at a bar.

Turns out this group has a plan to use him to rob the bank.

The film starts a little slow as you see what Chris does to deal with his injury but gets going when he realizes he must stand up to the robbers to protect his friends.

An interesting movie that is worth a try.

Vacancy

2007-08-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

A suspense movie about a soon to be divorced couple(Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) who are on their way home from her parents anniversary party.

The wife is asleep as the husband exits the backup freeway to take the backroads so they can get home and get on with their divorce.

Their car breaks down and they are forced to stay in a desolate hunan roach motel.

Humans check in, but they can't check out.

Turns out the hotel is run by 3 guys who kill anyone who stays there to make snuff movies!

Once they figure it out it's a fight to survive.

The early portion where the couple are bickering in the car and the hotel is a little uncomfortable but once the action gets going it's pulse pounding thrill ride.

The biggest complaint I have with the movie is the very short running time of 84 minutes as the action could have been extended a few more scenes.

Directed by Nimrod Antel, got to love the name NIMROD!

Not the greatest film but it was about as good as I expected.

Worth a watch.

The Cincinnati Kid

2007-08-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, this is the old Steve McQueen poker movie.

This is a star studded movie with Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden, Ann-Margaret & others in which a young up and coming poker player(McQueen) takes on the man(Robinson).

The game of choice in this movie is 5 card stud which is not a very popular game today.

But not to give away the ending the chances against the two hands being made heads-up are staggering.

This movie basically does for poker what The Hustler does for pool, only not as well.

Worth a watch if you like Steve McQueen movies or poker, but not quite a classic movie.

The Night Of The Hunter

2007-08-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

Robert Mitchum movie about a preacher who marries ...and murders widows for their money.

The preacher gets imprisoned with a bank robber whose loot was not recovered.

He kills the bank robber and when he gets out he finds his widow and marries her so he can search for the money.

This is an effective thriller due to the menacing performance of Mitchum as he controls the widow and pursues her children after her murder.

The only limitation of this film is the obvious thing that it's shot on a soundstage and not on location.

A great movie worth watching from the past that I'm surprised hasn't been re-made.

Disturbia

2007-08-07T16:11:00.001-07:00

A modern retelling of the Hitchcock classic Rear Window.

A teen under house arrest starts watching the neighborhood through binoculars and gets suspicious of one of them when news stories of an abduction of a young women and the car is similar to what he drives.

It's pretty straightforward and predictable stuff.

The ending is quite intense as the story wraps up to it's inevitable conclusion.

Not a terrible movie but it's no Rear Window.

Worth a watch.

300

2007-08-05T09:14:00.001-07:00

The movie based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller(Sin City) about The Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans stood there ground against the Persian army.

Historical accuracy aside , as this is based on a fictionalized account of the battle, this is a story much akin to the Alamo here in the Unieted States where a small group stood against a large force in an inevitable conclusion.

Even Frank Miller admits he took liberties with the story.

The story is about free men who refuse to surrender.

The movie itself is unique in that it's like film has gone closer to the comic form rather than the other way around as it looks like a comic book while still being live action.

We're not talking Shakespeare here but this weas still an entertaining movie.

Worth a watch and may get better with repeated viewings.

Maniac

2007-08-05T09:12:00.002-07:00

Another movie from the Slasher movie heyday.

This one is still banned in the UK and Germany - probably more for the fact that no one is trying to unban it.

This one follows a serial killer of young women who likes to take scalps which he puts on his collection of mannequins in his home.

The unique thing about this movie is that it's told from the killers point of view.

Not nearly as shocking as when it was released this still has some moments which make you squirm in your seat.

Special effects are once again by Tom Savini.

Worth a viewing just for it's uniqueness.

The Prowler

2007-08-05T09:12:00.001-07:00

This is a slasher movie from the heyday of the slasher films - early 1980's.

The basic plot is a WWII soldier gets a "Dear John" letter and comes home and kills his ex and her new love outside a dance with a pitchfork.

Fast forward 30 years or so to an upcoming dance where old looking teens start getting murdered in very gruesome ways.

Ok, I admit this isn't a great or even good movie but it's worth it for the Tom Savini special effects.

To see the girl in the shower get stabbed by the pitchfork or to see a head getting blown off by a shotgun blast in the pre-CGI days is to see true special effects.

Worth a watch for the effects but not much else

Twilght Samurai

2007-08-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

This is a Japanese movie about a samurai who comes home to take care of his family after the death of his wife near the end of the time of samurai.

The people of his clan do not know he is a samurai and once they find out they hire him to kill another samurai who they fear.

The samurai is reluctant to fight as he has given up the life of a samurai but relents for the good of his family and his honor.

The biggest problem with this movie is the lack of action.

This might have been a better movie if more had happened as the film lags through about 75% of it's length.

Worth a viewing but there are better samurai movies out there to watch.

Hot Fuzz

2007-07-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

From the stars and director of Shaun Of The Dead come their take on the action film.

The plot is pretty simple a great police officer in London is posted out to a small English village because his arrest rate is making the rest of the police department look bad.

His arrest rate is 400% times the average officer.

He's completely bored in the little village until he begins to suspect that there is more to series of accidents than meets the eye.

Pretty standard stuff until you add the comedy that lifted Shaun of the Dead above the standard zombie flick.

Hot Fuzz is just a plain fun movie.

You'll really enjoy this movie.

Slow Burn

2007-07-31T16:44:00.001-07:00

This is a twisting crime drama starring Ray Liotta and LL Cool J.

The basic plot is that a DA is arrested for a shooting in which she claims to have stopped her rapist in the act by shooting him down.

What you really have is a movie about a plot to destroy a project to pave the wave for high rise condos.

The biggest drama in the movie is who is the crime lord pulling the strings?

This concept was done much better in The Usual Suspects.

Unfortunately Slow Burn is very slow paced so by the end you just want it to end.

On a side not, I've always wondered why LL Cool J hasn't made a successful movie, he's likeable in the movies but ultimately his movies just aren't that good.

Wait for this one to show up on cable.

Zodiac

2007-07-26T16:33:00.001-07:00

This is the David Fincher directed movie about the pursuit of the Zodiac Killer in California in the 60's and 70's.

While the real Zodiac Killer was never caught this is an interesting film about how the investigation affected the lives of the police officers and reporters involved in the case.

The case was filled with many twists and turns as suspects popped up and were cleared.

Worth a watch but probably won't have much replay value as it's just not that kind of movie.

Renaissance

2007-07-25T18:02:00.002-07:00

Animated movie about the future where a detective is investigating the disappearance of a researcher at a drug company.

In his investigation he uncovers a conspiracy involving a drug which could possibly offer immortality.

The animation is a stark black and white much like many graphic novels.

Actually this is the part I liked least.

In my opinion this would have made a fine live action movie.

The animation just seemed un-needed.

Worth a watch but it'll leave you wanting more.

The Host

2007-07-25T18:02:00.001-07:00

A Korean horror flick about some sort of mutated amphibian in the Han River.

The mutation is caused by a hospital dumping toxic chemicals down the drain.

So it's a message movie....not.

It's a campy ride as the government claims there is a virus while doing nothing to stop the mutant.

This is going on as a family is fighting the monster trying to save there young daughter from it's clutches.

On a side note this has a fantastic English dub.

I wouldn't say this is a "good" movie but it's an entertaining watch.

This may turn into a cult classic over time.

See it if you can find it.

The Number 23

2007-07-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this Jim Carrey psycholigical thriller about a man who get the book "The Number 23" from his wife on his birthday.

He begins to see similarities between the main character in the book and himself and he begins a descent into madness as he begins to the see the number 23 everywhere in his life.

Then the real fun begins.

This is a decent thriller as the story comes into focus as you get deep into the movie.

I have to say that the film would be much better without Jim Carrey as the star.

Unfortunately ,while Carrey is a fine actor, it's difficult to take him seriously because of his early goofy roles.

This is absolutely worth a watch and may be a movie that improves with repeat viewings.

Premonition (2004)

2007-07-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

This is the Japanese horror movie about a man who keeps finding newspaper articles about accidents involving people he knows that have not occurred yet.

It's start out when a couple and their daughter are one the road and stop at a pay phone and the husband finds an article wedged under the phone.

The article is about a car accident where his daughter is killed.

The husband turns around to see a truck smash into their car killing the daughter.

It goes on from there as he tries to save his loved ones from various accidents.

It's an interesting concept that is much better executed than in the newer version.

While not as creepy as some of the other Japanese horror films this is worth a watch.

The Ring Virus

2007-07-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is the Korean version of The Ring.

You know the story... watch the video and you have seven days before you die.

Of the 3 versions( Japanese, American, & Korean) that I know of this is one I least liked.

Missing are the creepy elements and atmospheric music of the other versions.

This is more of a straight forward movie about a reporter who views the tape.

An strange DVD version fact is that the primary language on the DVD is dubbed Chinese even though the movie is Korean so to see it as it was made you have to switch to audio 2 for the Korean track.

While it's interesting to see another take on the topic this should be viewed only in that context.

Perfect Creature

2007-07-18T15:50:00.001-07:00

This is a sci-fi/horror movie in a world where vampires and humans co-exist.

One vampire goes off the reservation and starts spreading the infection of vampirism.

Another tries to stop him.

The main problem with this film is that it's dull.

Vampires should be exciting not part of a religious order helping humans.

Pass on this slow moving work.

Premonition(2007)

2007-07-18T15:49:00.000-07:00

A Japanese "horror" movie that has been re-tooled into a Sandra Bullock vehicle about a woman who can see the future where her husband has died in a car crash.

It's an interesting concept but it falls flat in the execution where she jumps to and fro between the days leading up to and following the accident.

The non-linear storytelling makes the movie difficult to follow.

Pass on this one.

The Hills Have Eyes 2

2007-07-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

Those pesky mutants are back!

This time it's a National Guard is on a training mission in the hills when they come under attack from the mutants.

That's the whole plot...not that I expected one!

It's bloody, of course it's unrated.

If you liked the first movie you'll like this one.

Worth a watch if you like horror movies even though you know what you're getting with this movie.

Live Feed

2007-07-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while a movie grabs your attention just because of the cover of the DVD.

In this one a hooded man in an apron is on the cover.

The basic plot is that 5 friends are on vacation somewhere in the Far East.

They get into a scuffle with some Yakuza at a strip club and they get out unscathed.

Then the friends go into what they believe is an porn theater as a goof but it turns out that what is going on up on the big screen is actually happening in the "private" screening rooms.

...and things deteriorate from there when it turns out the theater is run by same Yakuza they had run into before.

This is a plot that could have worked in the hands of someone like Hostel director Eli Roth but this is not the case.

A gore fest with lots of gushing blood (not realistic) and really bad acting.

The bad thing is that Live Feed is not truly bad enough to become a cult favorite.

Not worth the time to watch unless you can't find anything else to watch.

Masters Of Horror: Imprint

2007-07-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

While technically not a movie since it is part of the Masters of Horror series from Showtime , it's a one horror movie.

The concept of the series is that Showtime got famous horror movie directors to make short films for the cable network.

This one is from Takashi Miike of Audition fame who is actually as he points out in the interview is not strictly a horror director.

The basic plot is an American is searching for a Japanese prostitute who he wants to bring to America and marry.

In his search he ends up at an island where he heard she was in a brothel, but she is gone when he get's there.

He meets a prostitute who tells him of his betrothed fate and he doesn't believe her and wants the truth.

She retells the story 3 times with the tale becoming more and more terrible until he gets to the truth...I think.

This movie is not for the faint of heart as there are scenes of brutal torture, abortions , rape, incest....the usual Miike fare.

That's why this was banned from Showtime after one showing and wasn't seen until it's release on DVD.

If you can stomach the violence this is a decent flick which I would have like to have seen lengthened to a full length movie even though the ending may leave you scratching your head.

Definitely worth a watch as Miike probably won't work in the English language much in the future and there is nothing like his work here in the U.S

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

2007-07-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

This is a classic movie from 1932 starring Paul Muni (Scarface).

It's the story of a WWI war veteran(Muni) who'd down on his luck when a fellow patron of a vagrant hotel tells him he knows where he can get a free hamburger.

The guy he's with pulls a gun in the diner and makes him empty the register at gunpoint.

Of course the police show up and arrest him for the crime and he is sentenced to 10 years on the chain gang.

He escapes and turns his life around and becomes a successful business man until he is found out.

It's a movie along the same path as The Grapes of Wrath in that it tries to have a social conscience about the deplorable conditions in the chain gang and the plight of the veterans.

A classic film from the early days of movies.

A must see.

Ju-On 2

2007-07-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

The sequel to the Japanese horror movie Ju-On: The Grudge.

This one follows a pregnant women and a young actresses involvement with the cursed house.

Not as good as the first movie but most sequels aren't as good as the original since the newness has worn off.

Still a creepy ride with a very effective ending.

Worth a viewing.

Deadly Outlaw : Rekka

2007-07-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Another Takaski Miike film.

A Yakuza's father/boss is slain and he takes revenge but he's setup and now both rival gangs are after him.

This is a much more straight forward action movie with little bits of comedy thrown in, missing are the the bizarre sexual overtones of some of Miike's other films.

Also has a fantastic soundtrack from and early 70's band I'd never heard of before : Flower Travelin' Band.

This is worth a watch and won't make you feel dirty for watching it.

Ju-On : The Grudge

2007-07-01T11:57:00.002-07:00

The original Japanese movie that's spawned 2 U.S. Movies.

This is actually the 3rd of 4 movies in the Japanese series ( the first 2 are not on DVD yet) but actually covers the storylines of both U.S. movies.

Take out the American girls and you'll have Ju-On.

Must say that this a very effective movie in it's own right as it's very creepy as the story unfolds.

I think it's on equal footing with the Americanized versions.

Worth a watch.

Visitor Q

2007-07-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

Takashi Miike's (Audiition , Ichi The Killer)take on reality shows is bizarre to say the least.

The whole movie surrounds the happenings of a weird family - A father who can't perform sexually, a mother who likes to be abused, a son who is bullied, a daughter who is an outsider, & a complete stranger who is stirring them all together.

Lots of nudity and perverse acts here - lactating, necrophilia, scat, among other things.

Even with the genitals blurred out there is no way this would have been released to theaters in the U.S.

The closest film I can compare this to is David Cronenberg's Crash (not the Academy Award Winner) for strangeness.

While this is definitely not a movie for everyone, not even sure if this was a movie for me, I just couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

Watch it if you dare but be prepared to be shocked.

Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

2007-07-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

A documentary film crew is following around a "wannabe" serial killer as he shows his ideas and plans for his killing spree.

Unique idea for a horror movie, albeit stupid.

I was watching this thinking why would the film crew follow this guy around knowing he'd commit a crime instead of reporting him.

Then I remembered this was make believe...doh!

Then I was thinking if he's a serial killer why wouldn't he just kill the film crew instead of making all these plans.

Then I realized this was pretty much one of the worst movies I've seen in quite a while and just hated it for what it was.

Bad plot, bad acting, bad lighting, bad cinematography, bad music, need I go on.

Avoid this one even if you see if for free on cable.

Blake Snake Moan

2007-07-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

An aging bluesman finds a scantily clad young nymphomaniac laying passed out at the end of his driveway.

That was enough to get me to watch it.

The story doesn't go in a conventional fashion as the nymphomaniac wakes up on the bluesman coach with a large chain wrapped around her midsection.

And it's not what you think.

It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci in a decent movie even though it's more of a character study than I expected.

The big surprise is the sexiness of Ricci, she's usually odd looking but in this you'll wonder where she was hiding herself.

Worth a watch.

Shooter

2007-06-27T16:09:00.001-07:00

Latest Mark Wahlberg movie hit video this week.

This was is about a retired sniper( Wahlberg ) who's coaxed out of retirement to aid in the tracking down of another sniper.

Turns out it's setup to pin the assassination of an African leader on him.

Pretty straight forward conspiracy action picture.

A pretty decent action picture but nothing special.

The weakest point is Wahlberg himself as he seems to be heading towards B-Movie, direct to video land with Snipes, Van Damme, & Segal.

He may need to pick better roles, even in The Departed he seemed to be out of his league.

Worth a watch but don't expect Bourne type action.

Dead Silence

2007-06-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

The new horror movie from the writer and director of Saw.

This one is a ghost story about a ventriloquist who dies and is buried with all of her dolls.

The story goes that if you see the ghost of MAry Shaw don't scream or she'll steal your voice forever.

It's very reminiscent of older horror movies that it's light on the gore and more into the overall sense of dread.

I'd heard bad things about this movie but I think people just set the bar too high since these were the creators of Saw.

I mean look at some of the big horror directors and you'll see an uneven track record for every Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream for director Wes Craven there's a Shocker and Vampire In Brooklyn to bring him back down to Earth.

If this was before Saw it would have been more popular.

Worth a watch but don't expect Saw even though there is a twist at the end.

Scarface (1932)

2007-06-26T17:11:00.002-07:00

The original Scarface from 1932 is the story of Tony Carmonte's rise to power in the Chicago mob during the time of prohibition.

Based on the life of Al Capone.

I like this version as well as the Al Pacino reworking.

I'd put this on par with Public Enemy and Little Caesar as the best of the early gangster flicks.

A classic movie.

Rasen

2007-06-26T17:11:00.001-07:00

Rasen is the first sequel to the Japanese horror movie Ringu.

The Japanese public didn't embrace it and Ringu 2 was made.

Rasen takes the Ring mythology into a different direction as Sadaku tries to be reborn into the world through DNA.

It's a much more challenging movie to watch as opposed to the straight ahead story of Ringu and Ringu 2.

Also missing from Rasen is the creepiness.

Worth a watch to see a different direction in the storyline but the straight forward storyline is more compelling horror wise.

Phone

2007-06-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is a Korean horror/suspense movie about a reporter who uncovers a scandal about men have sex with underage girls .

She then begins receiving harrassing phone calls on her cell phone from one of the men.

She gets a new cell with a new number and moves into a house a friend is renovating to hide out but the phone calls begin again but they are much more menacing.

The reporter does some research and finds out that both of the previous people who had this number died under strange circumstances.

This movie is stolen by the little girl who answers the cell phone by accident, she looks just plain menacing for a 5 year old.

Worth a watch if you liked Ringu or Ju-on

Ringu 0

2007-06-20T16:27:00.001-07:00

This is the 3rd in the Japanese Ringu series.

This one is actually a prequel to the first showing what happened up to the point where Sadako is thrown into the well.

You get to see here as a young actress who begins to have visions which affect those around her.

This installment is a little tough to get into at the beginning since you are used to the suspense of the first two movies, but it's worth a look as the story comes to it's inevitable conclusion and gives the foundation for the earlier movies.

The Abandoned

2007-06-19T17:08:00.001-07:00

The last of the After Dark Horror Fest movies comes to dvd.

This one is a ghost story that takes place in a Russian farmhouse that an American woman inherits.

Turns out the ghosts of her past want her to join them in the afterlife.

This is quite creepy reminiscent of the Asian ghost stories.

By far the best of the After Dark festival movies and worth a watch.

Reno 911!: Miami

2007-06-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

Based on the Comedy Central spoof on Cops TV show.

The squad gets an invite to a police convention in Miami.

All the other cops in Miami are in the convention center when a poison is released inside.

The Reno cops protect the ENTIRE city of Miami.

I admit that I just don't think the TV show is funny at all so no surprise that I hated this movie.

If you like the show you may like this otherwise don't bother.

Shutter

2007-06-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Thailand gets in on the creepy ghost story movies with this tale of a young photographer and his girlfriend who hit a girl with their car on the way home.

They drive away and are now haunted by the ghost of the girl.

At first she just appears in the photographers pictures but then their friends start to die.

This is a very creepy flick that is slated for an American re-make to be released in 2008.

If you liked The Grudge and The Ring you'll like this too.

Ringu 2

2007-06-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is the sequel to the Japanese Horror flick, Ringu.

In this one the reporter and her son have gone into hiding after she notices her son beginning to demonstrate the powers of the evil girl in the well.

Her ex's(he bought the farm in the first one) girlfriend is trying to find out what happened to him and finds them.

The rest of the film is the girlfriend trying to save the boy from the evil.

I actually like this better than the first film and it's much better than the American sequel , The Ring 2.

Worth a rental if you like the concept of Ringu or The Ring.

Ichi - 1

2007-06-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

This is a prequel to Ichi The Killer.

This is a story of Ichi in high school being bullied until he goes over the edge.

While this is a much simpler view of Ichi's world as opposed to the more manic world in Ichi The Killer it somehow is still an effective movie.

It does take a little while for the action surround Ichi to get going but it's worth the wait.

Once again pain ,sex , and violence somehow become intertwined in Ichi's world.

I hope there's a prequel to this prequel because Ichi was pretty messed up before the bullying pushed him over the edge.

Ichi - 1 is worth seeing if you enjoyed Ichi The Killer and want more back story on Ichi.

Primeval

2007-06-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing a preview for this before it was released in the theaters and it looked like a movie about a serial killer called Gustave.

Well it turns out that Gustave is a 25 ft crocodile in a war torn South African country's river.

A reporter and his camera man are sent to cover the attempted capture of the croc.

How could anyone see this possibly going wrong?

This could have been a decent flick but it's just missing any sort of drama.

Even with the man-eater and even the sub-plot of a warlord terrorizing the locals it just doesn't draw you in.

Wait until it's on a movie channel to see this one.

Breach

2007-06-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Based on a true story about a FBI Agent turned traitor, this is the story of the young FBI Agent who assigned to go undercover as his assistant to get the evidence to bring him in.

The preview made it out to be some sort of action movie and that couldn't be further from the truth.

This is a movie along the lines of The Good Shepperd.

It's worth a watch with a decent cast but it's a very methodically paced movie.

Ghost Rider

2007-06-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Based on a second tier Marvel Comics character along the lines of Blade.

Ghost Rider was actually a favorite of mine growing up so I was hoping for the best.

The basic story is about Johnny Blaze who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for curing his fathers cancer.

Of course the devil screws him over and makes his father die doing a motorcycle stunt the day after finding out he no longer has cancer.

Another part of the deal is he can't die, because after he dies the devil owns his soul but brings him back to life and at night he becomes the Ghost Rider harvesting souls of the wicked for hell.

I know it sounds lame, but it works as a comic.

Unfortunately, it doesn't as a movie - at least in this case.

Even with the added story of the devil using Ghost Rider to try to stop his son from taking over hell it's just not a dark enough movie.

I can't believe how disappointing this movie was considering I usually like Nicholas Cage movies.

I also have to complain about the CGI effects too.

The effects just looked cheap and was it my imagination that Cage's body was enhanced when he was looking into the mirror?

With a better script and production values maybe this could have been decent.

Save your money and watch it when it hits cable.

Se7en

2007-06-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

The Brad Pitt & Morgan Freeman suspense thriller about a serial killer preaching The 7 Deadly Sins through a series of grisly murders.

Se7en has a certain brooding darkness that comes thru in each of the murder scenes and the performances.

I think this is one of Morgan Freeman's stronger performances as a detective with one week left on the job who has given over to the hopelessness of the work.

Offsetting Freeman's hopelessness is Pitt's eagerness to succeed as a young hot-headed replacement for Freeman.

This is one of my favorite movies as it draws to it's inevitable conclusion as Pitt screams "What's in the BOX?!?!"

This is definitely a keeper.

Ichi The Killer

2007-06-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

A new 2 disc version of the Japanese mobster manga movie hit the shelves 2 weeks ago.

This set comes in a "blood pack" which is cool and bad at the same time.

It's cool because it's a "blood pack".

It's bad because it's damn near impossible to get the DVD's out of the pack.

The movie itself is unique.

Based on the Japanese manga it's the story of a sadistic mobster who's looking for his missing boss, not because of the 30 Million Yen he disappeared with but for the beatings he would give him.

The sadist then turns his search towards finding Ichi who is killing mobsters after being brainwashed by a former cop.

The movie is ultra-violent as it is a live-action comic come to life.

It's not for the faint of heart as there are scenes of torture, rape, self-mutilation , among other things.

Directed by Takashi Miike who directed Audition the same year as this.

Miike is a prolific director making as many as 5 or 6 movies a year who has no bounds on the subject matter he'll depict.

Ichi the Killer goes where few movies have gone before.

I highly recommend seeing this just to see how much further movies can go compared to the standard Hollywood fare.

Ringu

2007-06-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

Original Japanese horror flick that was re-made into the popular American movie , The Ring.

If you've seen The Ring you know the basic plot, you see a video tape and then you receive a phone call that you have a week to live.

This is the first Japanese horror movie that I've seen that is inferior to the American Re-make.

Still a very original concept but the plot has holes in it which are not there in the re-make.

Worth seeing but you'll be left wanting more.

Norbit

2007-06-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

The latest Eddie Murphy multiple role comedy flick.

This one is about a orphaned mousy guy , Norbit, who marries a horrible evil women with an equally horrible family.

Norbit's childhood sweetheart comes to town tp tale pver the orphanage where they met.

His wife's family want to take over the orphanage and turn it into a strip club.

Norbit comes to the rescue.

I admit I went into this movie wanting to hate it, but somehow this movie won me over.

The fat jokes about Norbit's wife are mean spirited but you just don't feel bad because she is just so evil they are funny.

I'm sorry to say that this is Eddie Murphy's best comedy in years and it's worth a rental.

Lady Vengeance

2007-06-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

The 3rd film in Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Trilogy.

This one is about a woman who is wrongfully imprisoned for the kidnapping and death of a little boy.

When she gets out of prison she sets out to find the true killer and get vengeance for him ruining her life.

Lady Vengeance has a different feel than the first two movies in the trilogy, almost comedic in tone at times.

Because of this light heartedness I feel this is the weakest of the 3 movies as it has a sort of happy ending.

Worth watching but not up to Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy.

Oldboy

2007-06-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

The second movie in Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Trilogy.

The basic plot is a drunk man vanishes on his daughters birthday.

15 years later he is released after being held captive.

He is then given a cellphone and told he has 5 days to find who had him held and why.

I have to say that this is probably one of the most original concepts in recent movie history, along with Hostel and Saw in the U.S.

There are many twists ( and they are twisted ) and turns that I just didn't see coming that it's a very enjoyable , thought provoking film which I think everyone should see.

Internet rumors of an American re-make starring anyone from Nicholas Cage to Thomas Jane are probably unfounded as the subject matter involved on top of the violence would probably be difficult to get through American censors.

I know I'm being vague on the details because I don't want to spoil the ride with Oldboy.

This movie is probably going to take a place in my Top 20 movies whenever I get around to compiling that list.

Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance

2007-05-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

The first film in the Vengeance Trilogy by director Chan-wook Park.

The plot is a little deep.

A deaf mute is devoted to his sister who is going to die if she doesn't get a kidney transplant soon but he is not a compatible donor so he sells his kidney plus cash to an organ broker in exchange for one for his sister,,, but he gets swindled.

Then his sister's doctor has good news that a kidney has become available and the cost is exactly the amount he was swindled so they and his radical girlfriend decide to kidnap his former bosses daughter to get the money for the operation.

Things go horribly wrong ... imagine that!

Now the father is out for revenge on the kidnappers, the mute is out for vengeance against the organ brokers.

Vengeance for everyone!

Even though this is in Korean the dialog is easy to follow as there isn't a whole lot of talking with one of the main character being mute and all.

This movie is not going to be for everyone as there are some disturbing images and concepts here but this is a good thought provoking film.

Hannibal Rising

2007-05-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

The prequel to the Hannibal Lecter saga.

You learn how and why he became the monster of Silence of the Lambs and the 2 sequels.

Set in Europe at the end of WWII you get to see where Hannibal came from and his first killings.

The hardest part to get used to is that Anthony Hopkins is not Lecter, of course it would be real movie magic to make him 50 years younger to play the part, but as the movie goes on you begin to believe the new guy is Lecter.

I expect at least one more sequel which would pick up from where this left off to where he is originally captured in flashbacks in Red Dragon and the earlier Manhunter .

Is it as good as the other 3 movies?

No, but it's still a good ride as you wonder if there's a point where he could turn away from the dark side.

Jaws

2007-05-28T10:18:00.002-07:00

It's Memorial Day so I figured it was time to re-watch the mother of the Summer Blockbuster movie.

Even after more than 30 years sinces it's release the movie still holds up.

I think the reason it holds up is that it's really more of a character driven movie that isn't driven by the now outdated special effects.

My favorite scenes don't even really involve the shark.

I love the scene on the boat when they're telling their shark stories and Quint tells the story of the USS Indianapolis.

The casting was perfect will Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and the underrated Roy Scheider.

Whatever happened to Roy Scheider?

After a string of stong performance in 70's movies such as Klute, The French Connection, The Seven-Ups, The Marathon Man, Jaws, All That Jazz , and Blue Thunder he seems to be relagated to playing generals and presidents in a string of B-movies.

Definitely a classic movie ... time for a re-make?

The Hamiltons

2007-05-28T10:18:00.001-07:00

Another of the After Dark Horror Fest collection.

This one is about a group of siblings, The Hamiltons, who are being raised by the eldest son after the parents have died.

The Hamiltons move into a house in a new town and you can kind of tell they just aren't right.

Most of the movie you think they're like the family in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series until the end when it turns out they're something more.

It's an interesting twist on an old concept.

Worth a rental if you like twisted movies.

Penny Dreadful

2007-05-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Another of the After Dark Horror Fest flicks.

This one is about a young women who was traumatized as a little girl when her mother died in a auto accident.

She has motorphobia which is the fear of cars which her therapist is trying to help her with by taking a long drive with her.

Unfortunately her therapist hits a pedestrian and offers them a ride.

The pedestrian turns out to be an escaped mental patient...well you can guess where it goes from there.

This is worth a watch mainly for the claustrophobic atmosphere of being trapped in a car with a psychopath trying to get to you.

This also leads to the somewhat predictable action as there are just so many things that can happen trapped in a car.

Worth a viewing but limited in scope due to the plot constraints(location).

Dark Corners

2007-05-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

This movie is a strange one in that it just makes you wonder what is real and what is the dream.

The basic plot is about a young woman suffering from nightmares due to stress from tring to have a baby with here husband goes to a hypnotherapist who gets rid of her nightmares.

Unfortunately the drug therapy she's on to help conception brings back the nightmares.

These nightmares and waking life are both haunted by some sort of serial killer.

It's something like a David Lynch movie.

Just too complicated to be enjoyable viewing.

Avoid this one.

The Breed

2007-05-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

I don't remember this one hitting the theaters.

It's about a group of friends that fly's to their uncle's cabin on a deserted island that's inhabited by dogs that have been genetically engineered to hunt and kill.

Sounds pretty lame but it actually wasn't too bad.

You get a real sense of isolation as they try to outsmart the dogs to get off the island.

It's worth a look if your video store is out of the big release you went to rent.

The Good German

2007-05-22T17:44:00.001-07:00

Film Noir style movie starring George Clooney about a murder in post WWII occupied Berlin.

Tobey McGuire(Spiderman) gets to play a more adult role as Clooney's driver.

Decent flick against the backdrop of Nazi Hunting and Atomic Bomb scientists but it's a little too straightforward of a plot.

Wish there were a few more twists and turns along the way.

It's worth a rental but it'll leave you wanting more.

Fulltime Killer

2007-05-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is a Hong Kong action picture about 2 contract killers who become rivals when the #2 guy wants to be the #1 guy.

Kind of a similar idea as the Stallone/Banderas movie Assasins.

I guess the idea stealing goes both ways when it comes to movies.

It's starring Andy Lau(Infernal Affairs) as Tok, who wants to the #1 killer.

The action is kind of wild here.

An example, at one point Tok attacks a mob boss and his goons on a city street wearing a Bill Clinton mask.

It all leads to a final shootout where O(#1 killer) and Tok have a firefight in a fireworks warehouse.

A fun ride that I'm surprised hasn't been remade in the US yet.

Apocalypto

2007-05-22T14:05:00.001-07:00

Gotta say that I didn't have my hopes up when I rented this but I was pleasantly surprised.

The basic plot is that it's about a Mayan tribe which gets attacked by a warring tribe and the captures are taken for sacrifice or slavery.

But at it's core it's the story of one man and his struggle to escape and rescue his pregnant wife and child from where he was able to hide them.

Lots of action and gore.

You'll believe that a warrior get bitten in the face by a panther!

You'll hardly notice the subtitles( it's in Mayan) as the dialog is not what drives the story forward.

Not sure if this is one to add to the library though, as it may not have much multiple viewing appeal, but is defintely worth seeing once.