Commentary by EMH (Movie Reviews + by ERIC MICHAEL HALDERMAN)

DVD Review "THE HOST" Score B+ 86%

2011-08-25T02:19:00.002-07:00

Korean horror creature film. A great addition to the giant monster genre. Crazy action, great scenes of monster rampage. The Korean cast turn in great performances. The CGI work is mostly seemless and doesn't pull you out of the story too much. A giant Tadpole genetic monster rises from a local lake, and a noodle stand clerk and his daughter, are hunted down by it, she is swallowed up, but not dead. The clerk and his family of misfit help, must find the monster and get his daughter back. Great little hidden gem of a monster flick. Modern uptake on the old Godzilla, Giant "something" genre. Check this one out if you are a fan of this stuff.

DVD Review "POSTAL" Score D+ 68%

2011-08-25T02:19:00.001-07:00

Odd Indy movie based off the video game of the same name. This schlock begins and ends nowhere and is mostly filled with bad acting, poor writing, mindless violence, horrible dialogue and a forgettable plot device. Pissed of nobody, goes on a killing spree, in this supposedly comedic adaptation of the game. Skip it.

DVD Review "THE GOOD THE BAD THE WEIRD " Score B 85%

2011-08-25T02:18:00.002-07:00

Loved it!.. This turns out to be a Great asian mash up of American westerns. Three distinct “Asian” cowboys collide in this send up of The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Comedic but with plenty of great action. The three leads, a bandit, a bounty hunter and a train robber colllide and eventually are in search of a treasure. Some great action and shoot out scenes along with a touch of humor make this a fun ride. In the end they all come to a 'Mexican standoff' ...a finish to be seen. Liked this one, its a good subtitled action film.

DVD Review "ZACK GALFINACKIS STAND UP" Score C 75%

2011-08-25T02:18:00.001-07:00

Good in parts, weird in others. Best part was his interview as his "brother". It comes across slightly as a comic ready to implode. Not sure if the drunkness is an act or real. Lots of obscure comedy that doesn’t really work, but he’s pushing the envelope into Andy Kaufmann and Chris Farley realms. Not a lot of laugh out loud stuff, but if you like Zach give it a go.

DVD Review "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" Score C- 71%

2011-08-25T02:17:00.002-07:00

Don't see the hype. This super low budget film (made for a supposed 11k over a few weekends) didn’t live up to the hype so poured on it up to its introduction and after its wide release. Its an innovative film in that its almost all POV with a few actors done on the cheap with one location and it got snapped up a festival and made tons of money, and produced sequels and rip offs galore. However its just not a great film. Limited scares mostly unseen ones. Basically its a new incarnation of the Blair Witch Project. It is OK if you like these type of ghost horror films, but don’t expect too much, or much at all.

DVD Review "PLANET 51" Score C+79%

2011-08-25T02:17:00.001-07:00

Animated average-ness, this second rate Pixar type wanna be movie never really takes off. The animation is generic and the story is relatively low key. Spaceman lands on alien planet, planet is like old 1950's America, young teen alien helps spaceman get back to his ship as the town attempts hunt down and kill the evil spaceman menace. Young teen succeeds, gets the girl and spaceman goes home. The end

DVD Review "THAW" Score C 75%

2011-08-25T02:16:00.000-07:00

Val Kilmer stars in this rip off of the Thing. As a paleontologist Kilmer goes off to Station to explore an artic site with his small team. His defiant daughter was told to stay away but shows up anyway with their helicopter flying friend. At the site the team digs up a specimen that turns out to be an alive parasite in a Mammoth carcass, which is brought to the station. The team is infected, They one by one die, consumed by the multi-breeding parasite organism. It infects them all with bugs, that grow inside the victim. Eventually bursting forth and consuming. Some decent CGI but nothing spectacular. Acting is sub par, and its definitely nothing new in the script territory. OK for a shallow romp into sci-fi, repeat storylines.

DVD Review "BITCH SLAP" Score D- 60%

2011-05-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

This monstrosity of a movie was simply made for the straight to DVD market. Its explotative with hot chicks in skimpy outfits wielding big guns, big boobs, and little acting experience. The fights are mediocre at best as it appears the women had no real training and the stunts were concieved on set. " OK you swing here and she kicks you in the stomach, then you bend over like this and she will roll/flip you into the dirt. " Then there is the gratitous sex between women, thrown in. Then there is the odd villian characters mashed in there as well. In the end lots of shit is blown up. A cheap movie made with a limited set and a limited cast. Hokey action with colorful costuming and bad acting all around. I don't even remember the plot, but I think they were all digging for some item in the desert but all double crossing each other too. Odd campy film making.

DVD Review "IP MAN" Score B+ 88%

2011-05-29T15:56:00.002-07:00

A new iteration into the modern kung fu movie. Donnie Yen plays Ip Man (Bruce Lee's wing chun teacher) here is a teacher in China and is the best Kung Fu expert around. The Japanese are trying to take over. Ip must not fight....Until he has no choice. Lots of great action fights in this one, Yen is a great martial artist and pulls off every scene effortlessly, So I Really enjoyed it, well shot, well acted, great story. Solid writing and direction lands this one in the top kung fu films of the last 20 years in my opinion. In the end Ip defends his honor and fights to the death.

DVD Review "SPLICE" Score C- 73%

2011-05-29T15:56:00.001-07:00

This psuedo horror thriller film starts off decently enough. A couple splices DNA of various animals together with human DNA and creates a secret experimental creation that they hide from their investors. They care for the thing and if becomes their child of sorts. Eventually they lose funding and the lab is to be shut down so they take their newly adopted thing baby creature that they have formed a weird bond with to their old barn. Then it gets really freaky SPOILER ALERT sexually freaky where the guy has sex with the thing. The woman walks in on them. The thing turns from a female half creature to a male one and flies away then attacks them. Overall the movie ends with a dud.

DVD Review "COP OUT" Score B- 80%

2011-05-29T15:55:00.002-07:00

This forgettable buddy cop movie had problems in the making (appearently dir. Kevin Smith and star Bruce Willis butted heads throughout the making and marketing of this film). Tracy Morgan to me was never really that funny on SNL, then he had the brilliant Tina Fey cast him in 30 Rock as basically a trumped up version of himself and he became perfectly funny, in this he is not any different. He plays himself no matter what the role is. Bruce Willis seems to tolerate him in this as his buddy cop. Neither comes across as a cop in this one and Tracy looks odd holding a gun and badge at all. With all that aside, this isn't a horrible creation its just average, reaching for that funny buddy action movie vibe. Never making it to "48 hours" or "Rush Hour" type of bonds.

DVD Review "GREENZONE" Score B- 82%

2011-05-29T15:55:00.001-07:00

As far as war movies go and the Iraq situation we find ourselves in this one is a decent movie. Although arguements on the validity of any of the actual events of the movie are contested by those on both sides of the debate of the war, it is entertaining. It is a hard reach to believe that one soldier would completely disreguard the chain of command and go over the heads of all of his superiors, we have to remind ourselves that we are watching a movie. There are some great action scenes and its all the psuedo-documentary feel to the film making. Damon does a decent believeable job as the lead in this one. And Greengrass direction is great as it is in almost everything he creates as a filmmaker. I liked it, not great but not bad at all.

DVD Review "I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER" Score C- 70%

2011-05-29T15:54:00.004-07:00

A lame movie that is a lame attempt to make some kind of teen angst, get the girl, high school movie. On most fronts it fails. Its a rip off of almost every teen movie made up to this point. There are moments that were clearly written to get a laugh that fall like a lead weight to the floor. Crossing "Sixteen Candles" "Weird Science" "all of the "American Pie' Movies into a basterdized version of a teen comedy. Skip it.

DVD Review "SUSPECT ZERO" Score B 85%

2011-05-29T15:54:00.003-07:00

This one is an edgy dark thriller that is well written, well cast and well directed. It does delve into the realms of supernatural or ESP but it does make it suspenseful. Ben Kingsley is particularly stunning, but he is in the least of his roles, I have never seen him act poorly, even when he was in a bad movie. Here he dives right in deeply to this character, he finds a way to fully immerse himself in his characterizations. Hunting the seriel killer down to find Suspect Zero is the thrust of this movie. If you like crime drama thrillers and thinking person movies this one will fit the bill for you.

DVD Review "NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (Remake)" Score C- 70%

2011-05-29T15:54:00.001-07:00

This rather laughable remake of what was the beginning of a horror series is not worth the stock it was filmed on. Trying to remake a movie that was already good for the purposes of rebooting a series with nothing but intentions of trying to cash in on today's youth is not a good idea. I don't understand the business decisions some hollywood companies make these days. Rather than seek out new talent with new ideas (for horror movies) they rehash ideas from 20 years ago. The re-casting of Freddy was not needed, Robert Englund would have done a much better job than Jackie Earl Haley (who is a good actor but here fails). The Voice was comical, the filming and storyline rehashed was just boring for the most part. Where during its time, the original was frightening, this one falls short of any real scares or uneasiness. Skip this one and go rent the original.

DVD Review "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE" Score C+ 78%

2011-05-29T15:53:00.002-07:00

Why this was remade (for a third or forth time now) so soon goes to show how hollywood has run out of the guts to produce anything orginal. This one goes a bit darker. Recast Tom Jane with a new guy. The whole thing doesn't really lean toward comic movies as it does toward blatent shoot em ups. Lots of bullets fly in this one, lots of henchmen killed. Not much else here. So don't look for much beyond shooting. Overall this is a forgettable remake of a property that should be left alone for a while.

DVD Review "THE BLIND SIDE" Score B+ 88%

2011-05-29T15:53:00.001-07:00

Sandra Bullock turns in the best performance of her career in this BIO pick of an affluent white family who adopts a huge black teenager at their children's school, who in turn becomes a fabulous football player that is caught up in college drafts. He famously "protects the family". This endearing real life story is well shot, well cast and well acted. Bullock earns her awards for this piece of work. Its a touching story even though its akin to a lengthened after school special topic of a film. I enjoyed it and there are some great acting moments to be found throughout.

DVD Review "HARRY BROWN" Score B+ 86%

2011-05-29T15:52:00.002-07:00

Master actor Michael Caine brilliantly holds the screen in the center of this independent film. Remenicient of Death Wish, lead character Brown, a rather frail ex military man, goes on a maddening revenge of the local trash, gang, who killed his best friend and chess mate. Subtle and solid acting takes place between the action scenes of an older man who you find yourself routing for. No Spoilers on the ending here. This is a quality little film that is worth the viewing. Liked it a lot.

MOVIE Review "RED" Score B+ 87%

2011-05-29T15:52:00.001-07:00

This action movie satire, has Bruce Willis as a dangerous ex CIA agent along with Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. Now WIllis seems like the youngest and still active one where the others really come across as Retirees. Its a great fun film with a full let go of reality. Fans of Willis, of action movies and buddy type action/comedies will get a kick out of this one. Willis still comes across as a viable action hero. Malkovich is delightful as usual as a quirky crazy dangerous character. The other fit well into the plot and this one is worth a view. Popcorn action is the best way to describe it. Check it out.

DVD Review "ST JOHN OF LAS VEGAS" Score C+ 76%

2011-05-29T15:51:00.002-07:00

What starts out as an interesting independent movie fades and by the end we are left with an unsatisfying conclusion. Buscimi does his best Buscimi in this one. There are little clever things going on and when we find out the reveal its not that great. I think that the writer and director could have found more compelling ways to wrap this initial story up into a more interesting finish. The supporting characters don't seem really flushed out and they tend to seem a little flat which makes our lead seem rather flat as well. His flaws and his quirks are disipated and ultimately we lose any thing or one to care about in this film

DVD Review "MACGRUBER" Score C+ 78%

2011-05-29T15:51:00.001-07:00

This joke of a film follows in the footsteps of every other mediocre half funny sketch from SNL to a feature movie. Very few of this genre succeed in being funny. WANYE'S WORLD being one of the real successes post BLUES BROTHERS. There is little funny to be found in this stretched out sketch that had barley enough to begin with. The sketch is nothing more than "hurry MacGruber that bomb is going to explode", "Hand me that whatever" "Yak Yak Yak" BOOM" Not enough to make a movie out of. What it does include is some really limited audience humor (celery in the butt as a distraction gag). So don't be looking for anything of substance, or a quality comedy. Its about as good as something like LADIES MAN as a movie. There are better comedies out there. This one is subpar.

DVD Review "THE HAUNTING IN CONNETICUT" Score C+ 78%

2011-05-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

This movie is loosely based on some obsured "true" story, but doing a little research and quickly we find that in fact it is based on some hearsay with when the story was written down some embellishment and then when the script was done some major liberties. What it ends up being is a watered down horror film. The scares are mostly non existant and in the end the heroic death journey of the main kid becomes almost laughable. Its not bad but by no means is it good. If you are really really bored and aren't picky about your horror films then its an option.

MOVIE Review “MACHETE” Score B+ 87%

2010-09-13T19:22:00.001-07:00

Machete, for those who don't know, was develop solely on the popularity of a fake trailer made for the double feature "GRINDHOUSE". The trailer and the movie match up perfectly. This is 70's grindhouse 'B' action movie in its best. Danny Trejo rose from a back ground thug/ stuntman and here finally gets his leading role. Alba an Rodrigez are both insanely hot in this one (be on the look out for Alba in a quick shower scene). Trejo plays Machete, an ex left for dead Mexican Federali who is now working as a day laborer in Texas. He is 'hired' but set up to take out and kill an evil racist senator (Played by Dinero). After he is wounded and then hunted as an assassin he turns the tables and goes after all of the bad guys in a revenge flick. Lots of killing, bombs, guns, quick sex with every hot woman in the film and more knives ensue. This one is pure campy fun. Its comic book like action with cheese dripping off the dialog. Steven Segal's death speech is especially hilarious. I loved it. Its exactly what I expected going into this... based on what I already knew about it. I was looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint me! Check it out for a good time.

MOVIE Review "THE EXPENDABLES" Score B+ 86%

2010-09-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

Top action stars are old now. Stallone in his 60's yet rippling with steroid musculature leads a merry band of spec. ops mercenaries. They take tough missions for money. There is plenty of cheesy dialogue and lots of extravagant action scenes. I think there may be a record number of a body count, on par with Saving Private Ryan. Endless bullets reign from bigger and badder weapons. Its fun, in a video game like way. It is what it is, in its grand action movie way. Some of the fights are crisp and neat, others are sloppy. Its a B action movie on a A movie star level. Many of the guys are showing their age here in their faces but still look fit as 20 year olds in their bodies. I credit drugs, trainers, personal chefs and lots of money to that feat. This is your basic fun action flick for kids and adults who are still kids. Lots of testosterone, little plot but a good time exploding and shooting things and people. For those fans of the old school 80's action films this is right up your alley.

DVD Review "THE UGLY TRUTH" Score B- 80%

2010-09-13T19:20:00.002-07:00

Romantic comedies are always low common denominator films, that meaning they appeal to the date crowd in a wide spectrum. They never seem to translate to the home movie experience well for me that is. This one is no exception. Its fits the bill of your standard romantic comedy where we know when it starts where its going and by the end of the film... the two leads will end up together. Its not a terrible movie. Its not a great one. It just is.

DVD Review "THE CRAZIES" Score B- 80%

2010-09-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

This remake of a horror film of the same name, does the genre some updated justice. The infection storyline has been done to death, pun intended, so the story here is nothing new. Government virus makes the town people into killer zombies, the few uninfected have to escape the town, avoid the military killing them and survive. Most don't. The leads do. There is some cool makeup going on, some cool kill scenes and its paced well enough to keep your attention. Nothing about it stands out as particularly scary. But if you like this genre its a decent one in the field.

MOVIE Review “THE OTHER GUYS” Score A-91%

2010-09-13T19:19:00.002-07:00

This one is a surprise HIT in my book. I was entertained from beginning to end and I loved every minute of it. There are so many funny things and jokes packed into this movie that I found myself unable to remember any of them due to their rapid fire. I do know that I had a fun time watching this one, I will see this one again, and I can recommend it fully. Mark Walberg and Will Ferrel make a great comic cop duo. The over the top story and their interactions are hysterical and worth the time to check out. I won't spoil any storylines here. Just check it out you won't be disappointed at all.

BLUERAY DVD Review "THE LOSERS" Score B- 81%

2010-09-13T19:19:00.001-07:00

An unknown comic made into an action movie. This one is about 100% predictable, but it is fun none the less. There are some great characters and they make for some fun, funny and great action scenes. Almost like an "A team" on steroids. Lots of stuff blowing up, lots of gun play. The movie works very well for what it is. I found myself liking it very much. Its one of those set up for a sequel. Zoe Saldana is hot in this one and adds to reasons to watch this one, at least for me. The cast in a bunch of relatively unknowns but working actors and they all do great in their parts.

BLUERAY DVD Review "YOUTH IN REVOLT" Score C+ 77%

2010-09-13T19:18:00.002-07:00

Micheal Cera has one delivery for everything and every situation as an actor. Here he is no different in this one despite the story requiring him to have a split personality. In what could have been an interesting flick, this one is just of a boy gone bad to get a girl. One over the top sequence involving a car was interesting. I found this one rather slow moving and boring. It plays a bit more like an after school special gone wrong. With all the swearing, sexual undertones and general revolt by the demur lead. BlueRay only added to the look of if this was shot on home video cameras as some scenes look "too" real.

BLUERAY DVD Review "LIFE" BBC Series Score A- 92%

2010-09-13T19:18:00.001-07:00

Stunning images abound in this series and its a wonderous world that we live in. There are so many amazing things that exist and the film makers take painstaking effort to capture some amazing things. Slow motion and speeding up add to the dynamics in the series. Blueray tech just makes everything pop even more in HD. If you get the chance to watch this series, please do yourself the favor. Life is a great thing and "LIFE" is a great way to look at some of it. High Recommendations.

DVD Review "THE ROAD" Score C+ 78%

2010-09-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

Viggo Morgensen stars in this one, which is yet another post Apocalypse film. Everything in the world is crap. He travels with his child and must protect the kid from all of the dangerous cannibalistic bands of roamers who threaten to kill them. Its mostly a forgettable journey. They only have a gun to protect themselves. They pick up an old man to travel with them as they head to the beach. In the end they reach the beach. SPOILER ALERT: The dad dies and the boy is left alone. The end.

DVD Review "THE BOX" Score C- 71%

2010-09-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

This movie was good... up to a point. Then it ventures into the rediculous, and is ultimately unsatisfying in the end. Nothing is really explained. And motivations and actions done earlier become "WTF!?" by the end. The acting is all fine and dandy, the story really sucks you in and you are left wondering what is really going on...until they let you know. This is where it got STUPID! SPOILER ALERT: So here it is....ALIENS did it! How fucking rediculous. You take a perfectly good concept and instead of making it a thiller that the government did it or that there is a secret organization who did it and instead you say that an alien force got zapped into this old mans body and reformed him into a genius tester of the human race...(Oh except for his cheek... for some reason that didn't get formed in his body.) And he is going to continue to kill women who push the button for a million dollars and also fuck up their kid. Lame! Skip this one.

DVD Review "FROM PARIS WITH LOVE" Score B- 80%

2010-09-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Travolta does a lot of films for the paycheck. This is one of them. And once again he attempts to portray a bad ass. What you get is Travolta looking odd with a bald head, earing and goatee doing his schitck. Now understanding this, the movie itself is rather fun. Critics bashed it but if you take it for what it is, it can be fun. Its goofy, unbelievable in its action but overall I kind of found myself liking it despite the goofiness of it all. For an OK action movie give this one a go.

DVD Review "REPO MEN" Score C+ 78%

2010-09-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

This sup-par action movie is predicable enough but has enough action to make it watchable. Law and Whittaker are both good in their respective roles. There is nothing particularly outstanding about this film. It does teeter out by the end and gets a little boring. Some of the fight scenes are so poorly constructed and shot. I place the blame for most of the problems here on the script and the director. If you are looking for some mediocre future set action entertainment, this is OK for that.

MOVIE Review "INCEPTION" Score A+ 99%

2010-08-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

"INCEPTION" For me Scores A+ 99%... Near Perfect, a thinking persons movie, with great action, casting, acting, Special F/X and brilliantly fresh storytelling (which is so absent from most of the movies released these days)... If you haven't seen it.... do but plan on paying attention! One of the best movies to come out in the last decade. So smartly written, directed and acted. The special effects are totally in sync with the awesome story structure. This one keeps you guessing all the way to the perfectly cut ending of the film. All of the actors are superb in this finely crafted piece. Director Nolan (of Smart film MEMENTO and of BATMAN reboot fame) wrote this film as well, apparently his work on this was for more than 10 years before he got himself in the position to talk the studios into doing a complex dream film with multiple layering's. If you are a fan of great movies and appreciate film making that doesn't dumb down anything see this one!! A real gem.

DVD Review "COLD SOULS" Score C- 70%

2010-08-28T18:44:00.002-07:00

This only gets a C- and not a D or lower because of the high caliber actors involved here. Its was trying to be something like a new "BEING JOHN MALKOVICH". The DVD cover said its a laugh out loud dark comedy. Didn't laugh one bit... in fact I was trying to figure out why this was a comedy at all... its not its a sad sad drama about Paul Giamatti and his struggle with playing Uncle Vanya in a play. Removal of his soul and then its subsequent stealing of it leads him on the quest to get his sad little garbonzo bean shaped soul back into his body. Yes you heard that right, I didn't make that up. His soul is a garbonzo bean. This movie is not really worth your time unless you are a HUGE Giamatti fan. Skip it.

DVD Review "INK" Score C+ 76%

2010-08-28T18:44:00.001-07:00

This bizarro weird little independent movie, is interesting enough for those who like to figure out what is going on. But strange enough to scare a lot of people away. I suspect a lot of viewers will think this is too weird of a movie to stick with it. I won't reveal plot here, but I did figure it out halfway through (who is who that is and what is going on). It is like a giant dream sequence or mind trip from one man's perspective. There are some creepily strange costumes and effects going on. Its got some odd Matrix type guys. Some great set designs to be found as well. Its worth a view for those who can appreciate movies like "JACOB'S LADDER" or "WHAT DREAMS MAY COME".

MOVIE Review "THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE" Score C+ 79%

2010-08-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Meh......What this is: Think "National Treasure"+"Pirates of the Caribbean" Meets "The Mummy" with a nerdy lead and make it all family friendly then subtract any "Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings-like" magical coolness you might have been expecting. The magic and magical fights are all Disney-fied. Cage does his quirky thing in this role that he does in all roles. The lead guy is uber nerdy and his especially annoying nasally weak speaking voice, tone and cadence are all almost too much to bear. There are some cool effects to be found (thanks to millions in CGI). But this is once again the dumbing down of movies to appeal to the broadest number of people. There are some interesting moments but by the predicable ending it kind of leaves you feeling a bit empty, like eating worthless junk food.... it will fill you up but not in a good way.

DVD Review "VALENTINES DAY" Score C+ 78%

2010-08-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

A Romantic comedy times 5 with multiple stories to follow, it is well acted by most of the cast. Its completely predictable from scene to scene almost. With a super predicable ending to the whole thing. It’s a date DVD for couples to watch and go “Awe cute film”. Happy go lucky feelings abound by the ending of this. This movie is not for guys to watch, its for guys to watch a girl watch it.

DVD "LAW ABIDING CITIZEN" Score B- 82%

2010-08-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

For what this one is, which is at it core a revenge flick, I really liked it. Gerard Butler plays a husband and father who in a violent attack looses his family. The killer(s) are caught but the law system lets one free and the other one gets the death penalty. Butler goes rogue and takes down everyone involved with the case, the killers, the lawyers and more. He is a specialist former government killer who plans elaborate schemes to make sure you are dead if he wants you dead. In the end, SPOIILER ALERT!!! He loses which is unsatisfying; we want to see him take down all of the justice system. But in Hollywood ending style the vigilante is caught and stopped before he can complete his super plan. It’s a pure revenge flick modern Death-wish style updated for today. This has a smart script and its a good fun film with lots of killing but ultimately an unsatisfying completion.

DVD Review "YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH" Score B- 81%

2010-08-28T16:17:00.001-07:00

This is a strange hidden independent movie that is about an old man that after being hit by lightning, is basically reborn or kicked back to when he was a young 35, but still has all his knowledge of an 80 year old. His teeth get regenerated his skin and muscles all go back to a younger version. Then hunted by Nazi’s who want to study this man, and the whole time he is trying to solve something in his life’s research work. This is a very strange concept for a movie. With a complex script the writer and director is Francis Ford Coppolla, so everything here is top notch as far as movie making goes. Tim Roth is excellent in the lead. The movie itself is a thinking man’s movie and as much about rediscovery of love as it is about the man’s research to finish a puzzling theorem. This movie is not for everyone and moves slowly but its interesting enough to hook you.

DVD Review " OWNING WALTER MAHONEY" Score C+ 76%

2010-08-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

An interesting little independent movie that is based on true events, Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a bank finance manager with a huge gambling problem. He creates false loans at his bank and then proceeds to withdrawal the cash and gamble in Atlantic City. Then eventually after loosing so much he becomes a “Whale” that the casino caters too, with comps and ribs that are cooked, thrown away and re-cooked until he is ready for them. They give a bellboy the job of being his personal concierge, all the time never questioning where the money he gambles and loses is coming form. Eventually the losses get bigger and bigger as does the embezzlement. He goes off to Las Vegas where he looses more and more… including his girlfriend. The IRS catches up and he is ultimately busted in a huge sting of multiple police units. It’s a good movie that is an interesting study of gambling addition.

DVD Review " POOTIE TANG" Score C 75%

2010-07-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

Chris Rock once said this was his favorite project he was involved with. If Pootie were a character from SNL then this would have been his feature film adaptation. There are some funny moments to be found in this one. Its a dumb goofy comedy, but it is meant to be one. The Lead and a cast of colorful characters are introduced. A thin plot is revealed. A villain is presented and, viola, we have a movie. Its funny enough. Not great not horrible. If you are bored and like mindless comedies, check it out.

DVD Review " LEGION" Score D 62%

2010-07-27T01:09:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the biggest mess, and disappointment as far as Scary Biblical action films go as a genre. (Yes actually there are enough of these types of movie now to categorize it: Seventh Seal, End of Days, Prophecy...etc....). This one apparently GOD is mad at humans and decides to send the army of angels to wipe everyone out (I guess he was too lazy to do it himself). Oh yea, Michael the Archangel has decided to join the humans in a no win war. Wait there is a new "Jesus" baby that is about to be born. And the last refuge of the humans is a desert Diner in the middle of no where. Also weak humans turn into demons, and fight other humans on behalf of the angels. Bullets can work on them. You can injure an angel if you can get through their bullet proof spinning wings. The angels are not too smart, they send some demon grama first, then a demon ice cream man then a first wave of demon humans, and then give the Diner some time to barricade themselves in for the next wave. The new 'jesus' baby is born. Michael and Gabriel fight cause of the baby, Gabe wants to kill it. After Michael is killed he goes back to heaven, then is resurrected as himself again, so I guess that is one big circle (Kill an angel, goes to heaven, becomes an angel...repeat). Oh yea then there is...... this movie is such crap. Scariest parts: Grama and Ice Cream man, Action Scenes: Lame, Plot: Dumb, Logic even if you buy into the premise: No Sense whatsoever. SKIP THIS!!!!!! This only doesn't get and F due to some of the actors in the movie.

DVD Review "MYSTERY TEAM" Score C- 71%

2010-07-27T01:08:00.002-07:00

The group that made this film is a comedy troupe in LA, they were making sketch comedy videos, and this one got expanded into a lame feature film. It plays on a grade school comedy level and delivers very few laughs. Wherein an independent movie like "NAPOLEON DYNAMITE" is odd on the first viewing and funnier and funnier on successive views this one, is more just odd and unfunny. If you are 12 years old you might like this one. If you are a fan of these guys you also might want to check it out. But this is more like an SNL sketch that they expand into a movie and it doesn't work. Except this isn't even remotely SNL caliber quality of the worst of the lot (if you can call SNL films quality at all, and there are only a few that qualify). Skip it, there are funnier movies to rent.

DVD Review "THE INVENTION OF LYING" Score B+ 87%

2010-07-27T01:08:00.001-07:00

This one is comedy gold in the lines of a quality sitcom. The premise is great: in a world where there are no lies and everyone tells only the truth, the movies are nothing but retelling of Historical happenings there is no "make-believe", one man discovers in his brain the ability to "Say something that wasn't". He proceeds to use this power to re-create his world the way he wants it, with the special point of trying to win over the girl of his dreams (who he won't tell an ultimate lie to her, just inconsequential ones). In a funny side comment on religions and how they were "made up" to comfort his mother as she dies He comes up with his lies about "A man in the Sky", Good things vs Bad things you do, mansions and all your friends and family in a 'heaven' after you die... and writes these rules down on Pizza Hut boxes for the world to accept. In the end though this movie just becomes a romantic comedy, but the humor of the truth telling and the lies Gervais tells is funny enough to rise above a typical rom-com. Check it out.

DVD Review " DAYBREAKERS" Score C 74%

2010-07-27T01:07:00.001-07:00

Good God we seem to be saturated lately with Vampire films. The difference in this one is that the whole world is made up with vampires and the human population is their feeding pool which is running out. Hawke as a Vampire scientist is seeking a synthetic blood version/cure. Vampires who are not feeding turn into savage monster vampires. Some surviving humans battle the vampire empire, and Hawke joins them. SPOILER ALERT: A cure is found when Hawke finds DeFoe a former vampire that was turned back into a human. Controlled sun exposure. A few action scenes in this are OK. But mainly this one disappoints and is mostly forgettable.

DVD Review "THE LOVELY BONES" Score B+ 86%

2010-07-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

Derived from the book of the same name and directed by "Lord of the Rings" director Jackson, this one is interesting. Its not a mainstream piece and there is a limited market for it. What it ultimately becomes is a cautionary tale about 13 year old girls and predatory weird solitary neighbors to avoid. There are some interesting visuals in the dream/purgatory world the girl finds herself after her death at the hands of a creepy serial killer (Excellently portrayed by Stanley Tucci). Walberg turns in a good performance as well as the distraught father, obsessed with finding out what happened to his daughter. Its a worth while drama, that has its flaws, but is tempered with good performances.

MOVIE Review "IRON MAN 2" Score B+ 88%

2010-07-27T01:05:00.000-07:00

Though not as good as the first in this series, IRON MAN 2 does turn in a respectable comic book action film. Impressive CGI combined with solid story and believable performances makes for another fun movie. Downey Jr. seems unstoppable these days with his big blockbuster status. The rest of the cast does a decent job. Rourke as the big hulking tattooed Russian inventor son of the co-inventor guy that was Stark's dad's guy who was Discredited he seeks revenge for his dad. The action scenes are good, the CGI work is top notch especially the in the air computer (which was shown in the first film is expanded here). The alternate War Machine casting works relatively with out a hitch. Storyline is simple enough. Added characters set up future franchises and other spin offs. Overall this is a good film.

DVD Review "FOUR CHRISTMASES" Score B 85%

2010-07-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

Vaughn and Witherspoon make an interesting couple that starts out narcissistic yet ultimately they turn around by the end in this formula film. Story is this, every Christmas these selfish people work it out that they go on vacation and lie to their families in order to avoid them. They end up having their flights snowed in/cancelled and at the airport a news caster puts them on the news cast and their families see them and demand that they visit. So since they are both from divorced parents and each has re married they must attend four households. The funny parts come from their interactions with their quirky siblings, and parents. In the end everything works out and the trips change the two lead characters. Its a good film with some funny parts check it out if you are bored and looking for a laugh or two.

DVD Review "THE BOOK OF ELI" Score C+78%

2010-06-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

What is ultimately a cross between "MAD MAX: THE ROAD WARRIOR", and "LEFT BEHIND" this one lacks proper movie logic and solely glides along on the nice acting of Washington and the visuals provided. Eli walks the earth for 30 years after a great war where all the world's bibles have been burned and he has the last one. He only knows that he must walk west to get it somewhere he only knows on faith. Everyone else is a loony right out of "THUNDERDOME" raping, killing, stealing that is the way of the world. In the post apocalyptic world everyone has given up trying to clean up anything or move on, virtually everyone has become illiterate, even though other books can be found. There are a few good action scenes and some interesting shots, but this one just can't seem to sludge through the weak plot. There is a lot that you need to forgive here in terms of logic, apparently all the water dried up and yet people live in the deserts (even though the ocean is not far away), all intelligence was lost, no one teaches anyone anything, someone must be still making bullets these days cause there are plenty of them available (you would think after 30 years they would be used up), Eli in his spare time when he is not reading his bible has become an expert in martial arts, sword play, pistol marksmanship and and expert bowman too. The religious undertones are a bit too much and the pomposity that the bible is the most important book ever, is a slap in the face to the texts of other religions. Let's just say this one is not good for much more than some cool action scenes.

DVD Review "DEFENDOR" Score C+ 77%

2010-06-21T15:39:00.002-07:00

Woody Harellson plays a mentally deficient man who dresses up as Defendor...with an "o.r" not "er", putting a Duct tape "D" on his chest. He pretends to defend the weak from crime and he mostly gets hurt doing it. He befreinds a hooker for company, he gets arrested but is let go by an understanding chief. Its a strange film and in the light of "Kick ASS" this just begs the question of what was this suppossed to be a handicapped man becoming a vigilante hero?

DVD Review "SHERLOCK HOLMES" Score B 85%

2010-06-21T15:39:00.001-07:00

Updating/Making over the fictional character of Holmes to a saucy fighting brilliant action hero is a good move for the writers, directors and studios. I think we shall soon see sequels to this one. Downy Jr. is excellently cast as this smug smart as hell sleuth. Law as Watson is also a good cast although complete makeover for this character as well (the original Watson was an older stodgy gentlemen that was there to help question Holmes' deductions). Here in this film the two become more of an 'action packed buddy cop team', and it works. This one is fun and has a plethora of good action scenes mixed with a decent plot that we get a nice wrap up in the end from Holmes (who had it all figured out). There are some laughs to be had and the actors in this whole thing all turn in great character performances. Smart writing is one of the plus points in this film, it plays like a case from a Sherlock Holmes Novel and with the bumped up action, stunts and comedy it blends into a great film. Kudos for Richie for successfully jumping into the big blockbuster realm opposed to his normal independent sized cockney gangster film (which are good too). I look forward to future installments of this team for new adventures. This could actually be almost like a "BOND" franchise as the story lines could be endless, and over the years you could just recast. Check it out.

DVD Review "YEAR ONE" Score C- 70%

2010-06-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

This lame ass comedy is not bad because of the actors, its bad because of the horrible writing. Black and Cera both have signature delivery of lines and its OK but here the writing for them is Soooooooo incredibly bad that its not redeemable. This dorky hunter and dorky gatherer are kicked out of their tribe and must wander alone. Now this is not so bad in and of itself, instead they travel through different time periods as well. To the point where its confusing on top of poorly written jokes as well. If it were not for Black and Cera this one would certainly get a D- or F. This is one comedy that I can say skip it, get something else to watch.

DVD Review "THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE" Score B- 80%

2010-06-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

OK this is an unconventional love story. A man has a time displacement disease and he travels throughout various time periods when he is stressed and back when he calms himself again. He always travels nude and first thing he has to do is get some clothing. A young girl that he meets at various times throughout her life falls in love with him and eventually marries him. Even though he travels during that wedding day but comes back as an older greying on the sides version of himself just in time for the ceremony. Its an interesting and creative story but definitely a chick flick. Nothing grandiose here just a nice self contained story.

DVD Review "THE SLAMMIN SALMON" Score B- 82.5%

2010-06-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

This is a comedy that is reminiscent of those comic films from the 70's and 80's era (Like ANIMAL HOUSE or POLICE ACADEMY). Its a formula movie...Take an environment; A Restaurant: check, Add a cast of wacky main characters: The whole staff check, a touch of a scary villain type: the big black ex-boxer Owner check and a task to complete by movie's end: Make $20000 for the restaurant by night's end; check. Dump in together and mix. Let the wacky characters go crazy with the situations, have them fight among themselves, give them some odd customers, let the accidents run rampant and have it all work out amazingly for the best by the end of the movie. Don't get me wrong... this is a funny movie... its just that its 'one of those types' of movies. There is lots and lots of goofy stuff. There is lots to laugh at and its a fun time. If you are bored and want some low brow comedy that you don't have to think much about then check this one out.

DVD Review "UP IN THE AIR" Score B 85%

2010-06-02T23:03:00.004-07:00

People were saying that this is George Clooney's best work..I say its the closest to his real life. Instead of flying all over the country and world making movies and being the cool cat on the red carpet, here he plays a guy that flies all over the country firing people as kind of a reverse head hunter and being the cool cat on the airline circuit. He does a fine job and other than the BATMAN movie he ruined I think he does a great job in most roles he is in I think the big sympathy vote toward this performance goes to the character's dilemma. His two co-actresses in this film are: 1) his on the road lover (who delivers an excellent role) and 2) his on the road new student (who is just annoying as both character and actor) He is teaching her how to fire people (to show her how its done old school vs. her new idea to take their services to the Internet). Its a rather quiet engaging drama but nothing to jump up and down about. There are a few moments of comedy and few touching moments as well. Its a decent movie that doesn't need all those special effects as found in most movies today and its served by good writing and good acting.

DVD Review "THE INTERNATIONAL" Score C- 70%

2010-06-02T23:03:00.003-07:00

This movie which was billed as a secret espionage thriller actioneer, was sooooooo boring. With the exception of a huge shoot out in the museum which was overplayed with seemingly six dozen men sent with uzi's to kill one guy in broad daylight where the first kill in the film was a man brushed by hit with a needle that gave him a heart attack ..rest of this is a snooze fest. It took me three views to get though this movie without falling asleep. A big worldwide bank is in the arms trade, buying and selling weapons to third world warring countries in order to control the debt that the wars build. An investigator (Clive Owen) is tracking them and wants to bust em. Everyone he comes in contact with that is involved with the bank is killed. In the end he goes to confront one of the bankers, chases him (in a really lame walk on the rooftops), but at the last second the banker is assassinated. The End. Skip this one.

DVD Review "HENRY POOL IS HERE" Score C 75%

2010-06-02T23:03:00.001-07:00

People want to see "Jesus" in anything that has a face melted, cooked or painted appear on it. Its news worthy stuff every few months it seems. Henry Pool is a dying man, buys a house on the street he grew up on. Wanting to revisit his past before he checks out. His hispanic neighbor sees "Jesus" in the water stain on the wall of his house, which happened after the realtor restuccoed the place before he moved in. Of course this is not wanted by Henry, attention happens, people come and sneak in his yard, a coke-bottle-glassed half blind grocery store clerks touched the wall and was healed and can see perfectly after. And a little girl who doesn't talk, touched the wall one night and then can speak with out a problem......Oh oh can you guess how the movie ends? Henry is dying from an incurable disease remember?... Anyway after much interaction with the wall and neighbors, Henry in a rage takes a sledge hammer to the wall, the roof then falls on his head. He wakes up in the hospital and magically he is healed (or never had the disease, there was no mention of him getting a second opinion until now). This contrite movie is more like a lifetime movie of the week.

DVD Review "BOONDOCK SAINTS 2;ALL SAINTS DAY" Score B- 80%

2010-06-02T23:02:00.001-07:00

The First movie was a great piece of independent film making. This sequal is nothing but a lame re-writing of the first film, with the addition of a female detective in DeFoe's role. She is the worst part of the film as she is attempting to do some kind of outlandish character with a made up accent that is just annoying in every scene she is in. And of course the brothers need to get a third person to help them ( a wacky guy much like the first one, just recast). The funniest line in the movie comes at him after he says holding his newly minted pistols "These don't make me look gay, do they?.... I won't spoil the retort line here. Watch it if you want to hear it. As for the storyline, uh from what I remember, someone poses as them and kills a priest, they must find them and redeem their name. The action is mostly forgetable... when I think about this I don't remember much instead I recall the first movies action scenes. Its Ok but no where near as good as the first one.

MOVIE Review "DATE NIGHT" Score B 85%

2010-06-02T23:00:00.002-07:00

Taking two successful improv sitcom actors and pairing them up for a movie is not a bad idea. Here in this one it works. Sometimes those people never can make the jump from TV to Big Screen as lead actors. But Fey and Carrell pull of the comedy in this even though you never really get a sense that there is much chemistry for them as a couple, this one comes off more like a buddy comedy, than a believable couple in trouble comedy. There are laughs to be had and overall its a fun movie to check out. One flaw I find in it is the set up, this mediocre couple has a mediocre life and their mediocre friends get a divorce because they are in a rut, for fear that they are also in a rut they decide to spice up their normal routine and change it up by going to a new restaurant in the city, but without a reservation they steal another couples name and that couple is wanted by the mob....comedy ensues....ahhhhhh..now... Basically we could have skipped the first 25 minutes and just cut to this. So they must get this secret flash drive from the bad couple to the mob and the whole movie is them trying to do just that. With comedic and action elements tied in. Its an enjoyable and harmless entertainment piece. Worth a view.

MOVIE Review "KICK ASS" Score A+ 97%

2010-06-02T23:00:00.001-07:00

This movie "KICK ASS", for me, KICKED ASS like its namesake! I love comic book movies, but ONLY when they are done and adapted with expertise (Like "HELLBOY" " DARK KNIGHT" "IRON MAN"). This is a comic I knew nothing about, never read it, never saw it in a shop, never knew about it till the info they were making this movie came about. But I knew that I wanted to see it based on the early word of mouth comments on the web and its trailers. It delivered! The casting was near perfect (with the exception of McLovin' his horrible lisp is almost too much to bear but then that was part of his role's comidic stupid charm). For lovers of action, comedy and comic books this is a feast. Some real laugh out loud moments, some excellent fight scenes and a solid storyline. The visuals rock. And most of all this movie is just fun. The little girl (HIT GIRL) steals this movie. This is one of the better films that I have seen in the past year for what it is. Now this kind of movie is not for everyone. A lot of blood, swearing and fighting...but all of it is justified in the context of this outlandish film. If you have yet to see it check it out. It rocks. I loved it!!!

DVD Review "2012" Score D- 60%

2010-04-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

What a piece of crap! Almost as bad as "Transformers 2" but not quite (that one takes the shitty movie prize), but this one is close behind. Throughout the movie you will find yourself shouting out two phases; "REALLY?" or "OH COME ON!". Seriously its not even entertaining to watch this piece of crud. The acting scenes that are interspersed with the bad CGI effects are horrible. The digital effects themselves seem subpar. Almost all of the world wide action takes place around this one Limo driver.....WTF. The super boats are so stupid its not even funny. This movie attempts to make a disaster film but just turns out to be a disaster. SKIP IT!

DVD Review "TOWELHEAD" Score B- 80%

2010-04-26T22:43:00.002-07:00

This odd little independent film is less about the derogatory term for Arab people and more about the sexual coming of age movie about a 13 year old half white half Iranian American girl. Its almost like an adult version of an after school special. The acting is mediocre and the screenplay is adapted from a book. Her father is an oppressive , small minded, hypocritical man. He slaps her for not wearing a bra under her t-shirt at breakfast. As it goes on...She discovers self masturbation while baby sitting the 10 year old neighbor and finding the Dad's playboy collection. She then gets hit on by the creepy father who eventually molests her. Then she begins having sex with her new boyfriend ( black boy who her father racially bigots against.) Another neighbor mid thirties and pregnant becomes somewhat of the girls protector... eventually taking her in to her house when her father goes on a rampage yelling at her. Its a strange film... Not one that you would watch more than once and seems more suited for girls who entered puberty and their parents.

DVD Review "THE INFORMANT" Score B+ 86%

2010-04-26T22:43:00.001-07:00

Well in this cousin to "Burn After Reading" Matt Damon as a greedy whistle blower is actually funny. The movie is well shot and overall lots of fun. The stupidity of the lead character's actions keeps you guessing on whether or not he is really just clueless or if he is actually a mastermind. I will leave it up to you to make that decision after you watch it. The cast is great in each of their respective roles. I enjoyed this one. Its really hard to catorgize as its in that "Fargo" realm not quite drama, and not goofy comedy just funny because these relatively real characters are acting so strange and stupid. Its a fun movie worth your time if you want a couple laughs but to think about the plot at the same time.

DVD Review "ORPHAN" Score B- 82%

2010-04-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

Skipped this one when it was in the theater... it looked like a typical slow moving horror thriller type. So checking it out recently it is kind of slow moving but it does keep you guessing on what the deal is with this little adopted girl. Of course there are moments of tension but this one is not really scary at all. She is an evil girl.... we wonder is she a demon, a ghost or just a demented possessed little kid... when the reveal does comes out I was actually surprised and I didn't see it coming because it as an option never occurred to me (NO SPOILER HERE if you want to know you should check it out) so in that way it elevated the film some. Its an OK thriller. Check it out if you like this kind of thing.

MOVIE Review "HOTTUBTIMEMACHINE" Score B++ 89.999%

2010-04-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

Loved it!! Wanted to give this an A- but its just under the A category of movie. This was an excellent comedy full of laughs. Rob Corrday steals this movie in every scene he is in. This is another comedy on par with THE HANGOVER. A goofy buddy comedy with the cool one the nerdy one and the weird out there one and then throw a comedic black guy in here too. The premise is simply the title and it works these guys get in a unknown to them time machine hot tub at an old ski lodge they go back to revisit. Once they are transformed back to 1986 they attempt to not change things in the past a la the butterfly effect. Instead they mess it up of course. Its a fun adventure with lots of nods back to the old films from the 1980's. Check it out as its one of the better comedies to come out in the past few years.

DVD Review "REVOLUTIONARY ROAD" Score B+ 88%

2010-04-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

Two powerful performances by two great younger actors of our generation. Adapted from a book this complex simple story tells of the ordinary lives of this young couple in a time gone by us. Back when things were much more prim an proper the things that happen in this film may or may not be reflective of what might have been going on underneath it all. Both actors here turn in award winning perfomances that really stretch the relationship to above normal performances. The 50's set costuming and design all work perfectly. For those fans of period dramatic pieces this one is up your alley.

DVD Review "SMOKIN" ACES 2 Assassians Ball" Score B 85%

2010-04-26T22:38:00.001-07:00

Where the first one did lend itself more to reality, the same type of storyline takes place in the second one. A single man is the target of a big payout hit by various assassins. However in this one the assassins almost seem bent on taking out each other than the target. It fun and definitely over the top. Most of the kill scenes however are underwhelming and disappointing, especially when their is so much time devoted to the build up introduction of the great killers. Autumn Reeser is particularly hot in this one (I am biased and jealous of her getting to have so much fun doing this...as she was an acting classmate of mine in LA for a few years). Most of the killers are ridiculously over simplified. And the big ball is a big trap. Its nothing special. With a Usual Suspect twist attempted to be tossed into the script.

DVD Review "BRONSON" Score B+ 87%

2010-04-26T22:37:00.002-07:00

A star making performance from the lead. This well constructed film is the biography of Charlie Bronson Britain's most famous and most violent criminal. And yes his name came from Charles Bronson tough guy movie star, was given to him by his street fight promoter. Most of his life was spent behind bars with what started as a petty robbery and snowballed into a 30 year stretch in prison after prison including time in a drug induced asylum. The scenery here is chewed to pieces by our lead in this. The violence is both surreal and brutal. Bronson's desire to be famous overtakes his incarceration and most of his time is involved fighting with the guards which always lands him in solitary. Inter cut in the bio story of the happenings Bronson tells some of his story from the point of a stage show where he is the only man on stage entertaining a full house. They find him endearing, funny, captivating and brutal. The end hostage situation is particularly disturbing as Bronson got himself into some Art therapy and duped the counselor who ran the program becomes his victim. Overall a good film that leans primarily towards movie goers who like bio pics, and powerhouse acting.

DVD Review "COUPLES RETREAT" Score B 85%

2010-04-26T22:37:00.001-07:00

Funny film that has a great cast and the whole thing seems to be that they were all just having a great time making the film. There is not a whole lot to write about this its a mostly predictable comedy that really doesn't leave much room for surprises. For the most part this is almost an extended sitcom piece. The characters are well carved out and we get them all almost from the first scene each are in. The movie plays like a very special episode where the cast is going to an exotic island for a couple's retreat, to fix all their problems. I liked it and its worth a few laughs.

DVD Review "QUARANTINE" Score B- 80%

2010-04-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Quarantine is a little independent film that ramps up the tension by quickly setting it in a single location. This movie is a pseudo zombie flick, posing a little like a self contained "28 Days later". Its decently shot but a lot of it is a little too dark to see what is going on at time times. The actors are OK... not great but not horrible either. SPOILER ALERT: So this movie is about a young hot journalist who is doing a story about the local Fire Dept., the entire movie is shot by the cameraman who is shooting the story for her. After some lame 15 minutes or so of her around the station... the call goes out and they tag along to the scene of the call. The police are already on scene and have a deranged woman in her apartment, bloodied and confused, as they attempt to help her she attacks. A cop is down, then a fireman. Quickly we find out that the SWAT, CDC and Local Government are outside the building and have refused to let anyone out. A convenient veterinarian happens to be in the building and diagnoses that they have an outbreak of super rabies. As pretty much everyone in the building either becomes infected or killed in the next hour, the cameraman records it all. Ultimately they end upstairs in the floor occupied by the scientist creator of the virus who is now a naked half dead zombie creature, and as there is no power the last scenes we are forced to watch in night vision. Until our lead girl is dragged out of frame. Its an entertaining enough movie to keep your interest but as usual the characters are all dumb and make some of the worst decisions given the situations.

DVD Review "EVAN ALMIGHTY" Score C- 70%

2010-04-26T22:35:00.002-07:00

I wanted to check this one out for two reasons, I liked the first one and two I like Steve Carrel. Now first off let me say if you liked the first one this is absolutely nothing.... and I mean nothing like the first one. Other than Morgan Freeman playing GOD in both, and Steve Carrel having the same name as the character he played in the first one this is a completely different movie. I think that they had an idea for a movie where God picks a new Moses and makes him build an Ark then they said hey Bruce Almighty was a hit and made us money lets just make this the sequel and since Carrel is hot right now use him. But his character is completely different.....ah so what, but he's not Evan Almighty as in Bruce was taking over God's job for a while.....ah so what. Also this is going to be really expensive....ah so what...... WELL it was the most expensive comedy ever made and it was a world wide super flop too. And good reasons too. The first was a comedy this one is a family friendly after school special. The first one the lead became God and had all the powers too. This one he becomes Noah and has no powers at all. After watching the extras on the DVD to try to salvage the movie some...I learned where all the money went.... they build a real full sized ARK.... why? The director thought they should. Then they filmed every animal separately, why? they wanted to put a gazillion animals in the film. Other animals they created fully digitally... why? some would not cooperate as actors. And all these things they spent money on...... wasted.... When you see a film like Titanic and really look at the movie as a whole you can see where their money went... most of it is on screen or in the effects..... when you watch this you don't see anything spectacular or outstanding. In fact the opposite happens you say to yourself where did they spend all that money? Oh yea in about one minute of the extras one digital artist says he spent massive creation on a shot where all the animals are on the ARK and are reacting to the storm... this probably took him months to do and was the only shot he did....its about one half a second in the film. Really just a waste of a lot of money and a really good potential sequel. Evan the douche reporter could have been taught a lesson by GOD where he gets his powers like Bruce did in the first one and some great ending comes about. Instead what we got was a poor excuse to build an ARK an tell a family friendly Noah in Washington story. Not good. You can skip it like everyone did in the theaters.

DVD Review "IT'S COMPLICATED" Score B 85%

2010-04-26T22:35:00.001-07:00

The combination of Merryl Streep and Alec Baldwin with a dash of Steve Martin thrown in makes for a perfectly funny yet somewhat touching film. Just the right amount of storyline mixed in with some great comic moments means that this one is a great one to sit down and just enjoy. Without a Spoiler here Baldwin steals the show most of the times he's on screen....much like his turn in 30 Rock on TV he embodies his character with charm and comedy without the seams showing that its a character. As does Streep who always manages to fold herself effortlessly in what ever role she chooses to embody. Overall this one is lots of fun, but not family fun more for older viewers, ie if you are not over 30 look for something else to rent. If you are over this age then you should enjoy this, that is if you can appreciate a film that has no explosions, fights, or special effects of any kind. This is back to the golden age of movies that are about the story and the characters only. Check it out if you get a chance.

MOVIE Review "AVATAR" Score A- 90%

2010-03-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

What is ulitimately the highest grossing movie of all time now is a long film. Pushing the boundaries of three hours its longer than it needs to be but shorter than if it were done like KILL BILL and split into two pieces. The animation is almost seamless, I say almost because there are times when we do know that we are watching a computer cartoon. Though most of it is so well done that its forgiveable. Its light years beyond say The New STAR WARS computer imagery, this is not Jar Jar. Overall this film is ground breaking in some ways, and simple in others. The plot is relatively simple in its construct; humans want to mine valuable resources from an alien planet, aliens don't want to move so they can dig, fighting ensues. Where the film succeeds is in the creativity of the animators. Fantastical creatures and plants and landscapes abound and are vitually real for us to enjoy. One thing for sure is James Cameron loves BIG things, following Titanic, he creates a world of huge blue cat people, who's animals are bigger and the animals that eat those animals are bigger, and the Trees they live in are even bigger, only to be out large-nessed by huge floating mountains in the sky. There is lots of war going on in this one, humans with their weapons and the natives with there knives and arrows. In the end this one is just visually stunning, especially in updated 3D the new wave in movie going. Almost everyone who watches movies has seen this one already, but if you haven't check it out on the big screen before its out of the theaters.

DVD Review "NEXT DAY AIR" Score B- 81%

2010-03-03T01:41:00.000-08:00

This is basically a Urban version of Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels. With dumbed down dialogue and a simpler plot. Its not a bad film but certainly not a great one either. We have many different groups of guys being followed around and eventually they all end up intersecting at a certain point. Its a crime comedy. In the vein of a PULP FICTION but no where near as brilliant. A fun film that is more entertainment than a thinking man's movie. The comedy mainly comes from the characters and not the writing. Worth a view if you like those comedy type crime films.

DVD Review "ONG BOK 2" Score C- 71%

2010-03-03T01:40:00.002-08:00

Where the first one of this series is good this one fails. The first movie was all about the crazy stunts that are without wires or special effects, where the stunt guys take a severe beating in almost every scene. This one is a mish mash of the lead trying out and of course mastering various new martial arts. This one has nothing to do with the first movie. Its not a sequel and the only reason that its ONG BOK 2 is because its the same star from the first one. There is nothing about it that it tied to the first film. This is just a jungle kid who is almost killed until some martial arts pirates bust in on the village of evil natives and save him. Then adopt him, teach him all their martial skills and make him second in command of all the pirates. Of course there is the training sequences and finally a new run in with the evil natives that results in ass kicking. This one is all over the place and should have been called something else. If you are a fan of the first film this one will disappoint. If you just want to see some OK martial arts fighting its OK. Where the first one had me in awe of some of the scenes this one mostly bored me.

DVD Review "CIRQUE DU FREAK; VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT" Score B 85%

2010-03-03T01:40:00.001-08:00

This odd movie isn't bad. Its actually hard to describe it because it really only fits in a story tale genre... its not horror, its not action, its not drama.... it just kinda is what it is. Which for the most part is adventure. Kind of on the same level as say Big Fish was. Its a tale of a kid, who doesn't really fit in. He and his buddy go to a magical freak show act that is in town for one night. An overseer who is pulling strings behind the scenes is setting everything in motion. There is a war between different factions of vampires. There are ancient freaks who live together and help protect vampires against vampanese. The lead vampire recruits the kid to be his assistant in order to save his buddies life who was bit by a stolen poison spider that was in the freak show. So he makes the kid a half vampire. The behind the scene guy then recruits the best friend to the other side and a war between the vampire sects begins. And of course between the two kids as well. This is a strange movie, interesting enough but not great.

DVD Review "THEY LIVE" Score B- 82%

2010-03-03T01:39:00.000-08:00

Ah John Carpenter and cheesy Sci Fi. Roddy Piper's only decent movie (that I can remember) but its a classic. Its a loosely strung together story of an everyman who figures out that the aliens are living among us, and controlling us with there subliminal advertising that is everywhere. With the help of the underground revolution's super sunglasses that he finds he, can see it all including the alien's weird scary faces. Why can't anyone else see, well a constant beam is pulsating across the land that is masking their look to look like us and cover their commands with regular advertising. So now the mission is to get his buddy to put on the sunglasses and help him. In a prolonged and unneeded alley fight, almost like a wrestling match.... his buddy doesn't want to put the sunglasses on. After the match is over he does. Then he helps him find the master signal so they can shut it down and everyone can see the Aliens for what they really are. SPOILER: he dies blowing up the signal tower but still manages to flip off the aliens before his last breath. This is pure camp and fun for what it is. Don't expect much, but its classic down to bizarre lines like"I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and I'm all out of bubblegum" then he blows all the nearby aliens away with a shotgun.

DVD Review "TOMMY BOY: Holy Schnike Edition" Score B+89%

2010-03-03T01:38:00.002-08:00

Classic comedy and Chris Farley's best work in his short career. Its a real shame that he died so young and didn't get the chance to make any more comedies of this caliber. Out of everything he did in his short time here this is probably the best thing he got to do. This was written for him and David Spade particularly and alot of it during production, much of it was developed from their real life interactions and dealings with each other. They were being groomed to be the next great comedy duo like, Laural and Hardy, or Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis, however they never really had much of a chance to do so with only a few projects together before he died. There are some really great comedic scenes in this one. The entire supporting cast does a great job in their respective roles. If you haven't seen it.... run out and do so and laugh. "Fat Guy in a Little Coat" is now a piece of history and people know what it from. Really a comic genius who burnt his candle out much like his idol John Belushi. So catch what I think is his greatest comedy performance as he is "Tommy Boy" not just Chris Farley. He is a goofy love able childlike chubby buddy who can make us all smile a little more.

DVD Review "G I JOE" Score D+ 66%

2010-03-03T01:38:00.001-08:00

I remember GI Joe from my childhood and this is not GI Joe.... this is a travesty mix of bad bad acting with mediocre computer animation and mediocre fights. Other than the ninja fights most of the fighting sucks. The super suits are ridiculous. The nicknames are recalled from the cartoon... but are laughable in live action. Not much about this one is worth your time. Its not a good action film, its not well acted, the computer effects are seen glaringly (think Jar Jar Binks and that will compare). Skip this one its not quite as bad as the Transformers series but a close second.

DVD Review "GAMER" Score C 75%

2010-03-03T01:36:00.000-08:00

This laughable actioneer is mostly filled with crazy gunfire and explosions. In a rehashed plot like RUNNING MAN, DEATH RACE etc... In the future criminals will be used for our entertainment enjoyment. With this one its nano bots that are inserted in to the brains of these criminals (as well as volunteers who want money for acting as a gaming robot). The mastermind villain, a southern Bill Gates type, is bent on world domination. The game is a war game that if a criminal has his player win X number of games then he earns his freedom. The action is mostly shot in Michael Bay style of shaking the camera and not letting any shot last more than .01 seconds. The ending is lack luster and really just a cop out. You're not missing much if you decide to skip this one.

DVD Review "BLACK DYNAMITE" Score A- 93%

2010-03-03T01:35:00.002-08:00

A classic in the making here. Lots of re-watch value for this. High marks for the film makers here as they really recreate that 1970's blacksplotation film genre to a T. Everything about this one is tongue in cheek, in spoofing those old films that took themselves so seriously. Plenty of laughs are included down to the details of film making flaws of those older films that are thrown in here. Great characters as well as some great action sequences as well. Overall this one is pure fun. I had fun watching it and I am sure they had fun making it. The bad Kung Fu by the side characters is especially funny along with their rhyming ways. Also this one has plenty of classic tough man dialogue in it. Its a real treat and well made to look like it was shot 30 years ago. Check this one out for sure.

DVD Review "FIRST SNOW" Score C- 71%

2010-03-03T01:35:00.001-08:00

This snooze fest of a movie had me falling asleep through a lot of it. Guy Pearce is a troubled salesman who becomes paranoid that an old associate of his who went to jail recently paroled and is stalking him for revenge. This all starts after he had to get his car repaired on a sales job and ran into an old man psychic who told him that his life would be OK until the FIRST SNOW. After that the event unravel mostly to uneventful things. There is not a lot to this one other than the psychological foreboding. Skip it.

DVD Review "SURROGATES" Score B- 80%

2010-03-03T01:34:00.000-08:00

This movie is much more interesting in concept than in execution. In an unknown future we all get around using Avatar robots that we plug into and then go about our day to day stuff, with no consequences. However some evil force created a unit that when flashed at the robots will overload you in your plug in place and kill ya. Bruce Willis is a detective who must figure out who is doing this and how to stop them. With some odd action where apparently the robots have super human running and jumping skills, Willis tracks the weapon down into the city of actual humans not those plugged in that is. SPOILER ALERT: the Avatar Robot Surrogate creator is the one who wants to kill everyone using them and have society start over. Willis of course stops him and yet still unplugs everyone, without killing them. Its an OK movie but not a whole lot of solid action or story.

DVD Review "BIG FAN" Score B- 81%

2010-03-03T01:27:00.000-08:00

Patton Oswald is a stand up comedian... but somehow he got cast in this dark indpendent film and pulls it off brilliantly. There is not really any humor in this one. Oswald impressively turns in a rather tourtured performance and this one should not be missed by those who like character dramas. So here is the gist of it without too many spoilers included. Patton plays a down on his luck, parking lot attendant who lives with his mother. His only joy in life is rooting for his favorite football team and player. So much that he hand crafts what he wants to say about an upcoming game or past performance on a late night radio call in show. But one night something happens.... he sees his hero player and him and his buddy follow him to try to meet him....it doesn't end well. The rest of the movie is his reaction in the face of the incident and of those around him as well.

The Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien NBC Late NIGHT Debacle

2010-01-28T02:01:00.000-08:00

Conan's last show of his TONIGHT SHOW was Jan 22 2010. After just 7 months in the seat he was going to be forced to move to 1205am to make room for Leno before him or leave. He chose to leave..on principle that it would destroy the actual TONIGHT SHOW and that NBC had screwed him and its viewers around enough. Not to mention he got a heafty payday of $34million on his exit and Conan O'Brien will be allowed to join another network September 1 2010. So how in the Hell did all this happen? Well cut to 5 years and 7 months back.... NBC who was doing OK at the time, wanted to keep Conan O'Brien as a talent for the network so they said hey in five years you are going to get to succeed Leno and take over the hosting duties of the TONIGHT SHOW, and to Leno they said hey you've been number one, and you've had a good run so in five years you are going to retire from the show and pass the torch like Carson did with you. And it seemed for five years that was the agreement. Conan took over the seat and time came for Leno to leave and he and NBC said NO GO.... "Waaaa I want to say here" and 'Waaaa we don't want to risk you going somewhere else".... so some idiots came up with really crappy network killing idea. "Jay you will get to do you exact same show at 10 every night and we will just cancel all of our one hour dramas and put thousands of people out of work so you can stay". When this crap fest hit the airwaves the ratings were horrible....this bled into almost every NBC Affiliate losing major audiences for their nightly news and then this in turn led to even lower numbers for Conan's TONIGHT SHOW. The affiliates showed that the Leno program destroyed revenues for their news shows because of his bad lead in numbers, some over 60%. NBC paints the picture that Conan's ratings weren't that good and that's why we want to move him....NOT citing the fact that it was due to LENO's crappy lead in numbers and his destruction of any decent lead into anything that followed him. Personally LENO should have done the honorable thing and LEFT when his time at the TONIGHT SHOW was done, not to have taken a dumpy 10pm show that brought a shit storm to NBC's lineup (and cost all those prime time drama workers jobs) and especially he should not have taken back his seat from Conan!!! In fact now except for NBC's block of comedies on Thursday night there is no reason to watch anything on that network. I will be boycotting Jay Leno and anything he does and hope that others do too. Conan will hopefully be back doing what he loves on a new network sometime after September 1st.

DVD Review "CARRIERS" Score C- 72%

2010-01-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

If you have ever seen a movie where a virus out break is killing off humanity (and at this point there are at least five of these a year) then this is another one to add to your list. Its OK with its minimal cast and locations. There are a few good moments of tension but for the most part this is just a rewrite of any number of similarly themed movies. As in most of these types of films you will find yourself yelling at the lead characters for their repeated stupid decisions and moves. "Why the "F%^#" would you do that knowing what you know about this killer virus?" or "That" or "THAT?" Almost to the point where you are just like 'OK come on you deserve to die already'! If you are bored and want to bide some time......

DVD Review "STREET KINGS" Score B- 80%

2010-01-28T01:58:00.002-08:00

Keanu Reeves is once again trying to step out of his nitch role of the straight up good guy hero and in this plays a bad ass drunken flawed killer rogue cop. With a few twists and turns most of which we can see coming ahead and figure out based on the minimal plotline this isn't a bad cop movie. Although this is no LA CONFIDENTIAL its a modern day version of the corrupt LAPD and what goes on. Of course a lot of this is embellished for movie going jaded audiences. There are some great shoot outs and some good tense moments. In the end there is nothing that surprises you too much. Worth a view if you like cop films.

DVD Review "BEOWULF" Score C 75%

2010-01-28T01:58:00.001-08:00

Computer animated movies are getting better and better. However with that said I don't think that we have gotten to a point where real people are just not ready to be portrayed digitally. Creatures, yes, cartoons yes... humans not yet. When I was watching this I kept wanting to reach for a game controller so I could play the game.....except its a movie. The best thing about this though was the amazing naked digital Angelina Jolie... really beautiful and at one point I thought she posed for this footage for real. Nope they created her naked body... but it sure looked real. Overall this isn't a bad movie, and it isn't a great one either. Worth watching only if you are into fantasy action that looks like a computer game.

DVD Review "SLITHER" Score B- 82%

2010-01-28T01:57:00.000-08:00

Most straight to DVD films usually have a lot in common... bad acting, cheap effects and a re hashed story. This one only has a re-hashed story Alien meteor infects humans in attempt to take over world creating zombie like monsters.... the cast and acting are well done as are most of the effects. The combination of scary, gross out and some comedy make for a fun horror movie. I liked this in that fact that it doesn't try too hard. It knows what kind of movie it is and doesn't try to push to be taken seriously.

DVD Review "GIVE EM HELL MALONE" Score A- 90%

2010-01-28T01:56:00.000-08:00

This is a much hidden gem. For an independent film it has a great cast and is filled with some great character work. In the world of Private Guns for hire Malone is one guy you don't want to mess with... he's hard to kill. I had fun with this one because of the film noir look and feel and the smart dialogue as well as a particularly outstanding firebug gangster who is equally creepy and over the top. Sit back with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy this romp through a noir world. Not quite on par with say PULP FICTION but still a good one none the less.

DVD Review "SHRECK THE THIRD" Score C 75%

2010-01-28T01:55:00.000-08:00

About now I am over the Shreck films and character... this one seems reduced to a Saturday morning extended cartoon episode. The one note that Shreck is, is simply extended in this film. There are a few jokes to be found but the originality that was the first one and even to some extent the second one is lost by the time it reached this sequel. But of course these things make money so they keep making them, in fact I think a SHRECK4 is coming out soon, I don't think I will be wasting my time on it. These movies are for families with some inside jokes for the adults and the educated and bright animation characters for the kids

DVD Review "EVOLUTION" Score C+79%

2010-01-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

This comedy was better than I gave it credit for when I saw its Trailers. A meteor hits earth, it contains a goo of a lifeform that evolves millions of years faster than earths. The creatures grow out of control and a over eager government wants to burn it up. Only fire makes it grow faster...... oops. Don't worry the scientist team will fix it. Its filled with some good special effects and creatures and being an Ivan Rietman film its got that Ghostbusters feel to it. A cast of decent actors all playing for the laughs mostly. I enjoyed it but there is nothing special about it or outstanding at all. Not much else to say about this one.

DVD Review "PANDORUM" Score C+ 79%

2010-01-28T01:53:00.002-08:00

What starts out as Mystery disolves into a hybrid space horror psychotic movie. In the future earth's population is exploding and we find another earth like planet many light years away that we intend to send a ship Noah's Arc proportions of 60000 humans and thousands of other species to inhabitate. A sole man wakes from frozen animated suspension and is confused at where he is who he is and what's going on. A superior officers awakens and they attempt to get the ships power back online before everyone and everything inside dies. However groups of humans have already been awake, and transformed into monsters except for a few others who are fighters. Oh then the captain is crazy with pandorum space crazy sickness. There is in-fighting, running from monsters who will eat ya, or cannibal loners in a closed off section who tell wacky stories drug you, hang you upside down and try to eat ya. In the end SPOILER: we realize the ship already landed on the planet they were headed to and is just under an ocean, but know one knows that until they get the lights on and look out the window. They they simply crack the glass, and the ship shoots the frozen life pods to the surface THE END. The monsters look like they are stolen from the movie THE DESCENT almost exactly the same. The movie is a lot of darkness, and not much action. Could have been much better.

DVD Review "MISS CONGENIALITY" Score B- 81%

2010-01-28T01:53:00.001-08:00

I missed this when it came out but decided to give it a shot and watch it. Its much better than I anticipated but then again I didn't have much in the way of expectations. I give Sandra Bullock a lot of credit as one of the top female actresses out there. She is showing her range and her mass appeal here. She is on verge of a modern day Lucille Ball. She is smart down to earth and really can capture an audience.. in fact these days she just won a Golden Globe against Merril Streep and will be up for an Oscar for her current work (BLIND SIDE). In this as a bumbling FBI tom boy agent. She is required to go through a make over to be a contestant in the now terrorist threatened Miss United States contest. In almost sitcom style this one unfolds as a comic crime caper that is ultimately foiled by Bullock's contestant. Its fun and harmless. A laugh here and there and a wonderful pretty Sandra Bullock to watch.

DVD Review "9" Score B 85%

2010-01-28T01:52:00.002-08:00

Visually this movie is stunning, it looks like it made with stop motion puppetry but its entirely animated. The story is a bit convoluted with a basic theme that extends the MATRIX concepts. Basically a human scientist created an AI robot, the government used this to make war machines, eventually the machines targeted all humans as a threat. The scientist's last invention is a machine that split his human soul into a set of 9 fabric robot dolls, why that who knows. The last of the dolls #9 awakes to find itself in the room with the now dead scientist, he explores the destroyed world finding the other dolls, which are hunted by the machines to steal their life force or something like that. Its bleak film with a bleak look at a weird futuristic theme. Not for children at all and is more of an animators film maker movie.

DVD Review "THE DESCENT" Score B- 80%

2010-01-28T01:52:00.001-08:00

Another addition to the hot chicks can kick some monster ass film genre. This one starts out rather boring, a kind of twenty something SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELLING...WHATEVER... These girls are out for a 'girls weekend' in a camp and plan on going hiking and cave dwelling... They go to what they think is a previously explored cave system and then come to find out that they were mislead by one of them and this is a new cave area unexplored. Finally after what seems to be a darkened eternity they run into problems, get trapped and must escape... now what was a mostly unlit film, becomes filled with more light, only so we can see what is going on... and they run into a pack of cave dwelling, blind bat humanoid creatures who hunt them down to eat them, and suddenly the light that was almost gone now becomes a given in every scene without question as to where its coming from. The typical horror cliches apply as well as some in-fighting between them as they are picked off. Creatures are decently scary and there are some jump moments to be had. Not a bad film to rent. SPOILER: The end almost becomes satisfying until they pull out a Oops that was just a dream ending ha ha.... Should have let her escape and ended it there.

DVD Review "DOOMSDAY" Score B 86%

2010-01-28T01:51:00.000-08:00

Taken with a grain of salt this film is a fun ride. Its a mish mash up of a variety of genres. The film starts out as a Zombie/virus infection of half of Scotland (in the future) where its quarantined off from the rest of the world so the infected can just die out. They don't and years later they discover survivors which means a cure as the virus has now restarted outside the quarantined area. So to get the cure they send in their most bad ass Spec. Ops chick with a glass/computer eyeball (she lost her eye as a child in escape from the virus area). So they send her and a team into the area of survivors to get the cure. So then the movie morphs to a soldiers vs. town of zombies movie, into a bizarre Mad Max mash up then into a castle with gladiators where everyone is dressed up in middle ages clothing then back to the Mad Max men with Fast and Furious car chases and a touch of Blade Runner tossed in along all the fighting. The whole thing although in concept seems comical, is played for keeps and straight up and it actually works. Its a fun ride. With the now normal super chick hero who can kick the asses even the biggest baddest men of the world. Enjoy it for what it is a "B" action flick that is a mash up of a bunch of different genres.

DVD Review "CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS" Score B+ 87%

2010-01-28T01:50:00.000-08:00

Computer animation these days has made leaps and bounds as far as filmmaking has gone. This non-PIXAR entry into the field of these films should not go unnoticed. I really liked this film despite another absurd premise, a food making machine that can make anything (especially full meals) is launched into the sky by its inventor and the rain of food stuffs saves the dying fishing town... a town that only fished sardines. Everyone of these films seems to have to have a Villain and this one is no exception, except this one is just an over eager Mayor who loves the food rains so much he balloons to a huge man and he ultimately leads to the mutation rain overload the town gets. A virtual tsunami of food threatens the town and then the wave happens as our love struck hero and inventor of the food machine saves the day in the end. Good fun for the whole family and this is a great little animated gem.