March 2008 Archives

"We Own The Night" was such a disappointment. I mean you have a cast that includes Joaquin PHoniex, MArk Walberg, Eve Mendes and RObert Duvall and at the end of the day this is what we have? Seriously? I mean I love cop movies. From the Untouchables to the Departed. But the two words that describe this movie are boring and formulaic. Wait strike that. Let's go with Booooring instead of just boring. I really don't know what to say, if your bored and looking for a good cop movie this is not it. If your bored and looking for a good late 70's period piece, this is not it.



The acting is non-existant (not the actors faults, more of the crappy scripts fault) and even the sets are boring. The music is all Blondie/Bowie all the time, but that can't even save most of the scenes. The ending is so by the book as to make you actualy roll your eyes. The behind the scenes are prentenious and totally talking heads but I will post the best one below. It's about the povital car chase in the movie. It at least shows how they shot the whole scene which is very cool and the Director talks about how boring it was the whole time to shoot which is pretty damn funny. And you get to see a camera destroyed and some really great old fashioned stunt work.  But overall sigh....

I give it a D+

I have to start by saying I'm a big fan of Stephen King. He is the master of horror. Not only does he put together some incredible stories, but his character development is second to none in my opinion.

That being said, I have been disappointed in the past with some of the movies which have been adapted from his books.  While for the most part I like them, there are a few which lack the richness of the story.

That is most likely because King goes into such detail in some cases.  For example, Delores Claiborne, which was a great movie, was still a better book.  There were details in the book which you just can't transfer to film.

That is why I was a little concerned upon hearing of this new movie based on a King story.  But let me just say the movie is brilliant.

"This country is tough on a man....you can't stop what's coming". That is one of my favorite lines from the film I just watched. It's "No Country For Old Men" and after seeing it in the theatres and now on DVD's I have to say this is one of the best films I have watched in years. If you buy five DVD's this year make this one of them. "No Country for Old Men" is a genre bender. It's not a chase movie, not a road movie,not a horror movie, not a Thriller it's some sort of hybrid of all them. This makes the film very hard to describe. Maybe it's a dark thriller cinematic comedy?
What can I say it's a Coen film. That's all I should have to say.



The scenery is fantastic, the characters are amazing, the acting is top notch and the dialog is amazing. In fact the scenery is so fantastic that west Texas itself almost becomes one of the characters in the film. Call me a film geek but Watch it and you will see what I am talking about. The fact that none of the three main characters are ever on screen at the same time, yet it works, should tell you how good this film is. As I said the actors are amazing with Javier Barden giving the performance of his life. The behind the scenes on the DVD are more of a love letter to the Coen brothers and the actors than showing you how the film was made, but they do have their points. The very, very brutal opening violence scene is well documented and amazingly sick to watch.

Simply put this is the one of the best films you will watch in 2008. Go buy the DVD today.

I give it an A+

This is what I am talking about. It's like a mini film school in a box. While most concentrate on camera's or film type this one talks alot about locations, clothing, set dressing and props. A good primer to the details that make this film so great. The locations alone are amazing. Just remember even your characters haircuts make a difference....enjoy.

Another featurette from No Country For Old Men. This one takes you through the life of Tommy Lee Jone's character from the film. Not exactly a film school in a box but as an actor it's intresting to see how Tommy Lee gets into character and of course the scenery is amazing....check it out.

If you haven't seen this film it's simply brilliant. Stop reading this and go buy the DVD. This is a clip from one of the great Behind The Scenes. This one is a featurettes that talks about working with the Coens. It's a bit of a love letter to the directors (which they deserve) but it's still a little self serving...

This was frankly the best music documentary I have seen in a long long time. The Upsetter is about the life and time of revolutionary artist and producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. You may of heard of him from his producing of Bob Marley or his appearances on Paul Mcartney's albums or his apperance with the Beastie Boys. The Upsetter charts 70 years in the life of Lee Scratch Perry, in his own words, through an exclusive interview given to American filmmakers Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough in Switzerland in 2006.

It is equally a documentation of 30 years of Jamaican music and culture and a character study of one of the most creative and inspiring human beings alive today. At once touching and shocking the film really did a great job of patching together the fragmented life of Lee Scratch Perry and the impact on music that he has had. The best part? Every one who attended Tuesday's screening got a Fax from Lee himself. I will work on scanning it and adding it soon.

I give it a A+

- Dave

Hey,
If there are any readers of this Blog I would love to meet up at SXSW for a beer. I will be attending SXSW from March 7th-15th here in Austin, TX. Although we concentrate on DVD's I hope to supplement that with some kick-ass previews of what are sure to be the next wave of great films. Leave us a comment if you want to meet-up.

Thanks,
Dave

"Dan in Real Life" is one of those Films that tries really hard. Too hard in my opinon. By that I mean it's practical set up to be some type of quirky comedy from the start instead of involving into one. The characters are set-up to be quirky, the cinematography is set-up to be quirky, the kids are quirky, the lines are quirky,etc, etc. I could sit here all day and point this out to you but instead I invite you to watch the movie and tell me it's not. Besides this is a nice little, quirky (heh) romantic comedy starring Steve Carel, Dane Cook, and a couple of other actors you might recognize including Diane Keaton and the dad from Tv's "Kramer".
 

Overall there is nothing wrong with this film at all. Carel is a good actor and really works at making you feel as uncomfortable as he is at times in the film. And, in fact, there are some really really funny moments that made me fall off the couch laughing. However, call me jaded, if you want there is nothing in here that screams "you will remember this film a year from now". Does that make sense? Overall it's worth a rental if you like the actors otherwise I would skip it.

I give this DVD a C+.

This is an amazing documentary on Extraordinary Rendition that is told by the people that it really happened to. The director would not release the DVD without this documentary being on it and I can see why. This documentary by WITNESS is what inspired the script writers to tell the story they did. Watch it and cry for the country we have become....

Extras:
The interview with the location casting director is excellent, and something rarely seen in Behind The Scenes Features. Also the set building is incredible when they travel to shoot in Morocco. Remember to watch the whole thing be sure to buy the DVD

Your getting off the plane in London on vacation. Two security guards approach you and ask your name. Once you comply they grab you and move you towards some doors. Once past those doors a black bag is put over your head and you are given an injection. When you wake up all you see is black. You struggle but are chained to your seat with the same bag over your head. You have the sense of flying. You are drugged again and when you wake up you are in a cell that is 4 feet by 4 feet somewhere in Morocco where you will be tortured over the next 6 weeks for information you don't have. The stuff of films right?



Well if you google the term "Extraordinary Renedition" you will see that this is something the USA does on a monthly basis to thousands of people over the last 4 years. This is also the central theme of the DVD "Rendetion". This film stars Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep and Peter Sarsgaard. This is one of those films that is not great but it does raise questions. Why do we allow this to happen to people in the so called "Land of the Free"? The film goes on to raise these questions and although the acting is good, the plot never really makes a lot of sense and the music seems to be a little off. It just never grabbed me. And the ending is 100% formulaic Hollywood. Overall it's your basic everything is interconnected film in the same vain as Babel. IJust remember this qoute from the bonus features "Every Day the United States tramples on truth and justice". That I believe.....what do ya'll think?

I give the issues this DVD raises a A+ while the DVD I give a C+.  

I have to admit that when I recieved this movie to review I wasn't sure what to expect. In fact I was expecting more of a horror move to review on our other website - the Haunted Report.

That's not to say I'm disappointed - far from it in fact.  This was an awesome movie.

In the movie, a rich man (Hayden Christensen) is in need of a heart transplant.  Luckily his doctor (played by Terrence Howard) manages to find him a heart in seemingly record time.  Christensen's girlfriend (Jessica Alba) accompanies him to the hospital to await his transplant.  All along, his mother (played by Lena Olin) has concerns with the whole procedure.

While the operation seems to be status quo, we soon learn that Christensen's character undergoes "Anesthetic Awareness" in which he is not in fact properly anesthetized and can hear, and more importantly feel everything that happens to him.