Bdub's Film Reviews

[BWilli]

I went out last night and saw “Meet the Fockers”, the sequel to what, I feel, was one of the funniest movies of 2000, “Meet the Parents”.

Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo and Owen Wilson (extra small part at the end) return with the addition of Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand.  

This time around, Greg (Stiller) and Pam (Polo) bring her parents Jack (DeNiro) and Dina (Danner) to meet Greg’s loosey-goosey-type parents, Bernie (Hoffman) and Roz (Streisand) Focker.

I didn’t go into this film with really high expectations of seeing a good film.  I haven’t heard many good reviews about it; most reviews saying that it’s basically the same of the first, only in a different setting.  And most of those reviews were right………HOWEVER; I still felt the film was pretty funny.  The addition of Hoffman and Streisand were brilliant.  After seeing them take the role of the Focker’s, I don’t think any other actor or actress could’ve pulled it off better.  There was also the addition of LJ, would stands for Little Jack, Pam’s nephew, and grandson to Jack and Dina.  There are a lot of hilarious moments in the film with this baby.

Acting wise…Stiller is basically the same quirky male nurse as in the first.  He was funny in the first, and he was funny in this one.

DeNiro, the same.  Very paranoid character, doesn’t trust anyone, but is funny being that way.

I got most of the laughs out of Bernie Focker.  Hoffman was hilarious.  Everything about his character was great, especially his capoeira exercises.  

Streisand and Greg’s sex-therapist mother was an excellent addition to the film too.  She brought her jewishness to her character and it was excellent.

As in there first film, there might just have been WAY too many Gaylord and Focker jokes, but I still cracked a smile at each one of them.

I’d say if you liked Meet the Parents, then give this film a shot.  You might like it.


I’ll atleast give it one  It wasn’t as good as the first, but I still found it funny and enjoyable.

[BWilli]

I saw five movies over this New Years weekend…some DVDs and some in theaters.

First, I watched “The United States of Leland.”

The film stars Ryan Gosling, Don Cheadle, Kevin Spacey, Jena Malone, Chris Klein, and Michelle Williams.

Soft-spoken 15-year old Leland Fitzgerald (Gosling) commits a seemingly senseless murder that shocks his community, affecting both his victim's family and his own. Arrested and imprisoned in a juvenile detention facility, Leland comes in contact with an aspiring writer and prison teacher, Pearl Madison (Cheadle). As Pearl delves into the mystery of Leland's crime, he also sees the chance for a career-making book as the boy's estranged father is the world-renowned author, Albert Fitzgerald (Spacey).

No doubt about it, this is a sad film.  But it’s also a really good one.  I have read nothing GOOD about this film, and it really pisses me off.  All the critics are bashing the story, or the acting or the directing.  I felt the story was great, not focusing too much on the victim, but pretty much everyone else.

Acting wise, I think this was one of Don Cheadle’s greatest performances ever.  He’s a great actor, and proves it here.

Ryan Gosling, given a few more years, should be nominated for an Oscar.  He’s becoming a really good actor, and he’s role as Leland P. Fitzgerald was his best so far.

Spacey is one of my favorite actors.  He plays a smaller role here, as Leland’s father, but he was the perfect actor for the part.  

Jena Malone was decent.  She hasn’t really impressed me with any other roles (haven’t seen “Saved” yet, but I’m hoping she’s good in that).

Chris Klein didn’t seem to adapt to well to the genre change.  Not used to seeing him in a dramatic role.  He was just okay in this, but nothing spectacular.

Overall I loved the film.  Gosling and Cheadle were great.  The story was amazing.  I recommend this film for everyone to see.

[BWilli]

The second film I saw this weekend was “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”.

The film stars Jim Carrey, Emily Browning, Liam Aiken, Meryl Streep, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, and Cedric the Entertainer.

After the tragic death of their parents, Violet (Browning), Klaus (Aiken), and Sunny Baudelaire travel from guardian to guardian by a good friend of their parents, Mr. Poe (Spall).  The orphans are first sent to live with distant relative Count Olaf (Carrey).  After a few “unfortunate” events, Poe feels that Olaf wouldn’t be a suitable guardian, so the kids are then taken to stay with herpetologist Monty Montgomery (Connolly).  After some more unfortunate events, caused by Olaf, the kids are sent to grammar-wise Josephine Anwhistle (Streep).  Olaf doesn’t give up, and eventually, yep, after more unfortunate events, gets custody of the children.  All the while that these events are happening there is the mystery of a spyglass that Klaus found.  For those who have read the books, you may know what happens next, but I wont spoil much more of what happens.

I wasn’t exactly blown away by this film.  I enjoyed it for the most part, but it wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be.  From what I understand, this film spans the first three books in the series (and I think at the moment, there are 11 books total), so I smell sequels.  At least I hope there will be.

I thought Jim Carrey was really creepily good.  Hopefully he’ll stick around for the sequels…nothing is worse than keeping a character but replacing the actor.  Seeming how Olaf is a main character in every single book…they must keep Carrey around to play the part in every movie.

Meryl Streep was pretty good as well.  She’s normally a great actress, so I’m not surprised that she was good in this film.

I’ve never seen Emily Browning in any other films, but she’s a pretty good actress.  With time, she’ll only get better.

Liam Aiken has been in a few other films (notably Stepmom and Road to Perdition).  Another actor who’ll get better with time.

Again, the film was good, I was hoping for better.  One thing I loved was the scenery.  The sets were a visual masterpiece.  If you’ve read the books and enjoyed them, you’ll love this film.

[BWilli]

The third film was “Open Water”.

The film stars Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, a married couple who eventually find the time to get away from their busy lives and go on tropical vacation.  They sign up for a scuba diving tour and are among 18 other people to do so.  While out in the middle of the ocean, the dumb ASSistant miscounts once everyone re-boards the boat.  The boat leaves, without anyone realizing the two people are missing.  When the two resurface, the boat is long gone, and the reality begins to set in; these two are stuck out in the middle of the ocean…not necessarily alone.

The trailer for this film made it seem a lot scarier than I thought it was, however I was really impressed with it.  First of, there were only two scary things about this film.  One was a particular scene, when night falls and a storm is coming.  The screen is black, only brightening with the lightening from the storm, and the two clinging to each other as sharks circle and nudge them around a bit.  Pretty freaky scene.  The second wasn’t a scene or anything, but just the fact that this film is based on true events.  That two people were actually left behind in the middle of the ocean…and nobody knew about.

The film was shot extremely well on Digital Video, with a really low budget and small crew, not to mention real sharks.  Very impressively made.  Kudos to Chris Kentis…the writer, director and editor.

Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis were very good too.  The two worked well with each other, almost as if they were a real married couple.  Some very good acting here.

The film showed the real nature of sharks as well.  This was nowhere near “Jaws” or “Deep Blue Sea”.  The sharks didn’t rip people apart…they were merely curious at first, circling and bumping into the two.  

If you pick up the DVD, check out some of the extras.  There are some pretty interesting documentaries on the making of the film and about sharks too.  Good stuff.

Bdub approved.  :-P

[BWilli]

The fourth film I saw was “Ocean’s 12”.

The entire main cast from the first film, George Clooney, Brad Pit, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould and Eddie Jemison, all return with the addition of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vincent Cassel.

Three years after ripping off casino owner Terry Benedict in Las Vegas, Danny Ocean and his gang have settled down. Until the revenge-seeking Benedict contacts them all one-by-one with this: pay back what you stole from me, with interest, or else. They have two weeks to come up with $190 million dollars. In addition to the swiftly approaching deadline, they have to dodge tenacious Europol agent Isabel Lehiri and out-maneuver another thief known only as "The Night Fox."

For a sequel, this was a pretty good film…a little farfetched at some point, but it was pretty good.  By farfetched I mean, consider a man in Amsterdam who has sealed himself and his treasures inside a house guarded with multiple alarm systems and never leaves home. Surveillance indicates there is a control pad on an inner wall, which might be manipulated to bypass the alarms. How to reach it? Their plan involves getting underneath the house, which is beside a canal and rests on underwater pylons, and using hydraulic lifts to raise the house a few inches, so that a difficult shot with an arrow becomes possible.  Yeah…whatever.

Okay, other than that, the story this time around was enjoyable and entertaining.   I found the first film (well…the remake that is) to be very good and very clever.  This one was just as good and just clever.

Clooney and Pitt were really good, as in the first one.  The rest of the cast kind of took a bit of a backseat to the two new characters, especially Zeta-Jones.  She was good in this one, better than usual.

The two main cameos in the film, by Topher Grace and Bruce Willis were a perfectly funny addition to the film.  Grace’s cameo seemed to have just been thrown right in to the beginning, but it was still funny.  He makes a brief reference to his new film “In Good Company” which made me crack out laughing…the only one in the theater that actually laughed at the line.  It was funny…everyone else just didn’t get it.  So there.  :-P

A decent sequel.  If you liked Oceans 11, you’ll dig Oceans 12.

[BWilli]

The fifth and final film I caught this weekend was the horror flick “Darkness”.

I couldn’t have ended the weekend with a worse film.  No…wait, I could’ve if I watched “House of 1000 Corpses.”  But yeah…what crappy film Darkness turned out to be.  I love me some horror.  It’s probably my favorite genre, and there just aren’t enough good horror films that are released to often.  

The film stars Anna Paquin, as Regina, who, with her father (Iain Glen), mother (Lena Olin) and younger brother (Stephen Enquist), moves into a house somewhere in Spain.  Once they’re just about settle in, some shit begins to happen…lights flickering, dear old dad have some sort of attacks that cause him to get a wee bit angry, little brother showing signs that he’s getting the shit kicked outta him by someone, etc.  All this because an old secret lurks in the darkness, haunting the family.

I just found out why I didn’t like the film though.  It was rated PG-13.  No horror film should be rated PG-13.  This is what I didn’t like about “The Grudge.”  Darkness was actually made back in 2002, and was shelved for quite awhile.  It was originally shot as Rated R, however it was re-edited and released as this piece of crap.  I might just have liked it more if there was some gore.  Gee..who’d of thunk it.  Put some fucking blood in a horror movie.  And yelling “Open the freaking door?”  Come on now…that’s not very aggressive.  Hold nothing back…say what you mean.  OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR.  Not that hard.  Be aggressive…B E AGGRESSIVE.

I like Anna Paquin.  She’s cute…even with the gap in her teeth.  And she’s a really good actress.  In fact she might have been the only good thing about this film, and to be honest, she wasn’t top notch.

God I hope they release a Rated R version on DVD.  Just so I can see if it would’ve been the slightest bit better.

Save your money.

[BWilli]

I watched “The Chronicles of Riddick” this weekend.

Vin Diesel reprises his “Pitch Black” character, Richard B. Riddick and Keith David as Imam.  Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, and Alexa Davalos join the cast.

Five years after the events of “Pitch Black”, mercenaries hired by Imam (David) are out looking for Riddick. An evil religious group (or cult - so to speak) known as the Necromongers, lead by Lord Marshall (Feore), are hopping from planet to planet destroying worlds and converting their inhabitants to "necros." Imam's planet, Helion Prime, is next and he believes that Riddick is the man to help. So does Aereon (Dench). She comes to Riddick and tells him that he has a destiny to fulfill, whether he likes it or not.  Before being able to save Helion Prime, Riddick is taken to Crematoria, a hellish volcanic planet that serves as a huge prison. There he finds Kyra (Davalos), formerly known as Jack (the boy who turned out to be a girl) from the first film.  The two bust out of the prison and find that Lord Marshall has sent his number one man, Vaako (Urban) and a troop of Necromongers to find and kill Riddick.  A whole lot of ass-kicking action ensues, as Riddick once again becomes an antihero.

There is a subplot as well involving Vaako’s loyalty issues to Lord Marshall.  This is due to Vaako’s power hungry wife Dame Vaako (Newton) who wants Lord Marshall dead so that her husband can rule the Necromongers.

This film has some great sci-fi action going for it.  Not to mention a decent plotline and, what I think, is a really good subplot involving Vaako and his wife.  The film is completely different from “Pitch Black”.  There are no aliens and no darkness.  In fact, at one point our antihero(es), are actually running from the sunlight.  Pretty cool scene and very well done.

Diesel brings back his same kick-ass cool attitude as Riddick.  He’s as cool as they can get.  He may not be the greatest actor in the world, but he owns cool.  He has played mostly the “tough guy” in all of his movies, and its no different here.  (However, he does have the sorta funny looking “The Pacifier” coming out soon)  Any who, Riddick rules and Diesel owns the role.  

Alexa Davalos replaces Rhiana Griffith as Jack, now Kyra.  Although Davalos was pretty good in the role, one of the main things I dislike about sequels is keeping a character, and changing the actor/actress who plays it.  Griffith, from what I heard, was set to star, but need to bulk up a bit…while she was off doing that, in walked Davalos and she got the role.  She’s not such a bad actress though, and did a fare job.  Oh…and she’s pretty hot too.

Colm Feore plays a pretty good bad guy, and he’s really evil in this one.  I’d definitely cast this dude as the villain in any film (only if Gary Oldman turned it down first  :razz: )  Good actor who does another good job.

Karl Urban (of LOTR and The Bourne Supremacy) does a good job of not knowing whether he wants to turn on Lord Marshall or stay loyal to him.  Very convincing as a conflicted character.

If you have no idea who Riddick is, you must see “Pitch Black” first. Then watch “Dark Fury”, the 30 minute animated short film that explains what actually happened over the 5 years between the two features.  I haven’t seen it yet, but I heard it answers a lot of questions you might have before seeing Chronicles.

I liked this film; not as much as the first, but a very good sci-fi action flick with some great sets and costume design as well.

[BWilli]

I watched “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle” last night.

The film stars John Cho as Harold and Kal Penn as Kumar, with appearances by Christopher Meloni, Ethan Embry, Fred Willard, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Ryan Reynolds, Anthony Anderson, Jamie Kennedy and Neil Patrick Harris as…Neil Patrick Harris.

Two friends, one of who is Asian, shy and unassertive at his workplace (Harold), the other who is Indian, a rebel and loves the Ganjah (Kumar), decide to drive over to their local White Castle burger joint in order to extinguish their après-weed bout of the "munchies". Unfortunately for them, their seemingly standard trek leads them through a variety of misadventures, many of which involve more of the Wacky-Tobaccy, sex and good ol' fashioned humor.

This was an extremely funny movie for the most part.  There were a few scenes in which I didn’t laugh at all; the Jamie Kennedy scene for example.  It was a very odd moment in the film, and I guess it worked to show the kinda of night the two guys were having, but it just wasn’t all that funny.  Other than that, the movie is filled with many a funny moments.  Neil Patrick Harris playing himself all high on ecstasy was really funny.  A couple of Doogie Howser references add to the laughs.  Unlucky for me, my pizza arrived just as the bathroom scene came on.  Think of Finch in American Pie, only with two chicks playing Battle Shits.

Anthony Anderson had a pretty funny part as a disgruntled employee of the Burger Shack.  I have always found Ryan Reynolds to be a funny dude, and it was no different here.  Again, he had a small role as a male nurse, but a funny role indeed.

Chris Meloni as Freakshow was pretty damn disgusting.  A different role than his parts on “Oz” or “Law & Order SVU”.  The guy is funny though.  I’d like to see him take on more comedy roles.

What made the movie though were it’s two stars.  John Cho and Kal Penn haven’t really shined in any previous films they’ve been in.  Both are usually supporting actors.  Both are hilarious throughout the entire movie, dealing with all this shit that keeps happening to them.




Dr. Woodruff: Do you actually believe that after the way you've just behaved that I would even consider recommending you for admission?
Kumar: No. I'm gonna be honest with you. The only reason I'm applying is so my dad will keep paying for my apartment. I don't have any desire to go to med school.
Dr. Woodruff: But you have perfect MCAT scores!
Kumar: Yeeeah, just cause you're hung like a moose doesn't mean you gotta do porn.

[BWilli]

I watched “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson.  The film is written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michael Gondry.

Joel (Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) has had her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contracts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Wilkinson), to have Clementine removed from his own memory. But as Joel's memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover their earlier passion. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure. As Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew (Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood) chase him through the maze of his memories, it's clear that Joel just doesn’t want to get her out of his head.

I had been hearing rave reviews for this film since it came out in early 2004, and now I know why.  It’s definitely a little strange, but very original.  Kaufman is an amazing writer, and I’d expect him to win some best screenplay awards for this film.

Without a doubt, this is Jim Carrey’s best performance ever, beating out his performance in “The Truman Show.”  He’s up for a Golden Globe and most likely will be up for an Oscar.  

Kate Winslet is amazing, and looks stunning…even with blue hair.  She’s also up for a Golden Globe and I think she just might win it.  She’s a great actress who gives one of her best performances of her career.

Kirsten Dunst also plays a great part in this film.  She’s one of the pot-smoking assistants of Dr. Mierzwiak, who secretly has feelings for the doc.  

Ruffalo is the other pot-smoking assistant, who’s fooling around with Dunst’s character, smokin’ pot and dancing around in their underwear as they scan Joel while he’s sleeping.  Like I said, it’s a strange movie.   He’s a good actor.  This was a goofier role than what we’re used to seeing him play.  Good job.

Elijah Wood is another assistant who falls in love with Clementine during her memory erasing procedure.  Decent job for the small role he played.  

Wilkinson as the head doc is good.  I’m not sure if he’s ever taken up a bad role in a film.  He’s another great actor who will probably win more awards in the future.

There isn’t much to hate about this film.  It’s got everything.  Great story, great directing superb acting, and the perfect ending.  Great movie.  I expect it to win a lot of awards at the Globes and Oscars.

[BWilli]

I saw three movies this weekend.  Two in theaters, one on DVD.

Friday night I saw “In Good Company” starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marge Helgenberger and David Paymer.

Dan Foreman (Quaid) is headed for a shakeup. He is demoted from head of ad sales for a major magazine when the company he works for is acquired in a corporate takeover. His new boss, Carter Duryea (Grace), is half his age--a business school prodigy who preaches corporate synergy. While Dan develops clients through handshake deals and relationships, Carter cross-promotes the magazine with the cell phone division and Krispity Krunch, an indeterminate snack food under the same corporate umbrella. Both men are going through turmoil at home. Dan has two daughters, Alex (Johansson), age 18, and Jana, age 16, and is shocked when his wife (Helgenberger) tells him she's pregnant with a new child. Carter, in the meanwhile, is dumped by his wife of seven months just as he gets his promotion. Dan and Carter's uneasy friendship is thrown into jeopardy when Carter falls for, and begins an affair with, Dan's daughter Alex.

This is definitely the first feel-good movie of 2005.  The film had a lot more funny moments than I was expecting, with an even amount of drama. It takes a good look at corporate America that way it is (for the most part).  I don’t know how many veteran employees are demoted for people half their age, but I guess it could happen.

Dennis Quaid was at his best with this role.  I’ve always thought he was a good actor, but he was amazing…very funny and witty character and he played it perfectly.

Topher Grace had a break-through performance.  His character has a lot of power in the office, but has a certain neediness outside of it.  Great job, and I hope he’ll take on more roles like this one.  There’s a movie called “P.S.” that was released to all sorts of festivals last year and I heard he was even better in that one.

Johansson’s character had a few corny lines, but other than that, she was pretty good.  She’s also pretty damn hot.  She’s a good actress; I’ve thought so since her brilliant job in “Lost in Translation”.  

This was a great movie, with a great script for the most part.  The film is acted perfectly by Quaid and Grace.

[BWilli]

Saturday night I went and saw Golden Globe nominated “Kinsey”.  It was up for best Drama along with Best Actor nomination for Liam Neeson and Best Supporting Actress for Laura Linney.  The film also stars Peter Saarsgard, Chris O’Donnell, Timothy Hutton, Tim Curry, Oliver Platt, and John Lithgow.

This is the life story of Alfred Kinsey (Neeson), a man driven to uncover the most private secrets of the nation, and a journey into the mystery of human behavior. In 1948 Kinsey irrevocably changed American culture and created a media sensation with his book "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male". Using the technique of his own famous sex interviews, story recounts the scientist's extraordinary journey from obscurity to global fame. Rebelling against the rigid piety of his home life, and drawn to the world of the senses, Kinsey becomes a Harvard-educated zoologist specializing in the study of gall wasps. After being hired to teach biology at Indiana University, Kinsey meets and marries a witty, freethinking female student, Clara McMillen (Linney). In the course of his teaching he discovers an astonishing dearth of scientific data on sexual behavior. When students seek him out for advice about sexual concerns and problems, he realizes that no one has done the clinical research that would yield reliable answers to their questions. Inspired to explore the emotionally charged subject of sex from a strictly scientific point of view, Kinsey recruits a team of researchers, including Clyde Martin (Saarsgard), Wardell Pomeroy (O’Donnell) and Paul Gebhard (Hutton). Over time they refine an interviewing technique, which helps people to break through shame, fear, and guilt and speak freely about their sexual histories. When Kinsey publishes his Male study in 1948, the press compares the impact to that of the atom bomb. But as the country enters the more paranoid Cold War era of the 1950s, Kinsey's follow-up study on women is seen as an attack on basic American values. The ensuing outrage and scorn causes Kinsey's benefactors to abandon him, just as his health begins to deteriorate. At the same time, the jealousies and acrimony caused by Kinsey's attempt to create a private sexual utopia threaten to tear apart the research team and expose them to unwelcome scrutiny.  (IMDB plot summary…explained the best way)

Alfred Kinsey was probably the most controversial person of his time.  Before Kinsey began his studies of human sexual behavior, sex was not talked about at all.  He brought to light peoples pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, masturbation, and homosexual encounters in a time when people kept these secrets.

The film has been on a bunch of top ten lists for 2004, and it definitely belongs there.  It was brilliantly written and directed by Bill Condon.  “Kinsey” is really a dramatic story of the his life, but you’ll find yourself laughing at some very funny scenes.  I can’t say that I agreed with some of his views, mainly one view he has on sex offenders, but the film does show what kind of pioneer Kinsey really was.

Liam Neeson as Kinsey was magnificent.  He’s an excellent actor and probably would’ve won the Golden Globe if not for the tough competition in that category.

Laura Linney is another brilliant actress.  In fact, she’s probably my favorite actress as of late.  She was perfect in this film, and would’ve won only if Natalie Portman (who deserved the win) wasn’t in the same category.

Peter Saarsgard keeps getting better and better.  He was really good in “The Salton Sea”, great “Garden State” and outstanding in “Kinsey.”  Mark my words…Peter Saarsgard will win a major award someday.  He won a few smaller awards for his role in “Shattered Glass” and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for his role here in “Kinsey”, but the guy should definitely win a Golden Globe and an Oscar.  

Excellent movie, with a superb cast.  A must see film.  

Oh…and please don’t go see this film just for the T&A&P&D factor.  If your some teenaged perv who loves nudity, you won’t appreciate this film for what it’s really worth.

[BWilli]

Thirdly, I watched “I, Robot” starring Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, and Alan Tudyk.

Set in the year 2035, in a world where robots are common assistants and workers for their human owners, Det. Spooner (Smith) is investigating the death of his friend, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), who before his death, worked for and co-found U.S. Robotics.  The main suspect, Sonny (Tudyk), is a robot.  Susan Calvin (Moynahan), a psychologist who works for U.S. Robotics, raises the question of how it can be that a robot killed a human because all robots are programmed to follow the three laws:  
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

This was a pretty cool sci-fi action movie.  I never read the book by Isaac Asimov, but I’ve heard the book is better, and the film doesn’t stay true to it.  I found the story to be interesting enough.

Will Smith has a certain “cool” factor about him.  He works well as the witty-type action hero, always spitting out these one-liners and kickin’ ass while doing it.

Moynahan is a decent actress.  Nothing outstanding here, except her hotness.

If you like sci-fi action films, then you’ll like it.  If you’re a fan of the book, give the film a try for the hell of it.  You might enjoy it.

[BWilli]

Due to the foot or so of snow that fell in my area over the weekend, I didn’t really get out at all.  I watched a few DVDs though.

First up, I watched “Jacob’s Ladder” starring Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Jason Alexander, Eriq La Salle, and Ving Rhames.

New York postal worker Jacob Singer (Robbins) is trying to keep his frayed life from unraveling. His days are increasingly being invaded by flashbacks to his first marriage, his now-dead son, and his tour of duty in Vietnam. Though his new girlfriend (Peña) tries to help Jacob keep his grip on sanity, the line between reality and delusion is steadily growing more and more uncertain.

This is one weird mind fuck of a movie, and I like that.  Psychological thrillers always tend to make good movies.  It’s definitely very confusing at many points.  I couldn’t tell what was real and what was part of Singer’s hallucinations and dreams.

Tim Robbins is a great actor.  Before this film, he didn’t have many leading roles, but he was perfect as the lead as Jacob.  The character is very paranoid, and Robbins portrays it excellently.

Peña gives a great performance as well.  She plays Jacob’s lover, Jezzie, who’s supportive of him, but also might not be quite what she appears to be.  She’s a good actress, normally takes small roles though.

Aiello plays Louis, Jacob’s friend, chiropractor and spiritual advisor.  I think of his character as a “voice of reason”.  Aiello is cool in this movie.  He’s only in about three scenes or so, but these scenes are very important to the movie.  Great job on his part.

The film is excellently directed by Adrian Lyne (also directed Fatal Attraction) and masterfully written by Bruce Joel Rubin.  The script is amazing and the directing was perfect.  The film is kind of disturbing, and it has a few gory scenes, but it’s still an amazing picture.

[BWilli]

The second DVD I watched was “Dodgeball” starring Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn Alan Tudyk, Justin Long, Joel Moore, Chris Williams and Stephen “I believe you have my stapler” Root.

Peter LaFleur (Vaughn) is a charismatic underachiever and proprietor of a rundown gym called Average Joe's. The facility's eclectic clientele of decidedly less-than-average “Joes” is comprised of: a self-styled pirate (Tudyk); a scrawny nerd (Long) who dreams of impressing an unattainable cheerleader; an obsessive aficionado of obscure sports (Root); a dim-witted young man (Moore); and a cocky know-it-all (Williams) who, of course, really knows nothing. Peter's humble gym catches the eye of White Goodman (Stiller), the power-mullet-sporting, Fu-Manchu-d, egomaniacal owner of Globo Gym, a gleaming monolith of fitness. White intends to take over Average Joe's, and Peter's non-existent bookkeeping is making it all too easy for him. A foreclosing bank has stationed attorney Kate Veatch (Taylor) inside Average Joe's to finalize Globo's takeover of the gym.  In order to save his gym LaFleur and the group decide to join a dodgeball tournament.  Of course, Goodman find out, and signs up a team of his own.  Rip Torn plays Patches O'Houlihan, a former dodgeball champion.  He decides to train the guys, as they seem to know nothing about the sport of dodgeball. Even Kate (who turns out to be a great dodgeballer) gets in on the action, joining LaFleur’s team, to help take down Globo Gym’s team.

This film is outright hilarious.  From O'Houlihan’s cruel training techniques to some special appearance by Lance Armstrong and even David Hasselhoff as the German’s team coach.  (Why?  Because Germans love David Hasselhoff).

Vaughn is different in this film than in his others comedies (like “Old School”).  He’s funny in a totally different way.  He’s very mellow-like here, and I think it worked great.  It was the complete opposite of Stiller’s obvious over-acting, which is brilliantly hilarious.  

I never noticed how hot Christine Taylor is. Anyway, she’s a good actress as well and plays her role perfectly.  She’s completely disgusted by Stiller’s character (ironic only because they’re married in real life).  It was funny to watch her reactions to White Goodman.

I can just look at Stephen Root and laugh.  He looks funny.  He was a scene-stealer in “Office Space” and, although not as funny in “Dodeball”, he was funny enough.  

We always see underdog movies.  (I actually wrote a thesis in college focusing on Underdogs in Film…good paper….got an A on it too)  Okay…so the concept of the “underdog” in not all that original, but writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber, took the idea and put it into a movie focusing on dodgeball, and I find that to be extremely original.  How many dodgeball movies are there?  Not many (if any).

Very funny film, with a great cast.  

[BWilli]

The third film I watched over the snow-filled weekend was “The Hole” starring Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Keira Knightley, Daniel Brocklebank, Laurence Fox, and Embeth Davidtz.

When four teens decide to skip out on their school field trip and kick it for three day in an old underground bomb shelter, they never expected that someone would lock them in.  Three days turn into 18 days.  The film starts out with a dirty Elizabeth Dunn (Birch) walking down a street toward the school.  Posted all over are signs for the four missing teens.  She makes her way into the school, to a pay phone, dials 911 (or the equivalent in England, which is where the film takes place), and then screams into the phone.  The rest of the film is Elizabeth explaining to Dr. Philippa Horwood (Davidtz) just what exactly happened to her, Frances (Knightley), Mike (Harrington), and Geoff (Fox).

Very strange movie.  The audience finds out early on, after two different accounts (one from Dunn, and the other from her friend Martyn [Brocklebank]) why and how the teens were locked in “the hole”, but then we see what happens as fear turns to madness.  Some crazy shit went on down in the hole.

I hadn’t seen the trailer for this film before watching the movie, and I went into it expecting to see a slasher flick.  I wasn’t disappointed at all when I found out it had nothing to do with some sick-psycho-serial killer motherfucker.  I was happy.  The film focused on something scarier than a psycho or ghosts, it focuses on how evil the human heart can become.

The overall acting was decent.  Birch pulls off a good British accent and has a strong performance throughout the film.  Harrington pulls a solid performance as well, as the American love interest to Birch’s character.  Knightley is becoming a better actress.  This was before here excellent job in “Bend it Like Beckham” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”  You can see the difference, even thought the films are only 2 years apart.  She was good here though.   Fox is an actor I’ve never heard of, and will easily forget about in the near future.  Just an okay job for him.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this film and I liked it.  It wasn’t at all what I was expecting.  I watched the trailer afterwards, and you definitely get a slasher feel from it, but it’s not.  Weird movie indeed, but well worth a viewing.