The Happening (2008)Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 |
|
A paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity. |
The Happening (2008)Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 |
|
A paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity. |
Funny Games U.S. (2007)Thursday, June 26th, 2008 |
|
In this English-language remake of a deconstruction in the way violence is portrayed in the media, a family settles into its vacation home, which happens to be the next stop for a pair of young, articulate, white-gloved serial killers on an excursion through the neighborhood. Written by MuzikJunky |
Toy Story 2 (1999)Monday, May 12th, 2008 |
|
While Andy is away at summer camp Woody has been toynapped by Al McWiggin, a greedy collector and proprietor of “Al’s Toy Barn”! In this all-out rescue mission, Buzz and his friends Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex and Hamm springs into action to rescue Woody from winding up as a museum piece. They must find a way to save him before he gets sold in Japan forever and they’ll never see him again! Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com} |
No Country for Old Men (2007)Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 |
|
In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss discovers the remains of several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com) |
Beowulf (2007)Thursday, February 14th, 2008 |
|
Love or loathe the story of Beowulf, this incredibly beautiful version of the classic tale is going to knock your socks off. Screenwriters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary and director Robert Zemeckis took quite a few liberties with the ancient story in order to make it accessible onscreen, but the basics are all there. Lush, gory, and action-packed, this Beowulf might not make reading the story in English Lit class obsolete, but as sort of a companion piece, it does make the classic tale infinitely more palatable.
Unfortunately the San Diego press wasn’t offered the opportunity to view the film in the IMAX format, but I can say the 3-D digital version screened for the media in my area (and on which I’m basing my review) was beyond gorgeous. 3-D’s never been one of my personal favorite formats, but Robert Zemeckis’ spectacular achievements have turned me into a real believer in the beauty of performance capture and 3-D. |
Lords of Dogtown (2005)Thursday, October 4th, 2007 |
|
If “Lords of Dogtown,” the Hollywood movie not the documentary, truly represents what Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and the rest of Z-Boys experienced while turning the sport of skateboarding on its head, then it’s a wonder anyone ever wanted to pick up a board and follow their lead. “Lords of Dogtown” makes the sport seem about as much fun as having your toenails ripped off one by one. |
History of Violence, A (2005)Monday, October 1st, 2007 |
|
This is the story of a mild-mannered man named Tom Stall who becomes a local hero through an act of violence, he lives a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana. But one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner. Sensing danger, he takes action and saves his customers and friends in the self-defense killings of two-sought-after criminals. Heralded as a hero, Tomâ¿¿s life is changed overnight, attracting a national media circus, which forces him into the spotlight. Uncomfortable with his newfound celebrity, Tom tries to return to the normalcy of his ordinary life only to be confronted by a mysterious and threatening man who arrives in town believing Tom is the man whoa¿¿s wronged him in the past. As Tom and his family fight back against this case of mistaken identity and struggle to cope with their changed reality, they are forced to confront their relationships and the divisive issues which surface as a result. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com} |
I, Robot (2004)Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 |
|
I’ve already established in previous reviews I’m not a comic book person (see “The Hulk,” “Spider-Man,” “Hellboy,” etc.). The same lack of knowledge of the source material extends to sci-fi films. I think I read Isaac Asimov years ago, but it didn’t stick with me. I didn’t know there were three laws robots must obey, and the title “I, Robot” reminded me more of a “Me, Tarzan, You, Jane”-type of thing than anything else. |
Saw III (2006)Sunday, August 26th, 2007 |
|
Jeff is an anguished man, who grieves and misses his young son that was killed by a driver in a car accident. He has become obsessed for revenge against the man and reckless with his wife and daughter. When Dr. Lynn Denlon, who has troubles with her marriage, is abducted by the deranged Jigsaw’s apprentice Amanda, she is brought to a gruesome warehouse to keep John Kramer alive in spite of having a terminal brain tumor. Amanda puts a necklace gadget full of explosives around Dr. Lynn’s neck connected to John Kramer’s life support system, and tells her that if he dies the device will explode. Meanwhile, Jeff is submitted to a sick game of forgiveness with surprising dark consequences. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005)Monday, May 7th, 2007 |
|
Kelly and Evelyn Ryan live in Defiance, Ohio with their 10 children. At first glance their life seems idyllic; they call each other “Mother” and “Father” and seem to dote on the kids. But Kelly was a garage-band crooner whose voice was ruined in an auto accident. He’s resigned to a dead-end factory job that barely pays the bills, and is given to fits of alcohol-induced rage. Evelyn, a stay-at-home wife and mother, deals with this abuse by appealing to her priest, who is no help at all. She deals with their poverty by entering the jingle contests that were the rage in the 50’s and early 60’s, even sending in multiple entries in the names of the children. She is very clever at it, winning more than her share of prizes, but her successes aren’t enough to keep the wolf from the door. Further, they trigger Kelly’s insecurities and he retreats deeper into the bottle, using food and mortgage money to support the habit. Can the loving, optimistic Evelyn hold the family together? Is she justified in placing her faith in the deeply-flawed Kelly? How will the children turn out? This underrated film provides an inspirational answer to these questions. Written by Joe Jurca |