Film Review: Robinson’s ‘The Rum Diary’ (2011) Loses its Balance Before Last Call

 B. Woodell, Drama, Thriller  No Responses »
Oct 282011
 

Theatrical Poster

After many years in anticipation, Johnny Depp reprises his role as a Hunter S. Thompson alter ego in the new film The Rum Diary, and sadly, I think he took it one film too far.

It follows a young writer, Kemp, as he travels to Puerto Rico to join a failing newspaper and begin his writing career as an astrology writer. Along the way, he drinks a lot of rum with the paper’s photographer and roommate, nearly goes to jail, meets a beautiful young blond (Amber Heard), is invited to help a shady business scheme put on by a gentleman named Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), and tries to discover his own “voice” to write his own novel.

That is all I took away as being the story from the seemingly endless two-hour marathon that is the film. Yes, it looks like there’s a lot involved, but it’s so sprawled out and Continue reading »

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Film Review: Kitano Revisits the Yakuza Lifestyle with ‘Outrage’ (Ôtomo – 2010)

 Asian Cinema, Crime, Drama, J. Andersson, Japan, Takeshi Kitano, Thriller  No Responses »
Oct 282011
 

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Beat Takeshi goes back to his roots, eh? Outrage is truly a “classic” Yakuza tale, featuring several groups of gangsters being played out against each other by the top dog, and sadly, that is about it. The first 30-40 minutes of this movie aren’t exactly what I would describe as entertaining, it is just a collection of scenes featuring Yakuza screaming, beating each other up and so forth. Not that heavy violence is a bad thing, but when Outrage has no characters whatsoever it gets kind of… dull actually. They can shout how much they want but, beat up innocent people just for the fun of it but when there really isn’t anything separating the characters other than the fact that one of them is played by Takeshi Kitano and the others aren’t, it doesn’t make great viewing. The actors are all good, except for the fact that Kitano himself does one of those roles that he can Continue reading »

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Film Review: Almodóvar’s Masterpiece ‘The Skin I Live In’ (La piel que habito – 2011) Leaves The World of Cinema Breathless

 Drama, J. Meredith, Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, Thriller  No Responses »
Oct 262011
 

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There’s no real reason to waste space and time trying to sell this movie on you with fancy writing and descriptive amateur journalism. The Skin I Live In is a modern masterpiece, Pedro Almodóvar a genius and if you miss this movie, then you have no reason to ever call yourself a genre fan ever again.

Horror has always been at the core of Pedro Almodóvar movies. In one-way or another, it’s been an important part of the universe his movies work in. Be it the rape victim taking violent revenge, the lunatic kidnapping the woman of his obsession, or the sexual predator being caught up in his own game. If you know your Almodóvar, you know that I’m talking about Kika, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and Matador – which starts with a scene of Diego Montes [Nacho Martínez] having a good old wank to the death scenes of Mario Bava’s Blod & Black Continue reading »

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Film Review: Tsui Hark Returns to Form with Action-Packed Whodunit, ‘Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame’ (Di Renjie – 2010)

 Action, Adventure, Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, Drama, Fantasy, Hong Kong, Martial Arts  No Responses »
Sep 272011
 

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Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame brings something to Hong Kong cinema that really has been missing for as long as I can remember; a mystery crime solver film. Yes, there are instances where hidden identities need to be discovered in previous films, but Detective Dee is one hundred percent a mystery crime solver set in the Tang Dynasty.

A monument is being built in honor of Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau), and one day two of the supervisors burst into flames for no reason. No one is sure exactly what the cause is, so the Empress free Detective Dee from prison to solve the mystery. Empress Wu sends her right hand swordswoman, Jing’er (Bingbing Li) to not only watch Dee, but to help him in his quest to find not only what Continue reading »

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Film Review: It Takes More Than a Punch to be a True ‘Warrior’ (2011)

 Action, B. Woodell, Drama, Martial Arts  No Responses »
Sep 252011
 

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Two fighters. Two brothers. One estranged ex-alcoholic father. One brother is an ex-Marine and war hero, the other is an ex fighter turned physics teacher. One brother wants to support his fallen Marine comrade’s wife, the other wants to save his house from foreclosure. In comes Spartica, the “Super Bowl” of MMA. Both men join. Both men fight through brackets, and I’m sure after reading through the fourth sentence you knew where the film was headed. It was blatantly obvious 15 minutes into the film.

This is the stripped down plot of Warrior, the new underdog sports film with one main problem…there was no underdog and no character really worth the weight of the script. Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte) essentially abandoned his family twenty odd years ago due to alcoholism. He finds God and quits drinking, trying Continue reading »

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Film Review: On The Dark Side of the Moon, The Crew of ‘Apollo 18′ (2011) Aren’t Alone

 B. Harris, Documentary, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller  2 Responses »
Sep 112011
 

Theatrical Poster

Despite assurances that Apollo 17 was NASA’s last manned flight to the moon, a clandestine flight designated Apollo 18 is launched back out into the recesses of space and back to the moon on a top secret mission for the Department of Defense. Tasked with installing transmitters and listening devices, what first appears to be simple quickly takes a turn for the worse when moon rock samples are misplaced, equipment malfunctions and the possible presence of a Russian cosmonaut is discovered.

With the orbiting command module on the dark side of the moon, communications between the lunar module and Houston is severed, leaving the two crewmen on the surface of the moon stranded with a possible hostile combatant. As electronics fail and one of the crew is attacked by an unknown biological is becomes Continue reading »

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Film Review: The Ford Bros. Breathe New Life into The Undead with ‘The Dead’ (2010)

 B. Harris, Drama, Horror, Zombies  1 Response »
Sep 062011
 

Concept Poster

Like the plague sweeping across medieval Europe, the undead swarm the continent of Africa forcing American military engineer Lt. Brian Murphy and African soldier Sgt. Daniel Dembele to fight their way through the zombie hordes and an arid desert in search of Daniel’s young son and a possible way off the continent. Setting aside their differences, the two men work together to stay alive but wave after wave of flesh-eating undead slowly march forward cutting off all routes of escape.

I’ll do my best to keep from gushing but it’s hard not to be amped about a horror film that fires on all cylinders; from traditional shambling zombies and unflinching carnage to unbearable tension and breathtaking locations, Howard and Jonathan Ford have bravely crafted the kind of traditional horror film so many filmmakers promise yet so very few actually end up delivering. Featuring stunning, damn near Continue reading »

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Film Review: Saldana Sizzles as a Sexy Assassin in ‘Colombiana’ (2011)

 Action, B. Woodell, Crime, Drama, Revenge  No Responses »
Aug 272011
 

Theatrical Poster

Never forget where you came from.” The words spoken to Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) by her father when she was a child, resonate throughout Colombiana with each bullet fired by the revenge fueled heroine.

At the tender age of nine, Cataleya witnesses her parents massacred by her father’s partner in crime’s men. Before the men arrive, Cataleya’s father gives her a computer chip that he says is her passport to the US if she can get to the embassy. In a very exciting sequence running through the slums being chased by men on foot, dirt bikes and cars, she escapes her parent’s Continue reading »

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Film Review: Mankind’s Worst Enemy May No Longer Be Itself in ‘The Collapsed’ (2011)

 B. Harris, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller  1 Response »
Aug 092011
 

Theatrical Poster

The world is no more and a family of four must escape the desolate city and avoid armed scavengers in a desperate attempt to reach the next town and possible safety. While the threats they face are very real, something intangible and infinitely more dangerous lurks just beyond our dimension, following them on their journey. Who or what is stalking them and what role has it played in the collapse of civilization?

One of the highlights of being a film critic is being able to view dozens of new and exciting films from talented upcoming filmmakers before the general public; it’s a lot like being a daytime trader with full access to insider trading tips. We’re given a look at the Continue reading »

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Film Review: Woodell’s ‘The Sad Cafe’ (2011) – Death and Romance Collide in a Hail of Bullets

 Action, Crime, Drama, J. Kayy, Martial Arts, Revenge, Thriller  3 Responses »
Jun 142011
 

Theatrical Poster

The Sad Cafe is a dynamic action thriller from visionary young director Bennie Woodell and it follows the story of Jack, a hitman in a gritty world where life and death, love and hatred carry a high price. As Jack begins falling in love with a young waitress named Rose at a small cafe he dines at daily, he tells himself a woman like her can’t possibly love a man like himself.

Full of amazing acting from its small cast, the film looks great with colorful scenes and wonderful cinematography by Macario Cortes III and a nice score also helps the set the dramatic mood. In my opinion the sound did seem to be a bit off, mostly during James Jeske’s dialogue, and I had to guess a few Continue reading »

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Film Review: Jodorowsky’s Cult Cinema Masterpiece, ‘Santa Sangre’ (1989), Receives a Breathtaking Release

 Drama, Horror, T. Strauss, Thriller  No Responses »
Jun 132011
 

DVD Artwork

Saying that Fenix (Axel Jodorowsky) has had a rough life would be a bit of an understatement. Having grown up as a boy magician in a circus run by his drunken, knife-throwing father Orgo (Guy Stockwell) and religious cult zealot mother Concha (Blanca Guerra), with a circle of friends consisting of a deaf-mute girl, a two-foot-tall elephant trainer and a Greek chorus of clowns, you’d think a kid would be used to some weirdness. And you’d be right—he’s able to take in-stride the tragic death of his favorite elephant, its bizarre funeral in which the giant casket is dropped into a ravine then savagely broken into by ravenous peasants, even a ritualistic chest-tattoo-by-knifepoint administered by his father as a Continue reading »

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Film Review: Gansel’s ‘The Wave’ (Die Welle – 2008) Proves Human Nature Can Corrupt Spontaneously

 Drama, Germany, J. Felton, Thriller  No Responses »
Jun 112011
 

Theatrical Artwork

Director Dennis Gansel’s previous movie was the flawed, yet still very enjoyable, vampire flick We Are The Night (Wie Sind Die Nacht). Now, whereas that movie was rooted firmly in the realms of the fantastical, as to my knowledge there aren’t vampires swanning around Berlin at the moment (although I could be wrong), The Wave has its feet firmly placed in modern day reality. The story may seem slightly outlandish but it is based on a novel which takes its cues from an actual experiment performed in 1967.

Set in a German high school in western Germany, although filmed near Berlin, The Wave follows rebellious school Continue reading »

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