Category: Theatrical Review

Y’know, I expect that working for Pixar in whatever capacity has to be about the best employment situation anyone could ever be in- I mean, here’s an organization that makes movies the when you examine the idea on paper, just shouldn’t work for the most part in satisfying a mass audience, and yet they continue to pour out masterpiece after masterpiece, all with long-term appeal and filled with solid storytelling, engaging characters, the greatest technical proficiency, loads of heart, and on top of that, nearly everyone who encounters a Pixar film always comes away with a great movie-going experience… it’s got to be the greatest workplace in the world, knowing that you’re doing that…

… and of course, their latest film, Up is no exception. It’s just fantastic on every level…

This is the story of an average man, Carl Frederickson, who as a child yearned for adventure, and found the same in a young girl named Ellie. But life got in their way, and though they managed to have a wonderful life together, complete with it’s ups and downs, that spirit of adventure eluded them and Carl, now in his later years, and having lost his wife, gets ready to go for broke and pursue that adventure in a big and fantastical way… with the help of a young boy scout named Russell.

I’m not going to say anything further than that, the rest of Up should simply be seen in a theatre and enjoyed, pretty simple as that… and when you go to the theatre to see this, you’re in for a heart-warming experience, with great adventure, absolutely wonderful characters in Carl and Russell (and the friends they get along the way), a lot of very funny situations, and of course, the sheer technical proficiency that Pixar is known for.

Carl is a terrific character, just an absolute classic for Pixar, designed to seem like a cartoonish version of the legendary Spencer Tracy and wonderfully voiced by Ed Asner, this old man is engaging in a big way and you’re with him every step of the way of his adventure. The bond he forms with the young Russell, is very natural, never forced, and it’s easy to see, as Carl certainly sees a lot of himself in the young Russell.

We saw this last night in digital projection and with the full Disney Digital 3D experience, and while I would recommend that to anyone planning to see Up, seeing it in 3D isn’t an absolute necessity. Up is so confident in it’s story, that it doesn’t have to rely on 3D to draw the audience in by any means, it’s pretty much incidental to what’s there. Oh, it’s still well done, and nice to see if you have that opportunity, but hardly necessary for the enjoyable experience that comes from this fantastic movie.

Along with the main feature, as usual with a Pixar film, you get a short film with it, the wonderful little fantasy Partly Cloudy which is a clever little piece dealing with birth and storks and clouds, and it’s a satisfying appetizer to the main course that you’re about to receive.

Don’t miss Up, easily one of the best movies that I’ve seen for the year and right now, leading the way at the top of the list…

Christine Brown is a bright, young bank loan officer, she’s got a solid relationship with a young professor and she’s up for an assistant manager position at her bank. But the bank manager is still waffling on his choice for the job, edging towards someone with more initiative than what Christine has had. An elderly lady, who’s just really creepy from the start, comes into the bank wanting an extension on her home, and when Christine presents this to her manager, the manager gives Christine the chance to make the call. Christine chooses this one time to make the tough call, in a moment of big ambition, and denies the woman her loan. When the woman then begs to have her reconsider, things really begin to go awry for Christine, as she later finds that she’s just crossed an old gypsy who’s put a horrifying curse on her.

That’s the basic premise to Sam Raimi’s newest movie, Drag Me To Hell, which finally has the acclaimed director returning to his roots with over-the-top, tongue-firmly-in-cheek horror, and I have to say I was just entertained with this movie from start to finish. Raimi mad a name for himself with the Evil Dead movies and further with the Spider-Man films, and with Drag Me To Hell he really looks like he’s having a lot of big-ass fun getting back to his roots.

Now, there’s things here that you know will happen, that almost has to happen and while some might find that familiarity tiresome, I thought it was a really fun ride getting there. This is over-the-top, but a few shades less than say what Sam did in Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness but still it has those moments when you know you’re for sure watching a Sam Raimi horror movie. To me as well, this follows the path of old E.C. Comics as well, and when you’re doing this kind of horror movie, those comics are always great templates to go by.

Allison Lohman plays Christine Brown, and it’s pretty much her film. she’s got a delicate line to cross here, in both being sympathetic and at the same time totally deserving of what’s going to happen to her, and I think she does a pretty good job. I could only imagine how this was pitched to her- “Now, Allison, we’re going to have a lot of fun with this movie, but there’s one catch- you’re going to end up with a lot of gross stuff literally in your face, so hopefully, kiddo, you’re up for that…” And I have to say, Lohman had to be a good sport on this film, as she does just that, end up with having a face full of grossness at least five or six times during the film. she’s backed up with Justin Long as her boyfriend, and David Paymer serving a supporting term as the bank manager, as well as others. But probably the other biggest presence in the film is the old lady, Sylvia Ganush, played by Lorna Raver, and she’s pretty much felt throughout the film, though she’s not on-screen the same way Lohman is.

Whenever I’ve talked horror movies with people in the past, the question of whether something is scary often comes up. I don’t really get “scared” by horror movies any more (that kind of went away in my mid teens) and find that the more effective films usually have a more disturbing quality to them more than anything else. I don’t really see Drag Me To Hell as that much of a “scary” affair and I don’t necessarily think it’s supposed to be- it is predictable, but really most horror films like this are supposed to be and when they’re really well put together, then for me, the ride is really enjoyable. The ending that this movie has is the ending that it has to have and when the moment comes, I was genuinely entertained by it, and for a big studio made film, I think this one really delivers the goods.

As Terminator Salvation opens, we’re first introduced to Marcus Wright, a death row prisoner who has signed an agreement with Cyberdyne Systems before his execution in the year 2004- then we fast forward to 2018 and center in on John Connor and the Resistance after a disastrous confrontation with Connor the only one left standing. But after Connor is taken away, we soon see that one other has also survived- Marcus Wright! Connor’s taken to other Resistance leaders and a plan is revealed that they hope will stop the machines once and for all, with eventually both paths crossing and along the way, the search for Connor’s father, a teenaged Kyle Reese, also takes place.

That’s a very brief synopsis for Terminator Salvation the fourth movie in the Terminator franchise, and the start of a new direction for the franchise while trying to maintain some of the same elements that have kept this venerable series strong- and I think it’s just a terrifically fun movie…

The director who goes by the name McG is responsible for this, and I know that name didn’t exactly give me the greatest confidence in the world going in, but I have to say, I think he’s made a hell of a piece here- a great action ride with an emotional center that to me is reminiscent in a way of the original James Cameron films, but also moving in some new directions, though it’s ultimate resolution (in future movies) should just be in one direction.

This is a terrific looking movie, with some solid action set pieces (a couple of which puts me in the mind of George Miller’s Mad Max films and a nice weaving of both Connor’s and Wright’s story’s, though Wright’s story is the bigger deal. Everything works really well on a technical level and that of course is really cool to see. McG is well aided with a nice score from Danny Elfman that certainly knows it’s part of a bigger story, and uses Brad Fiedel’s original Terminator music as well.

There’s certainly been a lot of press lip service about Christian Bale, mostly around his now infamous confrontation with a crew member on the set, which really meant a whole lot of nothing to me, as just a point used by the press and the internet community to bring this big star down a peg or two. What really matters is what’s on-screen, and while this may not rack up to what Bale has accomplished with the Batman movies, what he does here is set a solid foundation for (hopefully) what’s to come in future movies. Bale’s outshone in this movie, by actor Sam Worthington who plays Marcus Wright, and Worthington is just solid gold here, as both an action presence and being the real emotional center of the film. Anton Yelchin, who’s really having a good summer with this and the Star Trek movie, plays the young Kyle Reese, and he’s obviously looked at what Michael Biehn has done with the original, and does a great job with the part. There’s solid support work from Bryce Dallas Howard (playing Connor’s wife Kate), Michael Ironside, Common and Moon Bloodgood (what a name). Helena Bonham Carter and Jane Alexander are also in the movie, in real glorified cameos, though Carter’s is the bigger part and the more meaningful one here- Alexander’s is more a walkthrough, but I see it as a set-up again for future installments. Still, this is a solid cast…

… and as I said at the top of this, a really fun movie with a lot of very cool nods to the other films (mostly the first), lots of great action bits and a new direction to take this in to what should be it’s ultimate resolution once all is said and done. I’ve heard that it’s getting all sorts of bad reviews, but I just don’t get it, I was solidly entertained by this new direction and think the set-up is there for more cool stuff in the future and of course this is, from me anyway, a highly recommended film…

The Pope has died, and as the Vatican prepares to name his successor from four possible candidates, they find themselves under attack and their candidates kidnapped by what appears to be a resurrection of The Illuminati. Now, Professor Robert Langdon finds himself recruited by The Vatican, even after his last escapade with them, in order to save the kidnapped and ultimately Vatican City.

That’s a real simplified premise for Angels & Demons, Ron Howard’s sequel to The Da Vinci Code both adaptations of Dan Brown’s books, and at least in my opinion, a better movie than The Da Vinci Code.

Howard packs quite a bit in this film and even with a 2 hour and 20 minute run time, it runs at a pretty brisk pace, especially in comparison to the prior film, and the main reason for that is more a focus on keeping this closer to an action film, and it doesn’t hurt here at all.

Tom Hanks returns to play the part of Langdon, and while this is no real stretch of Hanks’ skills, he’s rock solid in the part. He’s backed up with an international cast including Ewan McGregor, Avelut Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard and Armin Mueller-Stahl and they all do what’s asked of them here pretty well, especially McGregor and Skarsgard, though really this doesn’t necessarily ask that much of them, other than to fill the stock parts of a thriller.

I’ve not read the books, so I can’t say anything as to how faithful they are. And even though I enjoyed this, I do have one complaint and that’s that it’s red herring ending is a little too obvious when it happens- this moment happens, seems like it could be logical, but deep down you know it’s not and that more has to come about . It still works here, but just seems a little too familiar.

Still though, Angels & Demons is a nice diversion and I do recommend it, but your mileage may vary depending on what you thought of both the books and the prior adaptation of The Da Vinci Code. From what I’ve read, it you’re expecting a hardcore adaptation, you might really be disappointed. I wouldn’t really say that this is “must see” summer movie viewing, but still I had a good time with it.

We’ll keep this pretty basic: A hell-bent on revenge Romulan named Nero has set his target on the Federation of Planets and in particular the planet Vulcan and through this, we see how the most familiar crew of the Starship Enterprise gets together in order to stop him…

… oh yeah, it’s also the re-vamp of a very tired franchise from one of the hottest creative forces in Hollywood today…

… and yes, it’s very good, really very good, I’m talking Wrath of Khan good…

Star Trek from director J.J. Abrams has been much anticipated by yours truly since he first heard that Abrams was involved with it. And the ideas that Abrams had about using a very young cast, re-casting the roles of the original series was to me anyway, the shot in the arm that this venerable franchise really needed. I originally wanted him to go further and pretty much ignore everything but the basics and just put his stamp on it. But Abrams and his writing team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (his co-conspirators on Fringe) decided to tie it in with original continuity as well, and though I thought it might hurt it to saddle it with that, I’ve got to say that I thought the end result was very satisfying- they’ve essentially found a way to do a new version and still keep the continuity of the old intact.

This is a packed movie- there’s a lot that’s happening here and to Abrams’ credit, I’m amazed at how much he does pack into this slightly over two hour long film. Every one of the main characters gets their shot on the screen with obviously Kirk and Spock getting the most time, but still no one else is left wanting. On top of that, the ideas of the future that Gene Roddenberry had are still very much intact, but this is paced in such a way, that at least in my eyes, it becomes a Star Trek that’s made more for an audience that’s more weened on and accepting of the Star Wars movies more.

The look of the movie is very fresh for the franchise, it’s bright and colorful and goes for shots that you haven’t necessarily seen before in the series. It retains some familiarity with the basic shape of the Enterprise, the structure of such things as the bridge of the ship and the transporter room, but allows itself to get a little more industrial with the engineering section. My favorite salute to the original series though is retaining the look of the classic series uniforms, though there are differences there too, but here, they look fresher than they ever have before.

High marks also for frequent Abrams co-conspirator Michael Giacchino’s music score, who keeps things sounding majestic and exciting and waiting until the exact right moments before some familiar sounds come to the forefront.

But where I give this real high marks is in this great cast that Abrams has assembled to reprise some classic roles- Chris Pine, who plays James T. Kirk has said that he hadn’t seen any of what William Shatner had done on the series prior to this, and he offers up something fresh, but thanks to the script and the direction, he has moments that feel you’re seeing that character start out in some familiar ways. Zachary Quinto, who we better know as Sylar from the Heroes TV series is Spock and he’s just dead on, and yet some new elements have been introduced for him that again makes this both familiar and fresh at the same time. Karl Urban plays Dr. Leonard McCoy and next to Simon Pegg playing Scotty, both look like they’re having the most fun in the world with their parts. Zoe Saldana plays Lt. Uhura, and her part is probably the one that gets the most expanded and updated from any of the main cast of the original series- she’s smart and sexy, and obviously gets to do a whole lot more than just open hailing frequencies. John Cho plays Sulu, and though probably the most quiet of the original crew re-vamps still has a strong inner confidence thanks to Cho. My one problem with the movie, and it’s a moot one, is with Anton Yelchin and his dialogue as Pavel Chekov- and it’s probably not so much with Yelchin in the part, but the fact that they insisted on really going overboard with Chekov’s mangling of “v’s” with “w’s” in his dialogue, and I’m just hoping they’ve gotten that out of their systems with this movie, and hopefully moving forward might temper this a bit more- like I said my only problem with the film, but still this is a very satisfying experience.

That’s just the main crew though, and it’s nice to see that Abrams decided to populate the rest of the film with some more familiar faces. Bruce Greenwood is always a rock in whatever he does and he’s no different as Captain Christopher Pike here. Ben Cross and Winona Ryder are quite solid as Spock’s parents, Sarek and Amanda, so no complaints there. but finally though, we have Leonard Nimoy as Spock and Eric Bana as Nero, and I have to say they’re both terrific, though one might’ve wanted one more scene for Bana. His Nero character is adequately explained here, but one more scene to punctuate that wouldn’t have hurt- and Nimoy reprising Spock in the context of this script is just fantastic, his final line… a great passing of the torch moment.

I was a huge Star Trek fan back when I was a younger, not during the original series run, but more discovering it when it ran in syndication and for years it was a huge influence on me. I loved the original crew movies (though will admit that The Final Frontier was the weakest of the bunch) and The Wrath of Khan was at the time a near-religious experience when I first saw it. I liked the Next Generation stuff when it started, more I think just for the excitement of having a new Star Trek again, though there was certainly a lot of good stuff over it’s run, but I thought that Rick Berman eventually drove this franchise into the ground, and it got more tired and antiseptic as other things like Babylon 5, Farscape, Firefly and Battlestar Galactica showed you could be more fresh and exciting with set-ups that owed to what Star Trek originally established. As the Next Generation movies came out, this got more staid and it was sad to see (at least in my eyes).

Well, no more… J.J. Abrams has truly delivered with Star Trek with an exciting story, incredible visual effects and most importantly a fantastic new cast in the parts of the very classic of all of the characters. This is the movie that I’ve been wanting to see for this franchise and it’s just terrific fun and the promise is there again. The only shame is that it will probably be another three years before we see another one, and this cast is so good that I just want to see another one with them a lot sooner than later…

Star Trek is back! And I for one couldn’t be more excited… if you can’t guess, this gets my highest recommendation- don’t miss it!

In this prequel story to the prior three X-Men movies, we see the beginnings of the Wolverine character and are offered glimpses at how he became to be what he is. He develops over the years into an expert combatant, and he’s done his job faithfully until one day when he’s had enough, and on that day he leaves and tries to find his own path of peace. And of course, for a movie like this, that just can’t go well for a moment.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a fun little action/adventure ride, that offers up a few nice plot points and easter eggs for X-Men comics fans, and it is a pretty decent ride… there’s lots of nice action bits, and three pretty cool performances from Hugh Jackman in the title role, Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth and Danny Huston as Major William Stryker, a prequel version of the character that Brian Cox played in the second X-Men movie. Schreiber, in particular, looks like he’s having a real good time with this. There’s some cool nods to the various comic versions of the origins of Wolverine, primarily with the series Wolverine Origin by Paul Jenkins and Weapon X by Barry Windsor-Smith. And I think it has some decent, if not obvious, effects work. I’ve heard some complaints about the effects work here, but they don’t really bother me.

It’s a fun ride for what it is and that’s a fun popcorn movie, and there’s really nothing wrong with that, that’s obviously what Fox and Marvel Entertainment are striving for in this movie and for that, it’s a good time, but it also seems like a lesser effort in comparison to last year’s Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies, though that’s also somewhat expected considering that Marvel has full control over those and not this one. That’s not saying that someone won’t have a good time here, just an observation.

It’s fun for what it is, but considering the sources, especially one of them for me in particular, one wonders just how much more this could’ve been, had those sources been more used. What I’m speaking of is Weapon X by Barry Windsor-Smith, which is in my view anyway, the very best Wolverine story ever told, and not exactly the fodder of what a summer entertainment action movie would be, but something that had it been more used as the focus, could’ve raised the bar considerably for this film. Weapon X is a truly terrifying and horrific story that in itself would make for one hell of a movie, and here, it’s just used as a means to an end for something that’s far more generic in movie terms, and again, there’s really nothing wrong with that. This is the movie that was chosen to be made and perhaps using something like that as the sole source of the film would’ve been too much of taking a chance with this franchise, because it surely isn’t atypical for a summer action movie. But with movies like The Dark Knight and Watchmen raising the bar, I’d kinda like to see the Marvel movies do a little of that as well.

But still it is a good time and it does have those little bits that are fun ties to the X-Men movie continuity. It’s a solid action movie diversion, though in the end, it just may not be as memorable as some of the other movies are.

Outlaw-with-a-code Dominic Toretto finds himself teamed up again with FBI Agent Brian O’Connor after someone close to both is struck down in a dangerous deal.

That’s it. Basically all you need to know going in to see Fast & Furious. But I figure those going to see this are probably those that are familiar with The Fast & The Furious franchise in the first place. This is the first movie since the first in the series to re-team stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in their respective parts, though both have appeared separately in the other movies (the second one teaming Walker with Tyrese Gibson and the third featuring Diesel in a cameo part at the movie’s end).

Let’s face it, this series is a B-movie series featuring A-list stunts and state of the art effects. I’ve said it before about the series, it doesn’t try to be high art by any means, but more high state-of-the-art. Director Justin Lin knows this, and did it very well with the third in the series, Tokyo Drift and now he gets to demonstrate that again with the original stars of the franchise.

This won’t “wow” anyone with it’s less-than-pithy dialogue or it’s somewhat simplistic characters, and that’s not really the point, it’s more to deliver some high-octane thrills, but to it’s credit, there are things that get you involved with it’s characters, and further, this movie does have continuity with the others, including Tokyo Drift with a stunning opening scene that sets up the relationship that was alluded to at the end of that movie, and almost indicating that this film could very well be taking place concurrently with that one.

If you enjoy the series, and I have a ball with it, then I truly think this is a good addition to it. As a fan of video games like the Need For Speed series and Rockstar’s excellent Midnight Club series (Midnight Club: Los Angeles is just about the closest thing out there to having a Fast & Furious game- despite there being a real Fast & Furious game), this series is made for that crowd, and for the car crowd and just for those that enjoy some pretty high testosterone fun. The only actual race in the movie, was especially fun for me being a fan of these games.

Anyway, it’s really well made, stars Diesel and Walker deliver the goods as far as this milieu is concerned and it’s just a lot of fun. It won’t change anyone’s world and it won’t go down as one of the best movies of the year, but it’s a great diversion for those that love this stuff, and I do and I can certainly recommend this to fans of the series.

In 1959, in a small New York school, a group of grade school children are preparing a time capsule to be buried, all with drawings of what they think the future will look like, except for one little girl, Lucinda Embry, who had the idea for the time capsule, instead of a drawing, she’s put in a sheet of numbers that on it’s surface seems incomprehensible. In 2009, Caleb Koestler, the son of an MIT Astrophysics professor, John Koestler, gets to be the lucky recipient of what Lucinda wrote down, and his father soon starts to see a pattern to the numbers, all displaying times of extreme disaster and indicating the number of lives lost to each disaster. John now seeks to stop the moments that he believes are yet to come, and all the while, some mysterious figures are keeping an eye on him and his son…

That’s the basic premise to Knowing the newest movie from director Alex Proyas and star Nicolas Cage. In the past, Alex Proyas has given us movies like The Crow, Dark City and I, Robot and has certainly demonstrated with the last two that he’s a big fan of an old school type of science fiction film but with some new twists to it, and that’s what Knowing is, most definitely. My expectations were relatively low on this, primarily for Cage more than anything else, as with him you just never know what you’re going to get, either something that seems more to concentrate on his penchant for quirkiness and to see what new hairstyle he’ll bring to a part, or something more serious… and thankfully, with Knowing it’s something more serious.

In some ways, I saw a lot of parallels to what’s happened over the last four seasons of Battlestar Galactica in this film, with the biggest difference in that Galactica had a long time to make sure that every “t” was crossed and every “i” was dotted. Knowing tries to do a lot of the same in two hours, and I can see why there are some critics out there that have huge problems with the film. But I gave into it’s premise, and really thought that Proyas delivered another old school sci-fi treat here (and at it’s core, there is an explanation as to why it all went the way it does).

The best thing that Proyas does though, is that when some of the upcoming disasters start to happen, he ramps up the visuals and the action some notches above what you expect, just as he did with the dazzling end of Dark City and those moments are real grabbers when they happen. The movie is a little slow-building getting to where it’s going, but when these moments happen, they’ll snag you, or at least they did me. The other thing he does here, is that he’s not afraid to have this go very dark, with no easy solutions at all to it’s ending.

Proyas is also really well aided with a great score from composer Macro Beltrami, who also really steps up to the plate when the big moments happen.

Cage is pretty good here, and with the exception of one scene that falls into a little bit of cliche, he’s pretty rock solid in the film delivering one of his better performances in a while. Rose Byrne heads up the mostly unknown supporting cast, and they’re all fine, but this is Cage’s movie no doubt about that and we’re (mostly) seeing this through his experiences more than anyone else’s.

In the end though, I think Alex Proyas has delivered another very cool old school science fiction film with a rock solid performance from it’s lead actor. To me, this is something like the recent remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still or M. Night Shymalan’s The Happening totally done right and of course, I’m giving this a solid recommendation for being this sort of film and not afraid to buck a few Hollywood conventions.

A vicious criminal, Krug, is being transported, and along the way, he’s sprung by his brother Frances and his girlfriend Sadie. Krug, wondering where his son is, is told that he’s at the hotel where the gang is holed up. We’re then introduced to the Collingwood family, father John, a Doctor, his wife Emma and their daughter Mari, who’s a trained swimmer and they’re getting ready to go enjoy a vacation at their out of the way vacation home. Mari is immediately antsy and wants to go into town and meet up with her friend Paige. Once there, the two girls then get involved with Justin, little realizing that he’s the son of Krug, and then the action gets started…

The Last House On The Left is a remake of the original 1972 movie of the same name (which in itself is a bit of a remake of an old Bergman film) and I have to say, this new version is one of the better remakes that I’ve seen, a very effective terror/revenge movie that technically ups the ante considerably of the original. The original was Wes Craven’s very first movie, produced by Sean Cunnigham, who you know best as the originator of the Friday The 13th series, and both act as producers on this remake. My expectations were relatively low going into this movie, but I have to say, I came out plenty impressed.

Now, for the most part, if you’ve seen the original, this follows along a lot of the same path, but the remake is a better fleshed-out piece. The 1972 original is a classic in it’s own way, not necessarily for the story that it told, but more for the shock that it delivered at the time, doing some pretty taboo things that just weren’t seen in a movie of that period (it’s also very well known for it’s trailer, which introduced the classic line “It’s only a movie, it’s only a movie”). The original was made for about $90,000 in the day and it was purely designed as the type of B-movie that would play with other films regionally around the country. It’s not high art by any means, but still for fans of the genre (like myself), it brought in thrills in it’s own way for a pretty disturbing experience, and part of that disturbing experience included a very hokey cornball quality to the family scenes.

This remake dispenses with the cornball quality as well as with a couple of the major taboo scenes, to better focus on making the whole thing a more cohesive experience- it an audience of today is watching the original, then they’re seeing things that take some pretty huge leaps in logic in how they get from point A to point B. This remake fills in those leaps quite admirably, and credit for that has to go to the screenwriters and director Dennis Iiadis, as well as to Craven and Cunningham for having the sense to let this be updated in the way it has been.

One of the biggest things that I have to give them credit for here is the relationship between the parents, John and Emma which is actually a lot more grounded in reality than what other films might want to do. They also tend to up the ante with both girls, making them more fighters in this adversity than what they were in the original- it’s not forced by any means, and feels pretty natural to the situation that develops.

This has a pretty good cast to it, with maybe the most well-known to today’s audiences being actor Garret Dillahunt who plays Krug (you might be better familiar with Dillahunt through Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles where he’s played the cyborg Cromartie and now the A.I. known as John Henry). The best casting though goes to actors Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter who play the Collingwood parents, and they’re just terrific here. I also have to give notice to Sara Paxton, who played their daughter Mari.

The Last House On The Left is a pretty visceral experience that’s not for everyone by any means. I went into this more wanting to see the differences from the original and I was pleasantly surprised at how this remake drew me in and kept me with it on it’s own merits all the way through. If you enjoy this sort of terror/revenge movie (I wouldn’t call this or the original “horror” at all), then I’d certainly recommend it without too much hesitation- really well done on it’s own and when compared to the original, a worthy remake that takes that original and obviously goes forward with today’s audience definitely in mind.

Watchmen the film adaptation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons that takes a realistic approach to super-heroes and follows the state of the world if such characters were to come to pass as well as studying the motivations behind the minds that actually put on the masks. When the novel starts, though it’s not indicated in the movie, it’s 1985. Unless they’re working for the government, super-heroes have been outlawed by a bill called the Keene Act. Richard Nixon is in his fifth term as the president of the United States, and the world stands at the brink of nuclear war. Edward Blake, known also as The Comedian has discovered something, and is brutally murdered over that discovery. The masked vigilante, Rorschach is starting to put the pieces of this puzzle together and in the process, warning other masked avengers about a “mask killer” out there…

… and there’s just so much more here in what could be the richest textured “comic book” movie made thus far. Watchmen to me anyway, is an unqualified success at what it has set out to do, and so far leads the way as one of the best movies for 2009.

Now I’m no stranger to the graphic novel, and I’ve re-read it for the first time in over 20 years this past week as prep for the film and I’ve got to say, it still holds up tremendously well, and is just as relevant in 2009 as it was when it was originally on sale in the late 80s. Having just seen the movie last night, I can certainly tell you that there have been some changes made in it’s adaptation to the big screen, but the heart and soul and spirit of the graphic novel are all still there and in the process, this takes another step to advancing movies about comic book characters in different directions, much like what The Dark Knight did last year. I mean it’s a great comic book movie, no doubt about that, but at the same time, I’d also hold this in the same regard as I do movies like Boogie Nights, magnolia, The Player, Short Cuts or Grand Canyon.

This is director Zack Snyder’s third movie after the re-make of Dawn of the Dead and the adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300 and he’s certainly proved that he’s no flash in the pan, making highly commercial films that have their own passion about them… though the question could be asked about just how commercial Watchmen could be beyond it’s pre-sold audience, and I just think that all depends on what the audience wants to see out of something like this, because really, everything you need to understand Watchmen is there on screen, no doubt about that, but does the audience really want to have to put the pieces together or follow something as richly textured as this for the sake of seeing a “comic book” movie?

Well, I certainly hope so.

Snyder’s done his best to remain true to the book and at the same time make something that can run in theatres wanting to show it multiple times per day. There’s moments of great weight here, in particular Doctor Manhattan’s reflection of his life after and interview gone sour, and there’s just as many visceral moments that show cool action and adventure. There’s a story that shows the results of both conservative and liberal actions that these powers could take, and it’s all backed up with a rich back story, much of which is well presented in one of the better opening credits scenes that I’ve seen in a long time.

Snyder’s got a great cast here, and you can tell that they’ve all thrown themselves into the parts. The core characters are played by Patrick Wilson (Nite-Owl), Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre), Billy Cruddup (Dr. Manhattan), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), Matthew Goode (Ozymandias) and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach). All are excellent, though in my mind’s eye, Goode isn’t quite who I would’ve chosen as Ozymandias, but still he does a terrific job here. Real standouts for me are Wilson, being the heart and soul of the film, and Cruddup and Haley, who are both saddled with having their true faces covered up most of the film, but are still able to really elicit some good mesmerizing performances. I’m even just as impressed with some of the side casting, like Carla Gugino as the original Silk Spectre, Stephen McHattie as Hollis Mason, the original Nite-Owl and Matt Frewer as Moloch one of the arch-enemies of the heroes. There’s no big stars here, just some solid talents who’ve really devoted themselves to giving their best on-screen.

I hated seeing this come to an end, I really did and when that ending came, it left me hungry for just what Zack Snyder’s director’s cut will be when he finally gets the chance to release that on DVD (already reported that it will have the animated Tales of The Black Freighter incorporated into it, I would also expect that there would be plenty of live action scenes as well, in particular those centered around the newsstand where the Black Freighter story gets told). I don’t think it’s necessary to read the book in order to appreciate this film as long as you’re prepared to take in something that’s as full as this is. But if you do enjoy the movie, by all means, read the book afterwards and be able to appreciate just how much of this that Zack Snyder and company gets right. Watchmen is one terrific movie, already leading the way for me as one of the best that I think I’ll see in 2009 and of course, it’s highly, highly recommended. Don’t miss it.