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Wrestling should stay inside the ring. Only a few months after WWE Films gave pro wrestlers Kane and John Cena a chance at showing off their fighting skills in See No Evil and The Marine, it’s now Steve Austin’s turn to deliver his best holds and throws on the big screen.

In The Condemned, Austin plays one of ten death row inmates who get a shot at freedom if they participate in a deadly game on an isolated island. The rules are fairly simple: the contestants are wired with explosives and must battle each other to death; last man standing wins. (more…)

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Be sure to double-check the amenities before checking into Vacancy, because what may sound like your average gory thriller in which ruthless psychopaths butcher helpless victims is in fact quite a different experience.

The movie first introduces us to David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale), a married couple who checks into an isolated motel after their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Once settled in, they soon find themselves terrorized by killers trying to shoot their next snuff film. (more…)

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Few directors could be able to turn a disaster-in-the-making into a masterpiece. Darren Aronofsky is one of those very few directors whose vision and creative genius could accomplish such a feat. He punched us in the mouth before with the brilliantly complex and gritty pi, turned us inside out with the estranging Requiem For A Dream and now throws The Fountain at us. Yes, eventhough he has made only a handful of movies, Darren Aronofsky is a true movie genius in my book. However, as said, this could quite easily have bombed in the hands of a less dedicated filmmaker, since the movie started in what most would call absolute disaster; he could have called it The Fountain Redux. With his prodigious lead and Hollywood golden boy Brad Pitt walking out on the movie halfway, seeing his project shelved and his budget cut in half, he could have done much, much worse than this.
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One thing is already for sure and that’s that SHAUN OF THE DEAD fans will love this movie. HOT FUZZ is not only a really funny movie but one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I did have some doubts but after seeing Edgar Wrights fake GRINDHOUSE trailer, DON’T, I realized that he has talent as a filmaker (or at least one that makes a really funny movie) and not just a bad directer with only one good feature.

Though I will say one negative thing and here it is; If you arrive about 20 minutes late than it’s ok, all you missed is the long introduction of all the characters and all the shops ans stuff like that in Sanford. The movie doesn’t have a great start, but when the plot gets going than it becomes much more interesting. One thing I was surprised with is that there was a movie reference of BAD BOYS II. I loved that movie a lot (and probly stand alone when I say that) and I don’t know whether it was a joke or if the filmakers seriously liked it.

Some of the jokes though do not always appeal to an American audience (such as the human statue) some are parodies of American cop films, and there’s also line here and there that were taken from SHAUN OF THE DEAD such as “ever taken a shortcut before” or “you want anything from the shop?” “Cornetto.”

What I really didn’t expect was for this movie to not only place itself up there with the greatest comedies ever made, but also the greatest cop movies ever made. Like SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ also takes the time to put the jokes on the shelf and take a more serious turn. By serious, I mean how the last 20 minutes of SHAUN OF THE DEAD became more of a zombie movie than a comedy but in a good way. I never expected that for HOT FUZZ. The movie has many twists and they are good ones but I won’t spoil them for you.

Here’s basically everything you need to know about HOT FUZZ. The movie makes fun of Spahgetti Westerns (riding in Sanford on a horse, from the way I viewed it), The Omen (there is a death scene at a church that is similar to the death of the priest in THE OMEN, in my opinoin at least), and what I found really funny, those corny moments in an action movie where they take a pause and make a scene all emotional.

All I can say about this movie overall is that it is truly funny and put me at the edge of my seat and that rarely happens at a midnight screening for me. Usually I fall asleep. Sadly the movie won’t make a lot according to the buzz on the net, but this is one of my new all time favorite flicks and is number two on my top movies for 2007.

So go see this movie for “the greater good.”

When I saw this movie I knew there would be some criticisms on the movie about it being dumb. Knowing that when people see something they don’t understand their self defense mechanism kicks in and they call it stupid. That could not be further from the truth. Meet the Robinsons is one of the most intelligent movies produced in the world of animation in quite some time.

The jokes in the movie are many and range from low level sight gags to esoteric science jokes (attempt 212). The movie also takes many stabs at irrevorant jokes that are funny because they often challenge the concept of adult/child communication. If you like this type of humor there is a gold mine in Meet the Robinsons.

As far as the point of there being no message here that could not be further from the truth. The point was that you should never dwell in the past and count who to blame. You should figure out how to fix the problem and move on. Maybe this point is missed on an American audience (I am proud to be an American but this tends to be state of our culture) but it is very important to remember this. Success is built on the remains of failure by those that are willing enough to pursue it.

Also please note this is *not* a Pixar film. John Lassater did have a part in it (along with other Pixar staff) but it was a Disney film at the base.

Meet the Robinson is one of Disney’s best animated film in years for those that are willing to apply a small amount of critical thinking. It is highly amusing and teaches a good lesson to those who are willing to listen.

The first thing in my mind when I saw the trailer for this movie was “Rear Window Rip-off” Part of me didn’t want to see a classic butchered, and the other part of me wanted to know if it would actually be any good. The fact that it was rated PG-13 instead of R was a relief, telling me that it wouldn’t be a gory horror flick, so I sucked it up, and went to see it with a friend of mine.

I have to say, that this was much better than I expected it to be. I wasn’t really expecting too much, but I was very surprised. I found the movie to be smart and funny, as well as scary and thrilling.

It was scary, but at the same time it was lighthearted. I didn’t expect to be as drawn into the story as much as I was. Shia LaBeouf has come a long way from his Even Stevens days on the Disney channel, and I found it really easy to connect with and understand his character. The other characters just added to the overall tension and fun experience this movie was.

I understand that some people will expect this to be scarier than it really is…or to contain gore and other stuff typically found in teen thriller type movies, but that’s not really what I go to movies to see. I was wanting to see a good suspense/thriller along the lines of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, and I got what I wanted. However much it is based off of the Rear Window though, it is very different in most aspects, which I was happy about.

This movie is a thriller, not a horror film, so don’t expect it.

Good movie, and I highly recommend it.

I had missed the so-called ‘8 Films To Die For Festival’ last year, since the general concept was, last November, for one day in one week across the US, eight horror suspense films that ‘mainstream studios’ won’t touch because they are so demented and terrifying, or something along those lines. It was really a nice gimmick to make the films sound a bit edgy. Now that these films are out on DVD, I took a chance on one of them, Mike Mendez’ The Gravedancers, and I’m a bit baffled- why give this film such a limited screening? (more…)

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