Coming Soon

Couple of cool sci-fi trailers to share... take a look.

Surrogates

Love the premise and the look of the film. reminds me of the Matrix meets Total Recall. I am a sucker for stuff like this. Sadly no one has really done this kind of movie justice like Dark City and The Matrix

District 9

Movies like Alien Nation really brought the idea of immigration and integration to light using Fiction. Love this gritty documentary feel and some great ideas at play in this teaser. Looks interesting.

Drag Me to Hell

Horror movies need to keep changing the game to stay interesting. Something like The Descent which relies on darkness and claustrophobia or recently My Bloody Valentine in 3D. Its not that its harder to terrify the audience but it is difficult to do it well. Director Sam Raimi's beginnings were in the world of horror. Evil Dead has become a cult classic as has Evil Dead 2. The reason these movies worked well in the 80's is because they were distinctly different from the schlock being produced at the time. He was able to bring this element of goofiness and accidental humor to some pretty gory and nasty visuals.

After many years of directing in different genres, namely comic book films (yes he directed the terrible sequel, Spiderman 3 but it was also the studios fault) he returns to scare the hell out of people. Did he succeed? Well, almost.
I wasn't sure what I was getting into watching this movie. I have seen the bad reviews by the common man (you know us little people who don't get paid for our opinions) and the adoration bestowed by so many critics. I can see where and what both were witness too. The beginning is shocking and pretty effective. Overall the movie has some interesting and shocking gross out scenes. Definitely gag inducing. There are some just crazy moments that are like OMG. All of this is more of the first hour of the film. Towards the last act things get a little too wacky and silly to really care. One word comes to mind: Goat. I like the lead actress, Alison Lohman. She handles this material with a sincerity and motivation that works well within the confines of a surreal, demonic movie.

The effects are well done and the visual gags work. One Word: Gums. I can't say I didn't like the movie because I found it to be entertaining and hilarious. It did make me feel uneasy at times and some of the imagery was pretty frightening. Its supposed to be a horror-comedy but I think most won't be able to take it as such. My Grade: B-
Note: The movie is very LOUD, you've been warned.

Rich-it Rental Bites 6/5/09

Writer-Director Kevin Smith spins this raunchy tale of two thirty-something’s (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) struggling to make the rent. Their plan?, Make a porno of course. With the help of their misfit cast and crew they set out to create a sex filled spoof of a well-known sci-fi classic. The movie starts out profanely funny with rapid fire vulgarity. However, the movie takes a turn that felt rushed. It finishes on a romantic note that pretty much kills the fun I was having in the first two thirds. Never the less, performances are good and the comedy is strong. My Grade: C-



Pineapple Express
Seth Rogen and James Franco star in this mary jane laced buddy comedy. The film has great over the top action scenes and hilarious bits. Franco is good at playing the high-as-a-kite pot dealer. Seth can deliver the most insane dialogue with ease. Even though the movie has this unbelievable story, it makes everything happening on screen more ridiculously funny. It reminded me of watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. That movie was so ridiculous, so in your face WTF That it sold me. You get the same thing here with punched up action. My Grade: B


Valkyrie
Bryan Singer directs this film based on the true story about one of the many assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler. A fascinating thriller that remains effective even though we all know the attempts were not successful. The cast is full of stellar actors such as Kenneth Branagh, Tom Cruise, and Eddie Izzard. It interesting, the Nazi military considered Hitler to be the menace that the rest of the world did. If only they had succeeded. What then? How different would history have turned out? The direction is also fantastic. The way Singer moves the camera is simple and effective. Overall a great story and well done film. My Grade: B

UP

Pixar is one of my favorite animation houses, right behind its parent company Disney. It might sound like I am a bit biased but believe me that I critique every film on its merit. A lot of other animation companies have some great films in their libraries i.e Dreamworks Shrek and Kung Fu Panda or Blue Sky Studios' Horton Hears a Who and Ice Age.


That said, UP is a phenomenal achievement in filmmaking. This is Pixars first 3-D film and unlike this year’s big Dreamworks hit, Monsters vs Aliens, Up doesn’t exploit the 3D effects. What Pixar did was enhance the scope of the movie. It was like looking out your window as opposed to things jumping out of the screen. It allowed depth to take over, so when you are viewing the jungles of Venezuela, you are immersed in them.

Beyond the technical achievements, it’s the story that really delivers. Carl is a widowed old man who has disconnected himself from society. The world has grown around him and his only constant is the home he built with his late wife, Ellie. This part of the film is heavy for some people. We get to see how Carl and Ellie lived their lives up until her quiet end. I was in tears and the theater was silent during this part. Many animated films have shown death and loss of life in different ways but none so deeply emotional as this one (except maybe Bambi’s mother or Simbaa asking Mufasa to wake up after the stampede). Once we see who Carl is, he sets out for a wild adventure that includes Russell, the young wilderness explorer whose enthusiasm grows on Carl’s grumpy nature.


The story is involving with colorful characters. There is a lot of laugh out loud moments for me. The introduction of the dogs is hilarious. The humor is executed with perfect timing and balance nicely to heartfelt scenes. Ed Asner’s voice work is tangible and sincere. Newcomer, Jordan Nagai voices Russell and does it very well. He gets some of the best lines in the movie. Director Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.) and Co-director Bob Peterson do a great job of keeping the story moving and still allowing the audience to take in its grandeur. Pixar movies prove to be the best in the industry and they have maintained that reputation with UP. Next year, Toy Story 3! Can’t wait. My Grade: A

Rich-it Rental Bites

So I’ve decided to shorten my rental reviews to allow more detailed gibberish about movies currently in theaters. I watch too many rentals to flesh them out completely. So here is the new category. Short n Sweet. Enjoy

Rich