Madeline Matheson is eight months pregnant and determined to deliver her unborn child, Grace, naturally. When an accident leaves Grace dead inside her, Madeline insists on carrying the baby’s corpse to term. Weeks later, when Madeline delivers, the baby miraculously returns to life… With an appetite. (Leomax Entertainment)
Review:
With all the derivative and brainless dreck that comes out every year in the Horror Genre, it’s always nice to see a film that operates as a good FILM as well as a good HORROR story. Â Paul Solet‘s debut film, Grace is a slow moving, disgusting, horrific, uncomfortable and disturbing film. Â It’s also one of the most beautiful films I’ve seen this year.
Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are hard times for the action movie star who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a role from him! In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States.
Review:
Can a movie change your perception of an aging actor? Bruce Campbell gave us fans an homage movie with My Name Is Bruce. Stallone brought back Rambo and Rocky Balboa. Mickey Rourke turned in a heart felt and amazing performance with The Wrestler. Who’s next? Schwartzenegger? Seagal? Nope. It’s Jean-Claude Van Damme. And he’s turned in the performance of a lifetime with JCVD.
Back in the late ’80s, Randy “The Ram Robinson” (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey.
Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life — trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei). Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy “The Ram” back into his world of wrestling.
Director Darren Aronofsky presents a powerful portrait of a battered dreamer, who despite himself and the odds stacked against him, lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home  inside the ring. [TrailerAddict]
Review:
5 or 10 years from now, when we think back to the movies of 2008, not many will be remembered. Sure, Sean Penn won an Oscar for his performance in Milk. Kate Winslet got naked and sexed up a minor in the Holocaust film, The Reader. Let’s face it, the “Oscar Bait” films got their best actor/actress awards. But when you think back, what will be the iconic images you’ll remember? Probably Heath Ledger’s Joker. Maybe Robert Downey Jr.’s rise back to the top. One thing is certain: Mickey Rourke‘s captivating performance, combined with the heart wrenching story of The Wrestler, is destined to be one of the most iconic performances of 2008, and maybe even the past decade.
A young couple has retreated to the wilderness for a romantic camping weekend-but the trip quickly spirals into a nightmare when they are car-jacked by an escaped convict and his girlfriend. Thrown together by chance, no one can imagine the terrifying horror that awaits the two couples at a remote and isolated gas station.
Review:
I love a good monster flick. The plots are simple (man vs. creature) and are a great excuse for some clever visual effects work. Since the CGI revolution, monster flicks have been a bit underwhelming. It seems there has been a resurgence of practical effects making their way back to movies. I noticed this with the great (yet poorly titled) Alien Raiders and now with Toby Wilkins low budget monster movie Splinter. Both these movies owe a lot to The Thing, and I think things are looking up for the Monster Flick.
A mariner survives an attack from the dreaded pirates of the Black Freighter, but his struggle to return home to warn it has a horrific cost. (IMDB)
Review:
Kudos to Zach Snyder and Warner Brothers for releasing this psuedo-special feature to Watchmen. The fact that tons of care was put into this release is staggaring. Here we have 3 different features. Tales of the Black Freighter (25 minutes), Under the Hood (30 minutes), and Story within a Story: The Books of Watchmen(25 minutes).
First up, Tales of the Black Freighter is a stunningly animated short film. In the Watchmen graphic novel, a character is seen reading a comic book called Tales of the Black Freighter. We also get to read along with the character at certain points. This is an interesting concept in the comic, and will be in the extended cut of Zach Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation on Blu-ray/DVD.
Here we have it as a stand-alone and as a companion piece to Watchmen, it’s pretty amazing. Gerard Butler voices the mariner perfectly and it’s an interesting study on someone attempting to do the right thing while, in fact, bringing destruction on those they love. This is an interesting parallel to the main theme of Watchmen, so it will be interesting to see this in the context of the extended cut.
Next up we have 2 documentaries. Under the Hoodis a fictional documentary that parallels the book of the same name in the graphic novel and film. It gives interesting back story to the original Minutemen and is played out in interview form with the original Night Owl, Hollis Mason. Other character interviews appear as well. This is a well done companion to the film Watchmen as well. We’re brought in even further to this world and it showcases Zach Snyder‘s incredible attention to detail of this world.
The final documentary is a “making of” for the two features. It does a great job of tying everything together and helps us understand why these projects were so important for people to immerse themselves in the world of Watchmen.
This MAY be a part of a super boxed set in the future, with Tales of the Black Freighter confirmed to be spliced into an extended cut of Watchmen on Blu-ray. But, for now, it’s good to have these if you were a fan of the film. At only an 90 minutes, you may not like the price. Purchase it as cheaply as possible or rent it if you’re unsure.
Tales of the Black Freighter: Rated R for violent and grisly images.
Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the “Punisher Task Force” hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished. (TrailerAddict)
Review:
Marvel’s The Punisher has always been plagued by bad film adaptations. The utterly awful Dolph Lundgren 1989 The Punisher has always left a bad taste in the mouth for fans of the comic. In 2004 Thomas Jane donned the Skull T-Shirt in a curiously bloodless The Punisher with John Travolta sinking an otherwise enjoyable action flick. Now, in 2008 we have attempt numero tres with Ray Stevenson (Outpost, Rome) as Frank Castle. Easily the best version of The Punisher we’ve seen on screen, Punisher: Warzone brings back the carnage that makes The Punisher the character we love.
Oskar is a 12 year-old schoolboy from a sleepy Swedish suburb who longs to stand up to a group of bullies making his life hell. When he gets a new and unusual neighbour in the form of a young girl called Eli, she holds a secret that may be just what Oskar needs to make his stand. But as he begins to fall for her, dark consequences lie ahead. (TrailerAddict)
Review:
Horror movies are generally known for their unsettling content, the gore, monsters or sense of dread. Rarely are they known for their stillness and beauty. Tomas Alfredson‘s Let The Right One In, based on the novel of the same name (LÃ¥t den rätte komma inin Swedish) by John Ajvide Lindqvist, is a rare film that combines all the above. I have never seen a horror film as beautiful as Let The Right One In.
Los Angeles, circa 1920‘s, a little immigrant girl (Catinca Untaru) finds herself in a hospital recovering from a fall. She strikes up a friendship with a bedridden man (Lee Pace) who captivates her with a whimsical story that removes her far from the hospital doldrums into the exotic landscapes of her imagination.
Making sure he keeps the girl interested in the story he interweaves her family and people she likes from the hospital into his tale. Produced and directed by Tarsem with a screenplay by Dan Gilroy, Nico Soultanakis and Tarsem. Starring Lee Pace and Catina Untaru.
Review:
I have never seen anything like Tarsem‘s The Fall. His last movie, The Cell, was visually stunning, but lacked a compelling story. The Fall combines incredible visuals with an extremely moving and memorable story. I can honestly say this was the most beautiful film experience I’ve ever had.
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a comedy about two people thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living, and, live, loud music. Nick (Michael Cera) frequents New York’s indie rock scene nursing a broken heart and a vague ability to play the bass.
Norah (Kat Dennings) is questioning pretty much all of her assumptions about the world. Though they have nothing in common except for their taste in music, their chance encounter leads to an all-night quest to find a legendary band’s secret show and ends up becoming the first date in a romance that could change both their lives.(Amazon)
Review:
Teen comedies are really hit or miss for me these days. Some are smart and funny (Superbad) while others leave me scratching my head with how out of touch with reality they are (High School Musical). Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist does a great job of being mostly rooted in reality with a believable (enough) love story. What it does right is make me miss the days when I used to go to shows and stay out all night with no real responsibilities. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a smart, funny and sweet little movie.
My Name Is Bruce is the heroic struggle of a small mining town (Gold Lick, Oregon) to rid itself of a vengeful monster. Guan-di (James J. Peck), the Chinese god of war and protector of the dead, has been unleashed by cemetery desecrating teenagers to protect the graves of Chinese miners lost in a deadly cave-in of yesteryear.
The deadly demon’s mission is to eradicate all those who transgressed against the tomb (relatives included), which is virtually the entire population of Gold Lick. The inbred community has to find a solution so Jeff (Taylor Sharpe), the sole survivor of a deadly Guan-Di encounter, takes it upon himself to kidnap his idol, Bruce Campbell (Bruce Campbell), star of countless B-movie horror films, and recruit him to be their local savior. (Trailer Addict)
Review:
I love me some Bruce Campbell.  My first introduction to him was in the 3rd Evil Dead movie, Army of Darkness.  Yes, I was young and impressionable.  I remember seeing the Army of Darkness trailer with it’s skeleton army and heavy metal background music.  Once I saw the introduction of his chain saw hand, I knew this was a movie I had to check out.
