Author: Movie Geeks

Review: ‘American Teen’

Scott:

This docudrama phenomenon has swept the country, and it starting to show up in theaters more and more often. In this case that’s a good thing as ‘American Teen’ combines the lives of 4-6 very intriguing, senior high school students in Warsaw Indiana. The story follows each teen through their final year of high school, the battles they face with school, parents, love, and backstabbing bitch friends!

The most interesting character in the film named Hannah face far more obstacles than the rest of the teens, unless you include Jake’s inability to keep a girlfriend, and lack of self confidence. Each character(i say this loosely because this is a true life doc/movie) has their obvious insecurities and its refreshing to see the popular kids struggle with their selves as much as the wallflowers.

All in all the movie is damn near perfect, it was shot nicely, easy to follow, holds your attention, and very entertaining. However I do have a gripe with the flick, and that is the character Mitch. In the movie he comes out of the blue and professes his undying crush on one of the main characters and instantly you are like..”That doesn’t happen”. The guy is one of the biggest jocks at school, and throws himself at one of the lesser popular girls..almost like he just wants to be one of the major players in this documentary. Go and watch it for yourself and tell me what you guys think about it..its pretty obvious to me.

(4 out of 5 stars)

Ram Man:

American Teen, the new film from Nanette Burstein, is life imitating art.  It’s like she took the John Hughes’ classic “The Breakfast Club” and turned it into a documentary.  It is a fresh look into kids lives and what they deal with in school..the pressures…the pain and the glory.American Teen follows five students: the princess, the rebel, the Jock, the Geek, the heartthrob  through their senior year at a Indiana high-school.

In Indiana basketball is not just a sport, it’s a way of life.  Colin Clemens is the superstar of the Warsaw high-school basketball team. Colin used his talent on the court to obtain a college scholarship so that he can get out of the small town of Warsaw. Colin’s Dad ,an Elvis impersonator also was star of the Warsaw’s basketball team,  provided a constant reminder of why he must move on. The pressure soon begins to crack Colin and reflects in his play on the court jeopardizing his chances of a college scholarship.

Hannah Bailey, the rebel rocker, is the free spirit looking for romance and a ticket out of Warsaw. Hannah is forced to live her grandmother (her parents are divorced and mother suffers from clinical depression). Hannah expresses herself through her art and music with dreams of becoming a film student in California. Senior year turns out to be a struggle. Hannah is dumped by her long time boyfriend and is too embarrassed to return to school. on threat of expulsion she reluctantly returns and soon is involved with Mitch Reinholt (one of the social elite). After attending a party and seeing the reaction from the “beautiful” people Hannah is cut loose again via text message severely damaging her dream of film school in college.

Prom King at Warsaw high is Mitch Reinholt. Mitch is one of the cool kids..popular, handsome and a jock chased by all the girls. Mitch has dreams of leaving town for a college education too. Mitch coasts through senior year until he hits a speed bump named Hannah. Mitch catches her with her band and is smitten with her. Mitch admired Hannah for her spirit and being able to be different. This also the reason he sets her free when he caves to the peer pressure from all of the other “cool” kids. Mitch for such a strong person turns out to be truly week.

Megan Krizmanich, Warsaw’s most likely to succeed in everything! Megan is the princess..cheerleader, student council and member of numerous school organizations. Megan also is commandant to her army of elitists friends. Senior year is Megan’s pressure cooker. She is balancing stress of acing her Sat tests, pressure of her Dad to carry on the family tradition of going to Notre Dame and managing her social calender. Megan release some steam by tormenting a fellow student just for kicks that gets her reprimanded and kicked off Student council that may derail her plans to spend the next four years in South Bend.

Every class in every school has a Geek, and at Warsaw it’s Jake Tusing. Jake (our person fave,you would’ve guessed) is a loner that enjoys his video games and plays in the band. Social suicide. Jake is invisible to everyone..that is..until a new girl comes to the school. Jake sees an opportunity to finally get a girlfriend that is flesh and bones before she learns what a loser he is. Unfortunately for Jake senior year is long and she finds out sooner than later and he’s on his own again. Jake is back to land of videos and his plans of being ladies man in college are deteriorating.

American Teen is a fresh look at what kids go through on a daily basis at school. I recommend kids take their parents to see this one. I really enjoyed Hannah and her struggles to succeed. American Teen was like entering a time machine that took me back to my days at school. I was a jock,there was the geek that was locked in his locker, there was the beautiful elite that hovered above the rest of us. I never thought i would want torevisit high-school, but seeing American teen is a way to take care of it.

(4 out of 5 stars)

Travis:

Producer/director Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture) returns with her second feature-length documentary called ‘American Teen’ … and no, its nothing to do with American Idol. The film follows a group of Midwestern high school students as they approach graduation. The narrative focuses on four students, each of whom fit into a pre-subscribed typical high school stereotype … Colin is the “jock” as the star of the basketball team; Megan is the “princess” as a popular selfish girl from a wealthy family; Jake is the “nerd” but is actually more a mix of “nerd, dork, geek and freak” all rolled up into one package; and finally there’s Hannah as the “outsider” who’s outgoing, artistic free-spirit and passion for being herself makes her by far the most interesting and enjoyable character in this film.

Its true, this is being billed as a documentary and for the most part … it is, but not in the traditional sense. The movie feels a bit more like an MTV-style quasi-reality TV program at times due to the fact that the students are fully aware of the documentary crew at all times. Plus, they’re teenagers … attention is numero uno on their social priority lists. Regardless, there remains plenty of truth in this film. I found myself relating with the movie in clearly, if not frighteningly accurate, ways and could empathize with the character’s ups and downs quite readily.

‘American Teen’ falls somewhere between ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘Kids’ in terms of its content and contemporary relevance. In the end, all four (plus one) teenagers followed in the film offer a short update on where their lives have gone so far since the filming of ‘American Teen’ and I was pleased to see that they’ve all done relatively well. I would have hated to find out they’ve wandered down the wrong paths, seeing as these were real people and not just characters. Despite the difficult times and less inspiring moments, ‘American Teen’ does manage to offer some hope for our current teen generation(s).

(4 stars out of 5)

[rating: 4/5]

Contest: Step Brothers

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are related..at least they are for 90 mins in the new movie “Step Brothers” . The two are forced to live in the same room when their parents decide to tie the knot. What I want you guys to do is pair up the most unlikely, bizarre, unholy of celebrities that would create a slobber-knocker sibling rivalry. I want you to be creative and be specific. Don’t just pull something of the cover of the Enquirer. You are the tabloid journalist now so create some dirt and serve it up! E-mail your entries to scott@wearemoviegeeks.com .

Example: Jennifer Aniston & Angelina Jolie (she stole Brad Pitt away)..BORING!

We want new and creative…so dig deep and impress us and we will send to a special screening of Step Brothers
Here is an example:
Seth Rogan just found out an ancient family secret…he has a sister he never knew he had…Martha Stewart! To get acquainted the two decided to spend a weekend together at Martha’s estate in Connecticut. Rogan showed up bong in hand and greeted Martha with “Hey Sis want a hit?” this started a two day verbal and physical barrage between the two that wold make the Odd Couple look like Bosom Buddies! The final blow was when Stewart threw out all of Rogans clothes and replaced them with polos and ascots from her Kmart Martha Stewart collection. That’s when Seth poured chili-cheese nachos on Martha’s prize American Girl Doll collection and fed her chow-chow dogs Budweiser and got them drunker than a skunk! Rogan quickly caught the first flight back to L.A. and we hear Martha is still trying to get the stains out of the guest room sheets!

Hurry entries must be received by 11 pm today, due to the screenings being this week. Tickets will have to be picked up prior to the screeingings.

Contest: ‘Pineapple Express’

OK folks I have a win-win contest for you this time! To celebrate the release of the new Sony Pictures release “Pineapple Express” the guys and Charles at WeAreMovieGeeks.com have another contest for you! This one will get you out of the house and away from the computer…You must find THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. We have hidden specially marked cans of Pineapple around town. Below are the clues to the locations. Once you figure out a location just go there (no phone calls please) and walk up and tell them ” I’m looking for the Pineapple Express”. If you are the first to get there you they will give you a specially marked can of pineapple. Bring the cans to the Shop and Save parking lot at 7057 Chippewa between 11am and Noon on July 26th, find Ram Man’s Explorer (it’s easy..it’s all Rammed out!) and you can exchange it for a Pineapple Express Prize Pack.

I did say this was a win-win contest. So if you are not quick enough to grab on of those cans, simply gather up 3 cans of pineapple or any other fruit and bring them to the Shop and Save location above on the specified date and time and you can exchange those for passes to the screening of “Pineapple Express”. Good while supplies last*. All cans of fruit will be donated to the St. Louis Food Bank to help those less fortunate and victims of the recent flooding. So you get a free movie, a shot at a prize pack and you get to help the community..It’s a win-win-win of a contest!

HERE ARE THE CLUES TO THE LOCATIONS:

1.  Des Peres 14 Cine ..can has been claimed

2.  The Galaxy cine..can has been found.

3.  West olive 16 cine can has been claimed.

4.  Ronnies 20 cine can has been claimed.

Thank you to all for participating in our hunt! Please remember to come by Shop N Save on Saturday from 11am-NOON and trade your cans for Passes to pineapple express!

Review: ‘Space Chimps’

Ram Man:

2008 is the year of the comic book movie, then it’s also the year we send our animated stars into space. Following the smash hit Wall-E, 20Th Century Fox is sending the primates packing in Space Chimps! Space chimps features a cast of voices that include Patrick Warburton (The Tick), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Stanley Tucci (Devil Wears Prada) and Andy Samberg (Hot Rod).

Kirk DiMecco tells the story of Ham III (Samberg) a circus stunt chimp and  grandson of a famous chimp/astronaut Ham III that went to the moon in the early days prior to the manned Apollo missions.  Ham III  is trying to get his 15 minutes of fame and escape the large shadow cast by his grandfather. When a mysterious black hole opens in space and sucks a probe to the other end of the galaxy NASA is forced to bring back the chimps. That’s when the government comes knocking and Ham is drafted into service and will accompany Titan (Warburton) and Luna (Hines) into space.   NASA soon learns that they have the “wrong” stuff with Ham but continue with the mission anyway.

The primates are sent through the blackhole at 10.5 G’s that disables Luna and Titan and forces Ham to land/crash the ship on a new planet to recover the probe. This is where I was lost ..in the wormhole..because the planet on the other side of the galaxy was like a smurf cartoon on LSD. The new planet is full of bright colors and creature that look like exiles from Fraggle Rock. From the minute the chimps land I can’t wait for them to return home.

Space chimps is a kids movie. I am a movie geek and kid at heart according to my wife, so I made a point to get the crowd full of kids reaction to the picture…and I’m still waiting for it. I think Space chimps is opening this weekend opposite the Dark Knight to slip into DVD obscurity as fast as it can. Space Chimps could have been a great kids movie , if they wouldn’t have dumbed down the new world, had it in 3D and got a few bigger names for voices and they would have had the “Right Stuff”! My recommendation if you have kids that are under the age of 7 take them to check out a matinee of space chimps..otherwise get in line and go check out the bat.

Travis:

Yikes! Starz is really getting big, but I think they may have ventured into the realm of computer-animated features too quickly. I could have seen ‘Space Chimps’ making a debut on DVD, but after seeing the film I am shocked that it is being given a wide theatrical release. It’ll be interesting to see what its overall box office numbers end up looking like.

‘Space Chimps’ is about Ham III, grandson of the legendary chimp Ham I who was rocketed into space as a test flight before human astronauts would later make the same journey. Ham III is a daredevil chimp trying to make his name on the circus circuit, but has no interest in following in his grandfather’s footsteps … but, the government of humans doesn’t care and they team him with two other chimps, Luna (Cheryl Hines) and Titan (Patrick Warburton), sending them on a mission to retrieve a space probe that was lost through a wormhole in space. Their mission reveals life in outer space on a strange planet on the other side of the universe. On this planet, an alien bully has gained power as a tyrannical dictator over his fellow aliens and is forcing them into slavery, building a massive palace for him. If they refuse, he dunks them into the fresnar … which is some kind of quick-setting cement-like liquid that resembles aluminum and flows from the alien planet’s volcano. Ham III finds a love interest in Luna, an unlikely friendship with the by-the-books commander Titan and succeeds at fulfilling his destiny in the process of several near screw-ups.

The animation in ‘Space Chimps’ wasn’t too bad, until the space chimps arrive on the alien planet. When the alien planet is first revealed I was slapped in the face with what I can only describe as an animated Teletubbies set gone horribly wrong. The alien bully had a striking resemblance in personality characteristics to Shrek. The film is loaded with excruciatingly painful puns and cliche’s. ‘Space Chimps’ contains several truly blatant references to other sci-fi space movies, adding something to the movie, but not enough to save it from disaster. I saw ‘Space Chimps’ in a reasonably well-attended screening and I cannot account for seeing and/or hearing any adult (including myself) actually laughing at anything “funny” in this movie. On a rare occasion, a few (myself included) would snicker at something because its soooooooo bad. In fact, I recall only a few laughs coming from the child audience, and most of those were from kids too young to fully understand what they were watching. My overall opinion … you may want to avoid this film, kids or no kids. DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!

Review: ‘The Dark Knight’

Its really hard to say that you didnt absolutely LOVE this movie, because 2/5 geeks gave this movie a perfect score, and the other 2 gave it an almost perfect score. Heath Ledger turned in one of the most memorable performances in recent memory. Christian Bale was as great as we have all come to expect. Maggie Gyllenhaal played a perfect Rachel Dawes, and was quite mesmerizing on screen. Aaron Eckhart delivered the goods that none of us were sure he could deliver as this was one of his first/biggest serious roles.

[rating: 4.5/5]

For all of you that have seen the movie..sound in below and give us your review. Also let us know if you watched it on a regular screen, or the IMAX.

Continue reading Review: ‘The Dark Knight’

Review: ‘All the Boys Love Mandy Lane’

Travis:

Remember back when teen horror films were actually good? Yeah, I’m starting to have trouble remembering that far back as well. Well, hope is here … Jonathan Levine (The Wackness) is here to save the day with his own addition to the genre and he nails it! Oddly, this was Levine’s first feature film, being released [finally] as his second movie, following up the success of ‘The Wackness’. Welcome back to the essence of teen slasher horror … ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ could only dream of accomplishing this!

‘All the Boys Love Mandy Lane’ sort of tells you a lot about the movie in its title, but doesn’t give away the best bits. Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) is the hottest babe in all of high school … she’s also the hardest catch. Mandy presents herself as a beautiful, but somewhat timid, and if I didn’t mention attractive, blonde hottie that hangs out loyally with her best bud Emmet (Michael Welch). Mandy is sort of the sexy fish out of water at her school, the homecoming queen type that prefers keeping a low profile to being the talk of the town. Emmet, on the other hand, is the typical sweet best friend type of guy that falls somewhere between the jock and the nerd on the personality scale, but hits bottom in the popularity polls. All the boys at school have one thing on their mind, well … yes that, but more soeifically “how to get into Mandy Lane’s pants.”

She does a fairly good job of fending them off, but Emmet occasionally attempts to step up as her noble protector. One day Mandy is invited to a pool party. She accepts, but only under the condition that Emmet joins her. While at the party, the drunken popular boy throwing the party is thwarted by a more clever and less drunk Emmet to avoid his conquering of Mandy’s heart. The result is tragic and Mandy’s friendship with Emmet is destroyed. The fun really begins when Mandy Lane is invited to a weekend party at one of the boy’s ranch. Reluctantly, she tags along. She gradually begins to loosen up, but soon finds herself amidst a group of rowdy teenagers that have all had their numbers pulled. A mysterious killer begins picking them off, one by one, and Mandy must fight to survive. The true mystery, however, is just who exactly is behind the killings?

‘All the Boys Love Mandy Lane’ is dark, suspenseful, fun, smart, and most important … it doesn’t suck, at all! Cheesiness and over-used cliche’s of the genre are virtually absent. What emerges is the heart of what makes the slasher film tic, the fear of the unknown, the paranoia, the group hysteria, the morbid curiosity of who’s next and who’s responsible. ‘Mandy Lane’ is straight forward and not glitzed up with fancy fluff, but doesn’t pull any punches either. The violence and gore is fully present, but not beyond what is necessary and highly effective. The ending for some, may begin to seem a bit predictable late in the film, but beware your early hypotheses … Levine is clever with his ending, McGuffin-style.

(4 out of 5 stars)

Scott:

Our good friend Jonathan Levine created, in my opinion, one of the best slasher movies of our generation. The movie takes the kinetics of high school, the cliques, and all of the drama that comes with chasing around the unobtainable girl. Mandy Lane is played beautifully by Amber Heard, Her best friend (played by Michael Welch) pulls off the creepy guy feeling and the rest of the cast really falls into its place. Jacob Forman really did a great job not falling into your typical horror stigma’s and threw in a bunch of unique kill techniques. Levine has a great way of getting you into the high school psyche, as he also showed you in ‘The Wackness’.

Travis pretty much said what needed to be said about the movie about, I just wanted to add in my two cents.

(4 out of 5 stars)

[rating:4/5]

Ram Man:

“All The Boys Love Mandy Lane”…yeah because she is gorgeous! Amber Heard is Mandy Lane, the duckling turned smoking hot swan prior to her junior year at highschool. A New Year and she has the looks that kill, why should anyone be suprised when people start dropping dead around Mandy Lane! The past few years filmmakers have forgotten how to scare the audience, so that’s why I’m glad Johnathan Levine (The Wackness) remembers the classics like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street, and brings a good scare with some twists to the screen with Mandy Lane.
Mandy and her buddy Emmitt (Micheal Walsh) decide to join the A crowd at school thier junior year. The cool kids Jake (Luke Grimes), Chloe (Whitney Able), Red (Aaron Himelstein), Marlin (Melissa Price) and Dylan (Adam Powell) all welcome Mandy with open arms and take Emmitt along for the ride. The boys have just one goal in mind..to be the first to have sex with Mandy Lane. They fail a swim party, so at a weekend trip to a secluded ranch (less Emmitt) each one attempts to complete the dirty dead. Only this time failure results in death. You may think you know who the killer is, but i asure you Levine has one last suprise for you!
“The Boys All Love Mandy Lane” and I think the girls will to if they can keep thier eyes open during the film. I hope that the hack directors of such tripe films as One Missed Call, Don’t Answer The Phone and Ruins go to the theater and see what a true Horror/Suspense film is suppose to be…TAKE NOTES! Thank Jonathan Levine..your two for two man..Keep up the great work..it makes it fun to be a critic!
(4 out of 5)
[rating:4/5]

Review: ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’

Ram Man:

Big Red , Selma Blair, Guillermo Del Toro and the B.P.R.D. (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) gang are back in the second installment of the Hellboy franchise… Hellboy II:The Golden Army. Guillermo del Toro is back at the helm to tell the continuing story of these people that make humanity safe from creatures they don’t even know exist.Ron Perlman is back as the title character with Selma Blair at his side as Liz Sherman (Pyro-kenetic chic) .Doug Jones is back as Abe Sapien (fishman) and new comer Johann Krauss, a ectoplasmic mystic from Germany. A German leading Hellboy, can you see the fight coming?

In the Golden Army, Del Toro tells the story of an ancient truce between Humans and the Woodland Realm of creatures. Whomever is King of the Woodlands (New Jersey) and has the 3 pieces of the crown controls and unbeatable army of 5000 soldiers..The Golden Army. Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), an elf that makes Legolas from LOTR look like the Keebler elf, has had enough of exile and the Human race destroying his lands. Nuada breaks the truce and begins to assemble the crown in order to control the Golden Army and wage war against humanity. He didn’t take into account the defender of humanity Hellboy! Princess Nuada (Anna Walton), the prince’s twin sister, understanding her brother has gone off the deep end and wanting to continue the peace between the two worlds..takes the final piece of the crown and goes into hiding to prevent the resurrection of the Golden Army. Princess Nuada runs into Abe and is brought to BPRD headquarters and Hellboy is brought into the fight.

Del Toro has packed Hellboy II: The Golden Army with plenty of fascinating creatures, knock down slobber knocking battles, and some great comedic moments. One of the highlights is a Barry Manilow sing-a-long with Red and Abe…yes I said Barry Manilow and highlight in the same sentence. The Golden Army is the second story of a trilogy, to give you a clue on the story line of the follow-up, Guillermo has my permission to use “Three Demons and a Little Lady” as the title! Go check out Hellboy2: The Golden Army and see what a “real” hero is suppose to be!

4 1/2 out of 5

Michelle:

Our red-horned, rosary-carrying, wisecracking, cat-lover, Hellboy, is back for another round with the paranormal world. A misanthropic Prince Nuada (reminiscent of Jeremy Irons’, pasty faced Uber-Morlock from 2002’s ‘The Time Machine’) sets out to unleash hell on Earth. By committing patricide on his father, King Balor, Nuada ends the centuries old truce between humans and magical creatures with the rebirth of the Golden Army. An unfortunate event introduces the public to the secret agents of The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.) comprised of Hellboy’s girlfriend, Liz (Selma Blair), empathic Abe (Doug Jones), and their new leader, Johann Krauss (Seth MacFarlane) who comes with troll seeing glasses. We find Hellboy torn between his destiny to destroy the Earth and fighting on the side of the humans. His relationship with Liz is rocky, at best, and she has a certain “something” hidden from him throughout most of the film.

Oscar winning director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) acquaints us with the mystical world of the Troll Market where, in the search for Nuada’s twin-sister Princess Nuala, the B.P.R.D. agents blend right in. What Del Toro does with the elaborate mythical sets and creatures far surpasses anything we’ve ever seen from Star Wars – the granite and floral behemoths are truly astonishing. With Del Toro’s evenly paced screenplay having Hellboy spewing “You woke up the baby” one-liners, his final act brings about the awakening of the “70 times 70 soldiers” Golden Army. We’re witness to a battle akin to ‘Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Robots’ along with a fight-to-the-death finale between Hellboy and Prince Nuada. The hilarious “it” scene of the film has to be Hellboy & Abe commiserating over the dealings with the women in their lives with a Barry Manilow sing-a-long moment.

Not quite as funny as the first and certainly missing David Hyde Pierce’s unmistakable voice, Guillermo del Toro gives us another fun adventure… can’t wait to see what he does with “The Hobbit.” It should be one Hell-uva fight between Hellboy and Hancock this weekend.

4 out of 5

Travis:

First, the short version … I have been waiting eagerly for the sequel from the moment I left the theater after watching the first ‘Hellboy’ movie. I have anticipated great things, followed the sequel’s development but managed to avoid becoming too much of a fan-boy as I didn’t want to ruin anything for myself. (Charles?) Overall, the sequel was great! It satisfied all of my waiting and pondering and, while I don’t think it quite meets up to the level of success of the first movie, its pretty darn close and I’m cool with that.

Guillermo del Toro returns to direct ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ and does so brilliantly and clearly with more greenbacks stuffed in his pocket to do so. It was very clear that del Toro was given mush more freedom to explore his dark, creative side for visual effects and creature design in this sequel. With the development of the back story done and behind us with the original, the sequel is much more free to delve into a completely new story … and that it does.

The film begins with a flashback of The Professor (John Hurt) reading a pre-teen aged Hellboy a story just before bed, sending him into a grinning dreamland of a fantastical ancient time on Earth that has long past … or has it? From here, we’re thrown into modern times. Led by the big red guy, the Bureau heads out to investigate an eerie and violent encounter at an auction house. Soon after arriving, the team discover they’re up against an entirely new force that far outnumbers their own. After the team’s “secrecy” is again compromised, Agent Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) is forced to bring in a mysterious new agent to lead the team in place of Hellboy (Ron Perlman). Special Agent Johann Kraus (physically performed by James Dodd and voiced by Seth MacFarlane) immediately rubs Hellboy and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) the wrong way as Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) takes quickly to his keen intellect. Doug Jones once more gets kudos for carrying the load of three roles in the film.

As it turns out, the stories The Professor read to Hellboy as a child were based in reality. The team discovers that the Elven Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) has plans to steal a magical crown that will allow him to bring the indestructible Golden Army out of dormancy and command them into war with the humans. This basically sets up the premise for this film, but there’s romance as well. We’re already familiar with the love interest between Hellboy and Liz … the sequel takes it further and expands on their relationship. In addition, we find another member of the team falling head over heals for the twin sister of Nuada, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) and ultimately causes a unique series of leverages and consequences in their mission to keep Nuada from succeeding in his diabolical plans.

Personally, I wasn’t really put off by the approach to the love stories being told in this film, but I can see where others have waned in favor of lesser opinions. Much of the story gets engulfed in the romance of the film and, while it does play an integral role in the story, it can at times be distracting from the action/adventure element … that is, of course, if you’re not a Hellboy fan-boy that’s interested in seeing the whole package and not just the masculinated Hollywood action-fest that other films become. It virtually goes without saying that the visual FX were outstanding. It should get no less than an Oscar nod for this category, and if not … heads will roll! I’m recommending this film to everyone based solely on the special effects. This way, once you see the movie … everything else is pure cinematic viewing profit!

4 out of 5

ZAC:

Guillermo del Toro returns to the comic franchise Hellboy and he has crafted a fantastical, action packed, and hilarious film that is the best live action entry of the Summer and possibly the year.
I can not sing the praises of this film enough. This film opens with a young Hellboy being read a bedtime story to him by Prof. Broom about the indestructible Golden Army built by the elves of ancient earth to help fight the humans during their ancient wars. After their original and only use, the Golden Army massacred the humans and the Elvin King who controlled them deemed them too powerful, splitting the crown which controls them into three pieces; much to the chagrin of his son Prince Nuada (Luke Goss). The King gives one piece to the humans as a truce and the elves move to the forests of the world, not to interact with the humans way of life, Nuada retreats into exile in protest, vowing to return when his people needs him most.
Flash forward a few millennium to present day, Nuada has returned, reclaiming the lost piece of the Golden Crown hostilely at an auction and drawing the attention of Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and the rest of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The team is roughly the same, minus Myers thankfully, plus one new member, Johann Krauss, an ectoplasmic disembodied spirit that embodies a suit when he is a tangible person instead of a floating mist. Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) is back, and has a crush on Nuada’s sister Nuala, while Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Hellboy seem to be having relationship issues the can be a bit “explosive.” Manning (Jeffery Tambor) has more of an active role in setting up campaigns for the team while still trying to cover up the exploits of Hellboy on YouTube.
I won’t really go much more into the plot as this film pretty much hits the ground running as soon as the team investigates the auction house Nuada massacred. The film is full of life though, del Toro has greatly expanded on the fantasy of the Hellboy universe and the world is just endlessly populated with cool monsters and wonderful creatures that give the series a new depth and imagination that it is capable of. You can tell Universal gave del Toro free range and put their confidence behind him as he has crafted one of the better fantasy film worlds in recent memory which has allowed him to craft one of the finest comic book adaptations to date.
Del Toro’s look to this film is also just beautiful, there is always something imaginative and creative happening on screen and it just leaves one awed on a number of occasions. The opening bed time story is told through an awesome animation that looks like a mix of stop motion and puppeteering that really stands out and helps you look past the only hiccup in the movie; which is the actor’s portrayal of young Hellboy, it just didn’t feel right for whatever reason. The Golden Army is just awesome, and when it comes to the big fight with them the effects work is just amazing. Speaking of fights, the film is full of them, they just keep coming one after another with a total of 6 major fight scenes (and that’s not counting the times Hellboy just punches the shit out of a few characters) sprinkled throughout if my memory serves me correctly, with each getting better as you go. The effects work is also top notch like I previously mentioned, with the CGI and the animatronics work (which there is a ton of) just looking grade A almost all the time. It is also a breath of fresh air to see so much practical effects work in this film, and it goes to show that it is possible to awesome effects work with out having to do everything on a computer.
The acting in the film is also great across the board. Rob Perlman expands upon Hellboy and makes him even more sarcastic and likable while also taking on even more physical duties on the film. Doug Jones takes over voice and acting duties for Abe Sapien and he does an excellent job as well. Abe has a far meatier role and is consistently funny in his back and forth’s with Hellboy and Manning. The two above mentioned also deserve special props for everything involved in the scene where they bond over there love for women; priceless and hilarious. Selma Blair takes it up a notch as well and remembers how to act at a high caliber. The filmmakers also decide to ramp up the sexy factor on her to bring in the horny boys as well. Luke Goss is an excellent villain in Prince Nuada handling the fighting and acting very well all around. The voice and physical work for Krauss is also very funny as they are able to create such an interesting character that is technically nothing but a white mist. Finally, Jeffery Tambor also improves upon his Manning in an even meatier role providing a fun authority figure for Hellboy to disregard.
But enough rambling praise, in the end, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is an excellent sequel in that it expands on the world while providing a more compelling story now that the origins are out of the way. Hellboy II is hilarious, action packed, and full of endless creativity. Guillermo del Toro has given us an amazing fantasy world to enjoy and one that I hope he gets to come back to after he is done with The Hobbit. Comic book and fantasy fans should not miss, as this is probably going to end up as being one of the best films of the year when it is all said and done.

(4.5 out of 5)

[Rating: 4.25/5]

Review: ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’

Ram Man:

Brendan Fraser is putting the mummy hunting on hold for a month or so to update the Jules Vern classic “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. This time its modern day and it’s in 3-D!   So be prepared  for this ride, Dinosaurs are trying to steal your popcorn and you can almost feel the heat from the lava. Eric Brevig (The Island) used amazing visuals in his directorial debut.

2008’s Journey tells the story of Professor Trevor Anderson (Fraser) researching his brother Max’s hypothesis that there are large enough caverns and vent tubes near the center of the earth to have a world living in a world. Max Anderson went missing years before exploring in Iceland leaving behind a wife Elizabeth (Jane Wheeler) and son Sean (Josh Hutcherson). While taking Sean for the summer, Trevor observes a lot of seismic activity in Iceland just like when Max went missing, so  the two set of to Iceland to get some answers. Upon arrival the hire a mountain guide Hannah (Anita Briem) and after a freak lightning storm find themselves trapped in a cave.   They set off to find another way out and after two prototype amusement park rides (roller-coaster mine train, water slide) they find themselves in the center of the Earth. This is where the fun really starts. The encounter Dinosaurs, mutant piranha fish, man-eating plants and glow-in-the-dark birds.

Remember to get your Real-D glasses upon entry because this is really 3D! People were jumping in the theater and  don’t forget  to watch out for those fish. This is a thrill ride enjoyable for the entire family. Brendan Fraser is a little hit and miss with his movies but with the 3D effects he hits this one out of the park!

3 out of 5

Travis:

Everyone have their Real-D 3-D spectacles on? Are you firmly planted in your seat with a tight grip on your popcorn? Great … now, everyone keep your arms and legs inside the viewing area and do not leave your seat until the experience has come to a complete stop.

‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ succeeds on one level only and that’s purely a level of amusement park fun, offering roller coaster and theme park style thrills. That’s cool … nothing wrong with that. I actually enjoyed this ride despite my otherwise reluctant attitude towards seeing this film in the first place.

The film is directed by Eric Brevig, who prior to this film, was primarily a visual effects guy. Hence, the feature-length visual gimmick. ‘Journey’ is a moderately successful joyride of mild fun and humor, primarily rooted in that of children’s fantasy-adventure fare … both the kids and the adults in the theater appeared to have gotten a kick out of Brandon Frasier’s fantastic voyage to the center of the Earth. However, the film’s success lies solely in the gimmick of the 3-D glasses.

From having Professor Trevor (Frasier) spit his mouthwash into our faces to a wild and physically implausible mine car ride to having a T-Rex nearly bite our buns off, the gimmick works very well at keeping the audience entertained while wearing the somewhat uncomfortable 3-D glasses. But, take the viewing apparatus away and all you have left is your typical kid’s adventure film with little to show for in the way of originality. Not to mention the picture just looks weird without the glasses, as the entire film was shot with the intention of being viewed in 3-D, which is actually a step up from my last experience watching ‘Superman Returns’ and having only three scenes in 3-D, requiring me to watch for the signal to dawn the glasses and then time their removal appropriately as to avoid sudden 3-D glasses induced hallucinations when the 3-D effect was over.

I really have nothing more to say about ‘Journey’ … first time in a while I’ve been relatively short-winded on any movie. Its a good kid-flick with enough going on not to bore the rugrats. Adults will likely enjoy it as well for its novelty, but anyone who gets motion sickness may want to avoid watching an entire feature film presented in this new Real-D 3-D medium.

2.5 out of 5

Charles:

‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ is a adventure-filled family film that’ll take you on the ride of your life…. in buttery theater seats littered with bunches of hooligan kids and teens. I enjoyed this movie because of the 3-D experience it had to offer. Crazy colored insanely large toothed fish were popping out all over the screen with ginormously monsterous plants that would tear the screen apart. WARNING! Must keep 3-D glasses ON because there is NO WAY you will appreciate the full effect of the film without them. Yes, so honestly the storys a little corny, but who cares!? If you like suspense at all, the 3-D action is bound to keep your complete attention. Now, I’m actually a fan of Brendan Frasers earlier successes, like ‘School Ties’,’Encino Man’, and ‘Airheads’. And while this is a typical Fraser film, its more along the lines of The Mummy Trilogy, which I’m not so impressed with, but apparently there are mummy fans I’m not gonna mess with. Nobody has heard from this guy in the last few years but I’m betting this will reboot his career, coupled with the new Mummy movie, and added to his 2007 ‘The Air I Breathe’ (where he brilliantly plays a psychic gangster) and !BANG! he’s back in business folks. Not gonna lie, this movie is totally for everybody. It delivers action, comedy, and romance. What more do you want? Just make sure to gather up the fam damily and kids for this journey and spectacular 3-D thrill ride! Oh and by the way, the movies ends off with a chapter from a new book that will follow in a sequel. Wait for it…

2.5 out of 5

Review: ‘The Wackness’

the wackness

Travis:

From writer-director Jonathan Levine comes one of the coolest and most honestly personal films this year. ‘The Wackness’ is a story that’s both bitingly funny and poignantly smart and reflective. Josh Peck plays Luke Shapiro, a teenager about to graduate high school but has little direction for his life. The story takes place in 1994 as Luke spends his time selling dope on the streets on New York. He trades weed for psychotherapy sessions from Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley) who clearly needs more help than Luke ever will. Dr. Squires is unaware that Luke is developing a crush on his stepdaughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), who herself only wants to be friends with Luke. Luke struggles with this predicament while also dealing with family problems at home. Parallel to Luke’s dilemma, Dr. Squires is also struggling to salvage his own marriage to Kristin (Famke Janssen) while diving hard and head-first into a drug-laden mid-life crisis.

The film also stars Mary-Kate Olsen as Union, a doped out time-displaced hippie chick and Method Man as Percy, Luke’s supplier for his drug dealership. Method man also adds his own music to the very cool, very effective soundtrack. ‘The Wackness’ is an all-around brilliant coming of age story that doesn’t get cheesy or wallow in the typical Hollywood unrealism we see so often. The scenes between Dr. Squires and Luke while in session are memorable, occasionally offering serious bits of life advice that make sense. The chemistry between Luke and Stephanie is genuine and conveys well on screen. “Steph” also has one of my favorite, while simplest, lines in the movie when scolding her dog for peeing on Luke’s Ice-vending cart … “Jesus Christ, NO!” Jesus Christ is her dog’s name. You just simply have to see ‘The Wackness’. ‘Nuff said.

[rating:5/5]

Michelle:

A quirky little dramedy that intertwines the lives of four lonely people who’s only common thread is marijuana. Complications arise when a teen-age pot dealer, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck), falls for his shrink’s (Ben Kingsley) step-daughter (Olivia Thirlby). The psychologist and the lonely teen form an unlikely bond well past that of buyer and dealer. Although another coming-of-age story from director Jonathan Levine, the most charming scene has to be Luke tripping the light fantastic after leaving his first love on a warm summer night in NYC. Such a jaw-dropping transformation from Peck since his days as the spastic, second banana brother, Josh Nichols, in Nickelodeon’s Drake and Josh. And be on the watch for a kooky, delightful appearance by Mary-Kate Olsen.

One of the most entertaining movies of 2008!

[rating:5/5]

Charles:

This film was excellent! The acting by Josh Peck was really superb; he showed that not only is he a wonderful comical actor, but an incredible dramatic actor as well. He was brilliantly casted for this role, and was able to carry the film with ease. Hopefully we will be seeing a whole lot more of this actor, because he has given the breakthrough performance of the year. Set in New York 1994, a story about a troubled teenage drug dealer Luke Shapiro (Peck) who has struck a deal with his therapist Dr.Squires (Sir Ben Kingsley), swapping him weed in exchange for sessions in which he explains the personal crises that is his life. Along the way he falls for Squires step-daughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). Supporting actor Ben Kingsley was, as usual, great. He provides perfect comedic timing and creates a character so entertaining, you can’t help smiling once he appears on screen. In one hilarious scene (that is easily the best of part of the movie), Squires is talking with Shapiro about lifes obstacles, when Squires just casually lights up a joint like its nothin’, and right in the middle of the streets of New York.So of course the cops start running toward him, in slo-mo, and we hear Squires telling Shapiro to ‘ruuuuuuun’ as he pumps his classic Reeboks in an effort to run away faster from the police, only to run right into their arms because, if you pay attention, HE’S HIGH! The sexy Olivia Thirlby (an up and coming actress to be on the look-out for) worked very well as Peck’s love interest. Method Man also delivers a fine performance as Lukes drug resource and he definatley has the ability to act! The music of 1994 flows perfectly with the film. It has great music from such N.Y. artists as the Wu Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G, and A Tribe Called Quest. I loved everything about this film and I hope that it becomes the independent film that makes it big this year! It definitely deserves high praise! ‘The Wackness’ has to be one of my favorite and best films of 2008!

[rating:5/5]

Review: ‘Meet Dave’

Ram Man:

Does any one know where the “real’ Eddie Murphy went???? I think this new guy stealing his billing Has just one goal in mind..Get the most Razzies (award for worst movie of the year) of any actor in Hollywood. This new comedy???? is a mixture of My Favorite Martian,Star Trek and Innerspace only dummied down for the kiddies.

Meet Dave is the story of an alien race forced to find salt to replenish their planet and allow their race to survive. They chose to deplete the Earth of it’s oceans, and end the human race in the process. Did I mention these aliens are 2” tall and arrive on earthin a spaceship (Dave) that looks like Eddie Murphy! Eddie not one to hog all of the camera also plays the tiny captain. Elizabeth Banks, Scott Caan, Mike O’Malley and Gabrielle Union also cashed in for this one. They also saved a buck or two by naming the aliens with numbers instead of actually have writers create some. Upon arrival the crew starts to form emotions and take on habits of the humans. This segment provides the best parts of the film. No. 4 (Pat Kilbane) discovers Broadway and show tunes and soon turns Gay and gives No.3 (Union) a makeover to wow the captain (Murphy). Unfortunately the laughs are too far and few to make Meet Dave a good film. the end is also soooo predictable. A family flick that no one in the family except maybe the pre-teens will like.

I f you should Meet Dave , run..don’t walk away from the theater! Boldly go to any film other than Meet Dave. The only thing that was on my mind during the long 90 minutes of the film was Pluto Nash..Pluto Nash..Pluto Nash . After such films as Norbit, Daddy Day Camp, Pluto Nash and now Meet Dave I ask again what happened to the Eddie Murphy that made Axel Foley a household name and gave an Oscar worthy performance in Dreamgirls? Maybe both he and Mike Myers have slipped into just being able to do Shrek films. I don’t know what 20th Century Fox was thinking releasing this in the summer season opposite the smash hit Hellboy 2 and a 3D family adventure in Journey to the Center of the Earth.

1 out of 5

Charles:

Eddie Murphy is back with, yep – you guessed it – yet another run of the mill comedy. I went to the screening thinking it was going to be a waste of time and garbage. Meet Dave is what I expected. It’s a safe, family-fun comedy with loads of slapstick humor that will only appeal to teens and young children. I’m not scared to say it; this movie actually had me laughing at certain parts, but the remaining of the film is expectedly nothing to get excited over. You run into the same old performances Eddie has offered over the past (god only knows how many) years. 10? 15? 20? Enough already. It pains me to see Eddie’s career going down the drain, but also when you don’t show up to your own premiere… well, it explains why fans and critics don’t have sweet things to say. Sure, we love Eddie ’cause his old classics are great but HELLO, times have changed and these days he just can’t get the job done. Sorry. Beverly Hills Cop 4 will hopefully revive his corpse of a career! It’s definitely a stronger effort than Norbit (no fat suits in this one, Thank Goodness) but nothing special either. If silly slapstickish humor like this makes you laugh, then go ahead and Meet Wacky Dave!

1 1/2 out of 5