Yes, you should all know that by now, what you probably dont know is that Sly Stone is about 190% bigger than he was in the first movie..he is also like 30 years older. Maybe they should put an Asterisk next to the movie name, or if it breaks some box office records, put one next to that. HAHA, of course I am only kidding, but that would be pretty damn funny if that did happen. Check out the difference.
the first image is courtesy of iesb.net, thanks guys.
so right now we are in the brunt of the slow news for movies. There isnt much to update so I will probably just ramble on about movies I will be seeing in the next few days.
First off is The Kingdom.
I wasnt really sure about this movie when I saw the first trailer, but after hearing raved reviews for it I now know it must be mine. Jamie Foxx has really take a huge leap into the movie industry from the goofy comedy of movies like Booty Call, and The Great White Hype. Most of the movies he has chosen to do in recent years have been great successes (well mostly, you have stealth in there, but i thought JFoxx was the really redeeming part of the movie). I love him in Miami Vice, and Collateral.
Next on my ‘Must See Movies’ is Sweeney Todd; The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
I have said stuff about this movie before, but I will say it again. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are movie gold..enough said.
more to come..
Mike Nichols new film is a great piece of history through film with a story that few people probably have heard of or know much about in the first place.
Tom Hanks stars as the title character; a congressman from a small district in Texas that you would think didn’t have much power, but has a direct impact on the outcome of the cold war. Charlie Wilson was the leader of a classified committee that had an unlimited budget when dolling out money to military needs such as the Soviet/Afghanistan conflict in the 80’s. Spurred by a news report on the state of Afghanistan, Wilson is inspired by the resolve of the people and their desire to fight and win the fight against the great Communist threat.
The first 30min of this film is all set up and we meet the characters along the way. It is a bit slow, and drags just a tad, but we do get to meet Bonnie Bach (Amy Adams), Wilson’s top assistant and one of many good looking females in Wilson’s congressional staff. Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a rich Afghan supporter who happens to be the 6th richest women in Texas and one of Charlie’s love affairs. Finally, we are also introduced to Gust Avrakotos (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a combative CIA agent that is that is hot headed but way too smart to let go and eventually becomes the Afghan intelligence leader for the CIA.
The movie is by no means dull just nothing is really happening up until you get Gust and Charlie in the same room. From there the ball gets rolling and the movie never lets up. Hoffman is brilliant as the dry and quick witted Gust with him and Hanks bouncing back and forth off each other with great effect as they orchestrate a plan to arm the Afghanistan people with weapons to “shoot down the helicopters.”
All of the actors do a fine job and there isn’t a bad performance to be found here. The direction is also very good, but not on the same level as Nichols previous film the amazing Closer, and delivers an entertaining history lesson that easy to swallow for most audiences; don’t expect an explanation of the Cold War though, you have to at least understand what that is coming in. Aaron Sorkin’s script is also solid and very funny at times, and keeps a great pace throughout; as fore mentioned.
In the end, Charlie Wilson’s War is an entertaining look at a hidden gem of a story from history that is full of comedy and political intrigue. It is also interesting to see what this country is capable of doing when it wants to while also allowing the film to serve as a belated cautionary tale that reminds us to see things through till the end. See this for Hoffman, if you are a fan of history, or if you want to see Tom Hanks doing great work as usual.
[rating: 4/5]
Will Smith’s newest blockbuster works really well for about 75% of the time and the other 25% is just good. Robert Neville is the last human in NYC, is accompanied by his German Sheppard Sam as they hunt for food and go through their daily routine everyday during the daylight. At night they are forced to lock themselves in their home and hope that the vampire like creatures that roam in the darkness do not find and break in to their house.
The sole survivor narrative inters cuts with a flashback to the day the island was evacuated as Neville tries to get his wife and son out of the city. We also learn that Neville is a military scientist that worked on the virus that caused the pandemic and he tries to find the cure as he moves through his life of solitude.
The movie takes place over the course of only a couple of days and to say anymore would ruin the tension and point of seeing a mysterious thriller like this. The movie though is extremely tense at times and is almost always interesting. When you aren’t on the edge of your seat as director Francis Lawrence takes us through dark and eerily quiet stair wells, you are intrigued by the story to try and figure out how everything went so bad. The movie fails to fill a couple of holes that I would have liked answered but they are forgivable as they aren’t necessarily essential to the story we are watching unfold.
My main gripe with the film is the last 20-30 min or so just don’t work very well. The action set piece is pretty good and works ok, but after a significant game changer (you’ll know what it is), the movie just doesn’t work as solidly as the rest of the material beforehand. But with that said, it’s still entertaining, if not a bit rushed.
The movie as a whole will tug on every emotion you have and will keep you on the edge of your seat through out. Will Smith easily carries the film by himself with special mention to the dog Abby who played Sam as she does a great job at selling the relationship between the too and is character you truly care about in all of this mess.
It would have been nice to have seen a bit different approach to the ending and to divulge a bit more into the mind of a man all alone for so long, but the movie is more than worth seeing in the theater and is an entertaining popcorn flick for the holiday season.
(4 out of 5)
Serving as the third movie adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel, I Am Legend stars Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville, the last surviving human being in Manhattan. He finds himself mysteriously immune to the man-made virus intended to be a miracle cure for cancer, but rapidly turns to the dark side and ultimately destroys the human race as we know it. All that is left is a world populated with hyper-aggressive, primitive minded savages, driven by violence and rage. Determined to undo this living apocalypse, Neville searches for survivors by day and diligently seeks a cure from his blood by night, barricaded in his reinforced house while the creatures thrive, safe from the sunlight.
I Am Legend is entertaining, carrying itself with a creative new twist on the twice-told story and with a great performance from Smith. However, the movie is by no means flawless. The action is superb, but do not seek this movie out as a fast-aced, action-packed joyride. The story is wonderfully slowly-paced and deliberate in its careful, day-by-day progression of the life of one man alone in a massive city with only his German Shepard Sam to keep his company. I actually believe this is the movie’s saving grace, but heed this warning to avoid potentially disappointing expectations.
I shall diverge momentarily by jumping straight to the heart of the film’s flaws. I often state with great conviction the following mantra: Just because you have the capability to do something, does not mean it is always the most effective method for accomplishing the task at hand. What does this mean? Applied to I Am Legend, (and, understand that this is not the first movie to receive this criticism) this specifically refers to the subtle overuse of CGI special effects. Here we have a story that is primarily dealing with two basic human phobias; that of being alone and that of the unknown, combined naturally with the fear of the dark. With this in mind, a story such as this plays most effectively on the suppressed exposure to that which we fear. In other words, bring the antagonist to our direct view at a minimum, and as late in the story as possible. Basically, it is simply a matter of less being more.
Secondly, be sure that once we do get a healthy and vivid view of the monsters, make it worth our while. As an audience, if we are going to get an eyeful of a movie monster, it had better be good and yes, it had better be believable. To illustrate my point, I suggest revisiting two great classics of the horror genre; the original Alien movie, and the first installment of the Jaws franchise. In both films, the monstrous antagonists were hardly seen at all until much later in the movie. Once we did get a good dose of the creatures, the effect was far more successful, and ultimately more believable. On that note, I will just briefly mention that I felt the overall execution of the character design was acceptable and rather effective in its simplicity, save one element involving the creature’s leader frequently roaring with such ferocity that his jaw opened and widened to an extent of being absurdly comical. When speaking of the plot itself, I Am Legend carries very well. With this said, there is one major plot element at approximately two-thirds the way into the story, which drew the viewer out of the story. In an effort to avoid spoiling the movie, I will vaguely state that the plot device utilized to introduce the only other surviving human characters into the story is clumsy and distracting. At one point during Neville’s daytime excursions, a surprising revelation is made of the creature’s leader, resulting in Neville’s near death. As a result of this event’s consequences, he seeks to put an end to his misery, only to be saved by a young woman named Anna and a boy named Ethan. From here, the story quickly realigns itself with its previous storyline, ending with a fairly typical, yet effective mainstream Hollywood finale.
I Am Legend succeeds at entertaining the audience as a psychological horror film with the moral essence of science-fiction. The sporadic use of tense action sequences is excellent, accompanied by the type of crowd-pleasing performance we have come to expect from Will Smith. The cinematography and sound are perfectly appropriate, the flashbacks are remarkably well-placed to develop the back story, and if you don’t become thoroughly and emotionally attached to Neville’s perfect canine companion, then I am sorry†¦ you just simply aren’t human.
(4.25 out of 5)
[rating: 4/5]
p.s. the alternate ending really works better for this film on DVD and it would have been nice if it would have been maintained, even if it was a downer of sorts.
National Treasure seemed to thump all other competition with 45.5 million over the weekend. Honestly, there is no suprise there for me. However what I am suprised at is the fact that Walk Hard didnt even come in the top 3! Here is a list of the top 5..and Walk Hard.
1) National Treasure; Book of Secrets. 45.5 Million
2) I am Legend. 34.2 Million
3) Alvin and the Chipmunks. 29 Million
4) Charlie Wilson’s War. 9.6 Million
5) Sweeney Todd. 9.3 Millions
..and then bringing up the rear at number 8 Walk Hard with a measly 4.1 Million.
Sorry for the late posting of the holiday wishes, but at least its here now…So Merry Christmas from all of us here at wearemoviegeeks.com. So in case you hadnt gotten enough of your 24hr run of A Christmas Story, here you go with a few of my favorite pictures from the classic.
So, Blender.com put out a list of the 10 worst rock movies ever made and they listed 2 movies that really pissed me off.
First off they listed at #5 Rock Star, you know the one with Mark Wahlberg. I actually thought this movie was really good, especially if you liked the glam rock of the 80’s. Bad form blender!
Then, if that wasnt enough they coupled in Radiohead’s ‘Rockumentary’ ‘Meeting People is Easy‘.
This one shouldnt be on the list for obvious reasons. A) most of the movies on the list are ACTUAL MOVIES, and B) Anyone who isnt a fan of radiohead wont like this..but i sure as hell did. Come on blender, there is more to music than Britney Spears and Kanye West (not that there is anything wrong with either of those artists).
I am certain that you could have found at least one movie about a boy band, or christina agu..nevermind. Instead you pick movies about Glam Rock(popular music before your magazine was around), and One of the most influential bands of our generation.
The long delayed New York based musical by John Turturro finally gets to show its face, and sadly, outside of a few good laughs here and there this one is not a winner.
The film has no direction at all for 2/3 of the film. It feels like a random splattering of scenes most of the time and is just all over the place with no plot line really to follow. There are a couple of good laughs sprinkled throughout, i.e. if Christopher Walken or Steve Buscemi are on screen, but most of the time you are left wondering what the hell is going on. Random imaginary sequences pop in here and there, the dance numbers are fun, silly, and probably the best part of the film, the songs used are ok and usually feel appropriate but still a bit random; its all a bit random. The movie is all over the place so much I really can’t even figure out how to explain it.
The final third of the movie has stability but it stops being funny as James Gandolfini’s character seeks redemption for cheating on his wife as he is slowly killed by his lung cancer. The scenes work, are well done, and are even a bit touching, but again, randomly different then the rest of the film. The movie just never seems to know what it wants to be and we don’t know what to expect ever.
The actors are all a bit over the top and ridiculous but with a cast including Kate Winslet, Susan Sarandon, Mary Louise Parker, and the three fore mentioned males you would think this would be a bit better, but it is not.
Turturro’s film has a number of bright spots, but as an overall film, it just doesn’t work. My girlfriend felt like she was in the theater for 4hrs for a 1:45min movie, and she would give it a 3 because she “liked the dancing.” Either way, it’s a major disappointment, and I guess the studios knew what they were doing when they passed on this film for the last couple of years.
[rating: 2/5]
 
wouldnt having both of them in the same movie burn the film reels, or at least produce such a light that the film couldnt be seen? Well anyhow such will be the case when these two come together in ‘The Firbidden Kingdom’. Wow, this is going to be on crazy duo together. Like themovieblog said, This is almost as good as Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee being in the Way of the Dragon.
Here is a pre-synopsis from wikipedia for ‘The Forbidden Kingdown’
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“The plot is currently unconfirmed but rumor has it that The Forbidden Kingdom is about a New York teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and classic Kung Fu movies. Jason (Michael Angarano), is a boy who is always bullied at school. He is determined to learn kung fu to protect himself. One day in a Chinatown pawnshop, Jason makes an extraordinary discovery – a Chinese staff. It is the legendary Ru Yi Bang staff of the Chinese sage and warrior, Sun Wukong the Monkey King.
A mysterious power in the staff transports Jason back to ancient China. There he meets kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan). He is unkempt and looks like a beggar; nevertheless Jason becomes his disciple. Later, he meets another kung fu master, Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei) and the Silent Monk (Jet Li). The three of them go on to a journey after seeing the staff in Jason’s possession. There has been an ancient prophecy: Sun Wukong the Monkey King, who was jailed under the Five Fingers Mountain by Lord Buddha himself, will one day be freed by a “foreign youngster”, who will return the staff to him. After learning of the arrival of Jason, the Jade Emperor (Collin Chou) immediately sends out his three highly skilled guards led by the White Haired Demoness (Li Bingbing) to get the staff from the boy. So the battle begins and the adventure goes on…”
HELL RIDE.
Wow, I am effing excited about this release. I have seen pretty much all of the QT Presents movies, and they are always good. He is even taking the reigns of Executive Producer on this flick.
Synopsis from wikipedia;
“Larry Bishop will star as bad-ass biker Pistolero, (named after the original title for Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado) who along with The Gent (Michael Madsen) and Comanche (Eric Balfour), hit the road to avenge the death of Pistolero’s old lady Cherokee Kisum (Julia Jones), by the 666ers a rival motorcycle gang.”
PREPARE YOURSELF.
