PRECIOUS Movie Review

PRECIOUS will be released to theaters today Friday November 6. The movie is starring Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe and directed by Lee Daniels. If you are planning to go see the movie, here are a few reviews from around the web to help you make up your mind.

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THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS Movie Review

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS will be released to theaters today Friday November 6, 2009. The movie is starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, and directed by Grant Heslov. If you are planning to go see the movie, here are a few reviews from around the web to help you make up your mind.

SILive.com
Our country is currently enmeshed in two wars that enjoy something less than unanimous support among the populace. Politically, we’re divided, with symbols of authority like the military held in only medium esteem by many. Given that, it’s sort of shocking that the new comedy film "The Men Who Stare at Goats," about a truly wacky experimental U.S. military unit, should exist in a vacuum, removed from current events and the tension they’ve created. Read More

Entertainment Weekly
In The Men Who Stare at Goats, George Clooney, as one of the founders of a crackpot U.S. military unit, wears a mustache that makes him look like Dennis Farina, and he does his best to act cool, calm, and collected — which sets him in marked contrast to all the flakes and hysterics around him. Read More

Huffington Post
The key question about The Men Who Stare at Goats is not whether it is true (though it allegedly is).
The key question is whether it will make you laugh.
No allegedly about it - it will. Read More

The Men Who Stare at Goats Synopsis: Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (Academy Award® winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought. A legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls and even kill a goat simply by staring at it. When the programme's founder, Bill Django (Oscar® nominee Jeff Bridges), goes missing, Cassady's mission is to find him in this quirky dark comedy, inspired by a real story.

The Men Who Stare at Goats will be released to theaters on November 6, 2009. (Watch the trailer here and check out more pictures here)

THE FOURTH KIND Movie Review

THE FOURTH KIND will be released to theaters on today Friday November 6, 2009. The movie is starring Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, Elias Koteas, and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi. If you are planning to go see the movie, here are a few reviews from around the web to help you make up your mind.

Cinematical
I'm not sure exactly what quality it is that real people possess and actors lack, but any time a film pretends to document real behavior, either literally or as a reenactment, something is almost always missing. Read More

MiamiHerald.com
You've heard about close encounters of the third kind, of course, the extraterrestrial meetings that involve contact, presumably of a benign nature. The fourth kind involves a more invasive sort of contact: alien abduction, possibly including those uncomfortable probes about which the true UFO believers are always so nervous. Read More

Huffington Post
I love alien movies. Really, it's the only genre that can still scare me. I'm not saying that other spooky things don't give me pause or make me jump. It's just that there is really no mystery left. Read More

The Fourth Kind Synopsis: In 1972, a scale of measurement was established for alien encounters. When a UFO is sighted, it is called an encounter of the first kind. When evidence is collected, it is known as an encounter of the second kind. When contact is made with extraterrestrials, it is the third kind. The next level, abduction, is the fourth kind. This encounter has been the most difficult to document ... until now.
Structured unlike any film before it, The Fourth Kind is a provocative thriller set in modern-day Nome, Alaska, where—mysteriously since the 1960s—a disproportionate number of the population has been reported missing every year. Despite multiple FBI investigations of the region, the truth has never been discovered.
Here in this remote region, psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) began videotaping sessions with traumatized patients and unwittingly discovered some of the most disturbing evidence of alien abduction ever documented.
Using never-before-seen archival footage that is integrated into the film, The Fourth Kind exposes the terrified revelations of multiple witnesses. Their accounts of being visited by alien figures all share disturbingly identical details, the validity of which is investigated throughout the film.

You can also watch the trailer here.

THE BOX Movie Review

THE BOX is coming out to theaters today Friday November 6th, 2009. The movie is starring Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella, James Marsden, Gillian Jacobs, Michele Durrett and directed by Richard Kelly. If you are planning to go see the movie, here are a few reviews from around the web to help you make up your mind.

RopeofSilicon.com
How much do you know about French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, his play "No Exit" and his ideas of free will? Well, you may want to bone up a bit if you want to have a leg up on your friends before going into Richard Kelly's The Box. This is hardly an accessible film, but it can become increasingly available if you have done a bit of homework in advance. Read More

Huffington Post
Some bad movies you slag off gleefully. Their awfulness inspires you to reach high for insults as witty as the film is terrible. Others provoke a certain disappointment at their failure, a kind of mourning at the difference between the film's ambition and its execution. Richard Kelly's The Box is such a film. Read More

SeattlePI.com
The Box is not an easy film to talk about. Almost every description of the film will end up as a spoiler, it's fairly high concept, and it has a few glaring problems. However, The Box also presents huge moral dilemmas and is a genuine candidate for "cult-classic" status. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it, perhaps some amalgamation of confused and captivated. Yes, The Box confustivated me. Read More

Los Angeles Times
Have you ever actually tried watching paint dry? A sloth walk? Grass grow? You can have all the "thrills" with none of the chills courtesy of "The Box," the painfully sluggish new sci-fi morality play from "Donnie Darko" creator Richard Kelly. Read More

The Box Synopsis: An unhappily married couple receive a small wooden box on their doorstep. At the push of a button, the box brings its bearer instant wealth but also instantly kills someone the bearer doesn't know.

The Box is in theaters now. Check out more The Box trailer here.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL 2009 Movie Review

The new Disney Movie A CHRISTMAS CAROL will be released to theaters on November 6, 2009. It will be starring the voices of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, and directed by Robert Zemeckis. If you are planning to go see the movie, here are a few reviews from around the web to help you make up your mind.

Cinematical Review
The fear many of us had when it was announced Jim Carrey would play Ebenezer Scrooge and other parts in Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of A Christmas Carol was that Carrey's clowning would turn the story into a goofy farce. This fear turns out to have been unfounded. If anything, the opposite is true: The film has no personality at all, not Carrey's or anyone else's. Read More

TELEGRAPH.CO.UK Review
Deck the halls with boughs of computer-generated holly, for Disney are in bright and early with their seasonal extravaganza, and the good news -- of which there is some -- is that A Christmas Carol keeps the slush at bay with a reasonable dose of salt. Read More

RopeofSilicon.com Review
One thing's for certain with Robert Zemeckis's latest attempt at motion-capture CGI animation, kids need not apply. I have had conversations with fellow critics and the conclusion I've come to concerning children and Disney's A Christmas Carol is that while some elements may indeed frighten some kids, the overall complaint will be that it's just too boring. Read More

A Christmas Carol has also made Daemon's Movies list of the Top 10 Christmas Movies of 2009. You should also watch the trailer.

A Christmas Carol Synopsis: An animated retelling of Charles Dickens classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

MOTHERHOOD Movie Review

I recently got a chance to attend a screening for Motherhood which depicts the day of a mother, Eliza (Uma Thurman) as she tries to get ready for her daughter's party while also trying to find a way to balance her own life.

When I went into the movie, I was expecting to watch a fun, enjoyable movie about the tribulations of being a mother, but instead the movie left me thinking about three things 1) I'm so glad I don't have kids, 2) I'm not sure I want to have kids now, 3) if I do end up getting kids, Lord help me from becoming like Eliza.

Now, I'm not saying that motherhood is easy, but it was really hard to relate to Eliza because she was just overwhelmed all the time and it didn't really feel that it was coming from her being a mother, but more because of her character flaws.

Her husband (Anthony Edwards) was pretty absent throughout the film and came off as a real tool, except in the last scene of the film, which in my eyes was not enough to redeem him.

The only character that I actually enjoyed was Eliza's friend Sheila (Minnie Driver). Although she's not a major character, I had fun watching her scenes.

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ONG BAK 2 Movie Review

A little while back, I was invited to an advance screening of Ong Bak 2 and, being a fan of Ong Bak, I was very excited to see Tony Jaa do his thing again.

Ong Bak 2 is marketed as a prequel to Ong Bak although it really has nothing to do with it. The story revolves around Tien (Tony Jaa) who, as a teen, saw his parents being slain by a political rival. Through some adventures, he ends up in this gang of thieves who teach him the different martial arts that will serve him to prepare for his ultimate revenge.

Needless to say, my expectations were modestly high. The plot had a lot of things going for it but unfortunately, my expectations were not met. Let me tell you why by breaking out the good and bad parts of this movie:

The Good Parts of Ong Bak 2

The fight scenes are certainly dope. In Ong Bak 2,Tony Jaa goes beyond the classic Muy Thai moves and explores different disciplines and fighting techniques. The whole movie is essentially a set up to fight scenes where we see Tony do some crazy stuff. In this movie, you will have the answers to the following questions:

- Can Tony Jaa fight a crocodile?
- Can Tony Jaa fight with weapons?
- Can Tony Jaa fight a gazillion enemies at the same time?
- Can Tony Jaa fight a gazillion enemies at the same time AND use an elephant to do so?

The answer is yes across the board.

During these fight scenes, there is some really cool camera work and editiing that only enhance them. So overall, great scenes.

Now the question is: What else was good in this movie? Well, the answer is not much else.

The Bad Parts of Ong Bak 2

The bad parts of the movie can be summed up in two words: Everything Else.

The story was so badly put together that my 5 year old niece could have done a better job of writing it. There were major plot holes that just were too glaring to ignore and yet they found a way to ignore them. The feeble attempt of introducing some sort of love story was so exceptionally bad that it was better if they didn't try.

The acting was painfully awful. Even the subtitles could not hide how bad the characters were portrayed. Tony Jaa was the worst of them all. The character he portrays spends almost the first 25 mn of the movie saying exactly NOTHING. Jeez.

Now, the end was the worst part. There was none. It litterally ended on a freaking cliffhanger. When the light came on, people were expecting more. One guy was like: "Is that really it?"

Basically, aside from the fight scenes, this is one of the worst movies I have seen all year. I suggest you do the following: Save your money, wait for this to come out on DVD, rent it and fast forward throughout the movie until you see the fight scenes. That will be a much more pleasant experience than sitting through the entire movie.

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Title: ONG BAK 2

Release Date: 23 October 2009

Director: Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai

Producer: Panna Rittikrai

Cast: Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyoo Wongkrachang, Santisuk Promsiri, Petchtai Wongkamlao

Synopsis: A young nobleman bears witness to the massacre of his family at the hands of a treacherous and power-crazed warlord. Bent on revenge, he joins a band of guerrilla fighters who school him in a dizzying array of martial arts and weaponry techniques before unleashing him on his unwavering mission to avenge his family's murder.

Watch the trailer of Ong Bak 2 below

NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU Movie Review

A while back I got a chance to attend a screening for New York, I Love You, which was released to theaters today, October 16, 2009.

New York, I Love You is a collection of short films that all take place in New York and involve some sort of love story. It's the second episode in the "Cities of Love" series of collective feature films from producer Emmanuel Benbihy, following Paris, Je t'aime.

There are a total of 10 short films directed by Jian Wen, Mira Nair, Shunji Iwai, Yvan Attal, Brett Ratner, Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Natalie Portman, Faith Akin, Joshua Marston, and 11th director Randy Balsmeyer was in charge of all the transitional scenes.

Some of the cast includes Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Andy Garcia, Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson, Natalie Portman, Irrfan Khan, Emilie Ohana, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, Maggie Q, Ethan Hawke, Anton Yelchin, James Caan, Olivia Thirlby, Blake Lively, Drea De Matteo, Julie Christie, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf, Ugur Yucel, Taylor Geare, Carlos Acosta, Jacinda Barrett, Shu Qi, Burt Young, Chris Cooper, Robin Wright Penn, Eva Amurri, Eli Wallach, and Cloris Leachman.

I ended up liking New York, I Love You even more than Paris, Je t'aime. The stories were all really interesting and the actors were great.

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ZOMBIELAND (2009) Movie Review

I got a chance to see Zombieland a few days before it hit theaters today, October 2, and let me start by saying that I absolutely loved it.

Now I am not a fan of horror movies, and zombie movies are not my thing either, but Zombieland is not really what I would call a horror film. The zombie part has more of a Shaun of the Dead flavor to it, which I actually enjoy. Within the first ten minutes I was pretty much sold on the film and could tell I was going to have a great time. So I thought I would break the movie down and tell you about what which parts I enjoyed the most. But before that let's start with:

What is Zombieland all about?

Zombieland takes place in a world that is overrun by zombies, except that these zombies are not undead, but infected people that now like to eat flesh.. how nice. We meet Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) a kind of a wuss character, who has been able to survive so far by sticking with his set of rules. He meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) a pretty badass zombie-killer, with whom he ends up traveling. Along the way, they also meet sisters Witchita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who are trying to get to Pacific Playland.

Now that you know what the movie is all about, let's find out what makes it good.

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GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST Blu-ray Review

Warner Bros has recently released GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand & Digital Download (you can buy it on Amazon).

I got a chance to take a look at the Blu-ray version, which also includes a digital copy of the film.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a retelling of a Christmas Carol with a twist. It tells the story of Connor Meade a perpetual bachelor, who gets visited by three ghosts (the ghosts of girlfriends past, present and future), who take him on a trip to examine his past failed relationships.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is the typical romantic comedy in which Connor has to realize that love exists and is embodied by his childhood friend Jenny Perroti.

I personally enjoy romantic comedies even when they have tons of cliches, but the real question is, is this movie a good romantic comedy? I would say it was average. I wasn't jumping up and down about it, but I enjoyed it.

The main reason I enjoyed it was because of Matthew McConaughey, who plays a really great Connor Meade. This is of course key since he is the main character. I enjoyed the rest of the cast as well, but not as much as Matthew McConaughey. What can I say, he is charming. So ladies, if you like him, this movie is for you.

I saw the movie in Blu-ray, which of course looks nice and sharper, but to be honest I don't think it's as important to see a movie like that on Blu-ray compared to an action movie. But still, it's always nice to watch a film in higher quality. Plus you also get the special features in HD.

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