Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is a fisherman in a South African village whose life is thrown in to turmoil when a group of rebels drive into his village and break up his family. His family gets away, but he is captured and forced to work for them by mining for diamonds. One day he finds a rare pink diamond, but when a government raids the site, he is forced to hide it and is soon imprisoned. Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a diamond smuggler learns that Solomon knows where to find a very valuable diamond. He arranges to get him out of prison and tries to get him to take him to the diamond in exchange for helping Solomon find his family. 
This past year has almost made me forget that I once had an unfounded hatred of DiCaprio. He has proved that just because I feel that “Titanic” is one of the most overrated movies ever made, that I should not fault him for it. He was great in “The Departed” and again, he does a good job in “Blood Diamond.” I was not bothered by the South African accent as some were. I liked how he portrayed a horrible character who uses Solomon to get what he wants, but you still cannot hate him as much as you should. There is a good person beneath the bad guy exterior. There are moments where he does things not because he has to, but because it is the right thing to do. It is in these moments where Archer redeems himself in the eyes of the audience. DiCaprio gives a strong performance, one of the best of the movie. Though I do think that the entire Oscar/ Golden Globe buzz is a little much. His performance is good, but not as good as many are claiming it is.
Djimon Hounsou has been perfecting this character for years; he always seems to play the suffering African villager. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though it is bad for his career because he has been typecast into theses roles. The good thing is that he is good at it. As Solomon he is a character who will fight and die to find his family. He is even willing to give up a very valuable diamond, the thing that can get his family a better life, just to get them back. For all his strength and willingness to sacrifice for his family, he is ignorant. He does not see that Archer is using him to get to the diamond. He is too trusting of Archer and believes that he has good intentions.
The conscious of this movie is Maddy Bowen, played by Jennifer Connelly. She is an American journalist in South Africa covering the diamond smuggling. She meets Archer in a bar and they talk about the moral of the movie. Blood diamonds are being smuggled out of the country to one with no known diamonds. Those are then bought cheap by the diamond suppliers and hidden away so that they can control the price of diamonds. Connelly is there to make us all feel bad for buying diamonds and not making sure that that are not conflict diamonds. In the 1990’s in Sierra Leone, where and when the movie takes place there was a bloody civil war and at the heart of all this was the diamond trade, the rebels used their captives to mine for nothing then turn a profit when they sold them to smugglers to get out of the country. I was hit over the head with these facts over and over again and it got to the point where it was way too much. It was good for exposition, to give the story a powerful backdrop, but was it necessary to tell the audience over and over how bad this was? The images of the brutality were more then enough to get that point across.
If it helps any, for the most part, there are fewer conflict diamonds on the market now then there were in the 90’s If one should feel like being preached at, go see “Blood Diamond” If not you can still go see it, but I recommend that whenever Jennifer Connelly is on screen put your fingers in you ears and say “la la la” really loud until she is gone.
7 out of 10
Rated R for strong violence and language.
Runtime: 138 min
How exactly did James Bond become 007? That is exactly how the new Bond film, “Casino Royale” opens. Bond has already made his first kill and on his way to number two and the famed “double 0” status. After getting to the prestigious position of “007” Bond (Daniel Craig) then proceeds to, while giving chase to a bomb maker, shoot up an embassy. This doesn’t make “M” (Dame Judi Dench) too happy. He begins a rogue investigation and finds his way to the Bahamas to follow up on a lead. While there he learns of Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson) He has just lost a lot one of his client’s money and now must get it back. He takes part in a poker game at Casino Royale. Bond, being the best player in the service, is chosen to play and keep Le Chiffre from winning. He his being bankrolled by the treasury, who have Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) watching over Bond and the money that have invested in this poker game. If Bond loses, they will have directly financed terrorism. Talk about high stakes.
I’m going to be honest here, I did not think Daniel Craig was going to be able to pull of Bond. I was not in the group that was angry about the choice because he has blond hair and cannot drive stick (apparently a Bond must). He just never struck me as the type of actor who could give Bond what was needed; a suave coolness, unflappable dedication and an overall fearlessness. Well, I was wrong. Craig may be the best Bond since, dare I say it, Sean Connery. I’m not going to say better then Connery, because that would be blasphemy. He gives us a more sensitive Bond, one who is willing to give up his job and “00” status to be happy. This Bond is not a womanizer. He is not sleeping with every woman who crosses his path, like other Bonds. Craig gives us a Bond that is as cool as any who came before, except for one thing. It is a subdued cool. He never over plays it and keeps it low key. Craig is able to give us a darker Bond, one who struggles with deeper issues that he lets on, but still keeps the wit and humor we have come to know and love.
Another great performance is Eva Green. She plays a Bond girl like no one before her could. She is not instantly won over by Bond. She resists the Bond charm and is not as weak as previous Bond girls. She is strong-willed and capable. She is not one to fall to pieces when things get dangerous. I loved this new take on the Bond girl. She was smart enough to match wits with Bond, but still relies on him to get the job done. Where other recent Bond girls were picked less for their acting ability, Eva Green can act and has the looks to pull of a Bond girl.
One thing that separates this movie from the Bond movies of the past few years is the story. Namely, there is one. This is based on the very first book that Ian Fleming wrote featuring everyone’s favorite member of her majesty’s secret service.
The past few Bond movies have strayed from what Ian Fleming had originally indented. The Bond franchise had become almost as cheesy as the Batman franchise. The stories had become too farfetched and the character of Bond became almost a parody of his former self. This movie brings Bond back to reality. No fancy gadgets, invisible cars, a la Die Another Day, cars with unnecessary features that just happen to save his life in a tight situation. This Bond is grounded in reality and leaves out the laser satellites. 
If I have one problem with the movie it is this. It is supposed to be a prequel, but it takes place in modern day. They use cell phones, laptop computers and even make references to 9/11. The first Bond, “Dr. No” was made in 1962, so if you are trying to make this a prequel, then plan the plot accordingly. Other then that minor, and nitpicky issue, this movie is great.
“Casino Royale” redeems the Bond franchise. Sure he is blond and can’t drive a stick shift, but honestly, who the hell cares? This is a good story and Craig plays a damn good Bond. Rarely do I go into a movie thinking one thing and come out thinking another. The choice may have been a risky one, but it paid off in the end. Martini anyone?
9 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.
Runtime: 144 min
“Stranger Than Fiction” is about Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) an IRS agent who one day wakes up and finds that his life is narrated. He becomes convinced that he is a part of a story and one day he hears that he is going to die at the end. He finds an English professor, Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) who is the only one who believes him. Professor Hilbert tries to figure out what type of story he is in so that he can narrow down who the narrator is and what type of story he is in. During all of all this, Harold is in the middle of an audit of a baker, Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who he starts to fall in love with. Meanwhile, the narrator of Harold Crick’s life, Kay Eiffel (Emma Thomson), is struggling to find a way to kill Harold Crick (the fictional character) not knowing that she is actually writing about the real Harold Crick.
So who thought Will Ferrell could actually act? He steps out of his usual role of the guy who is so dumb he is likable. In “Stranger Than Fiction,” Ferrell is able to show that he is not a one-trick actor. Harold is smart, but socially awkward. He lives a boring, lonely life. It is not until he is told that he is going to die, that he takes charge and lives his life to the fullest. Knowing Ferrell and his work, it was great to finally see that he doesn’t have to be yelling, or making an ass of himself, to be funny. He keeps it to a quite, subtle comedy and does a fantastic job. He doesn’t have to be over the top to still be as funny as he can be.
The other star performance if this movie is Dustin Hoffman. His quest to discover what type of book Harold Crick is in goes to some weird places. He asks Harold a list of questions such as “Is there a clandestine village under your floorboards?” and “Are you the king of anything?” Dustin Hoffman has a knack for comedy though he has not done much in this genre until recently. He has a gift for balancing drama and comedy and is at his best in this movie. He is able to play the funny scenes and the dramatic ones with the same believability. Hoffman has been one of the best actors in Hollywood for decades and continues to do a fantastic job in any role even if everything else in the movie is lacking. Luckily for him this movie is strong and he is not let to bare the burden of carrying the movie.
Here is one performance you won’t hear about in other reviews, mostly because it is of an inanimate object, the watch. It becomes another actor in this movie. The movie opens with narration about the watch, and it plays a big part in the all over story of the movie. As Ana passes Harold as he waits for his bus, the watch fritzes out and starts beeping and making all sorts of weird noises. Kay’s narration even gives the watch its own thoughts. She explains how the watch feels about certain things Harold does, or doesn’t do. It is the watch by which Harold lives, he wakes up to it everyday and it is timed just so he can get to his bus stop when he needs too.
This movie is full of performances to watch and performances by watches, I know, bad pun. Everyone gives strong performances, no matter how small a part. It is great to see that Ferrell has decided not to stick with the typical Will Ferrell role and shows that he can act. If you want another movie where Ferrell shines rent “Winter Passing,” a movie that went unnoticed, but showcases Ferrell’s acting talent. I sense that he will start to move away from the Ricky Bobby roles and stick with more roles like this one. He has managed to show that he is not pigeonholed into a type and can do drama as well as he can comedy.
7 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity.
Runtime: 113 min
Of all the new shows that have come out this television season, “Heroes” is by far the most interesting. It takes a time tested idea, people with super powers, and puts it in a brand new world; ours. The whole idea behind the series is to make this believable and possible. They are spread all over the country, but they must come together to save the world. Peter Patrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) believes he can fly, but it has come to light that he takes on the powers of those around him. He brother Nathan (Adrain Pasdar), a candidate for senator can fly, Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) can paint the future, only when he is high. Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), a single mother who has a side that is capable of terrible things (I should also mention here that her power is a little tough to figure out, but that is the best I can come up with). Hiro Makamura (Masi Oka), can make time stand still, Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) is a cop who can hear other people’s thoughts. Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettire), the cheerleader who cannot get hurt. Then there is Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) the son of a murdered professor who spent his life searching for people with powers.
This show is amazing. It takes a realistic look at super heroes that is a new take on an old idea. All these people are just discovering their powers and all are wondering just what the heck is going on. The first time we see Claire, she jumps off a ledge and gets up, pops her arm back into place and walks to her friend holding the camera and says “that was try number seven.” Later she runs into a burning building and saves a man inside. A fireman runs up to her and puts out her sleeve that is on fire. He rips open the sleeve and discovers that she has no burns and in one of the more disgusting scenes she sticks her hand into an active garbage disposal to get a ring she dropped.
“Heroes” is another show that will require the audience to stay with it until the last episode of the season. It is a trend that can work well or fail. Thankfully “Heroes” works very well. Something is going to happen and only the heroes can stop it. Hiro transports to New York City and sees that he is in a comic book. He finds out who made it and it turns out to be Isaac. When he gets to Isaac’s loft, he discovers that Isaac is dead. Just then the cops break in and are questioning Hiro on how he got there. Hiro has them call his friend back in Japan and is told that he has been missing for about a month. The more important fact about this is that at one point Hiro turns toward the window and sees a huge mushroom cloud. He transports back to Japan and back to when he transported. This is the set up for the season. But how are they going to save the world? Hiro has the answer, in a scene with Peter, Hiro shows up from the future and says “Save the cheerleader. Save the world.”
This show just gets better and better every week. It is one of my few must see shows for the week. There is so much going on in each episode and there is so much that needs to be answered. Unlike “Lost” the answers will be given because they are needed to give us more insight into the characters anf major plot points. What exactly is Niki’s power? How are all these heroes going to save the world? Who exactly is the man who is going after heroes and why is he looking to capture them and then letting them go? Who is the man with the “mind wiping” power who works with him? I really could go on and on, but I just wanted to put a few down to spark some intrigue in the show. 
“Heroes” is sci-fi for dummies. It has a lot of sci-fi elements, but it can be enjoyed for people who don’t necessarily like the sci-fi genera. It is interesting and intriguing. It keeps the audience hooked and never lets go. It is one of the stand out hits of the year and has potential to be a long running show. If you are worried about jumping in and missing out, NBC.com has whole episodes and well as a “two-minute recap” for those with less time. So for a new take on the superhero genera ‘Heroes” is perfect.
NBC
Monday 9/8c
TV14
So thus ends my Fall 2006 new show reviews.
This is one of the most famous pictures ever taken. It captivated a nation and won a war. Except, that is not the whole story. The picture you see is actually the second flag raised over Iwo Jima. A general who wanted it for his den wall took the first flag almost immediately as it was put up. That is the basis of “Flags of Our Fathers.” Three of the six soldiers who raised the flag were taken out of the war and went on a nation wide tour to get people to buy war bonds. John “Doc” Bradly (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) are the three surviving members of the six that raised the flag. Gagnon gets caught up in the new found fame while Hayes considers the whole thing a “farce.” “Doc” does what he can to keep the peace between the two and spits out the government line of “buy more war bonds” because he has to.
The thing about this movie is that it’s not about the war, or the flag, or even the government propaganda that the picture became. It is about heroes. The end of the film is the point where this becomes clear. All thought the movie, the title of “the heroes of Iwo Jima” is used to describe the three soldiers. They hate the title and reject it at every turn. There is a narration in the end of the movie that says we make heroes because it is what we need. The memoir that the movie is based on is remembering the “heroes” as they want to be remembered; as soldiers who did their job. At the point of the battle in WWII, there was need of support in the U.S. and these three helped people believe that the war was winnable. 
The story is some what fractured. It starts with the three on the tour for war bonds, and then goes to a point in the battle on Iwo Jima. Inter-spliced with the story of the three soldiers is the story of them in battle. Some of the battle scenes rivaled those in “Saving Private Ryan.” The battles are made all the more gritty and real by the lack of color in the film. The frantic camera movements add to the feel of battle and the uncertainness of not knowing where the Japanese soldiers are.
Coming next year will be “Letters from Iwo Jima” it will be the battle from the perspective of the Japanese. It will be interesting to see how director Clint Eastwood does with doing the same movie from different point of views. This is a good war movie that does as well with the feel of battle as others with one exception; it’s not about war. It takes place during a war, but that is not the focus. I loved this movie and highly recommend it to all who are interested in war movies
9 out of 10
Rated R for sequences of graphic war violence and carnage, and for language.
Runtime: 132 min
If “Lost” didn’t take place on a mysterious island, it would be “Six Degrees.” J.J Abrams has a new show that is all about the characters. It takes place in New York City and centers around six people. All are connected in varying ways. We have Laura, (Hope Davis) a single mother trying to get back into the work place after her husband was killed in Iraq, Whitney (Bridget Moyahan) a successful advertising partner whose boyfriend is cheating on her, Steven (Campbell Scott) the photographer who needs a job after a long absence, Damian (Dorian Missick) a driver who has a gambling problem and wants to start his own driving service, Mae (Erika Christenson) a woman with a mysterious past and Carlos (Jay Hernandez) a up and coming DA.
This show is based on the idea of six degrees of separation. An idea that says any one in the world can be connected to any one else you no more then six people. All of these people have connections, some more straightforward, others as small as Laura dropping a penny that Damien picks up.
Characters are what drive this show. Some are stronger then the rest. Whitney, Steven and Damian are the three best. Their stories are not necessarily mysterious, but more intriguing than the others. Steven finally gets a job with Whitney’s agency, but still needs to work on things with his son who lives with his estranged wife. Whitney is about to get married to the guy of her dreams, but discovers that he has been cheating on her. Damien has a good job and is trying to get away from his criminal brother. These three are the characters I want to know more about and have the most interesting story lines, though some episodes are slower then others.
I’m going to keep this short and sweet because there is a lot going on in this show and cannot possibly get thought it all in a single review. The show is full of interesting characters and just as interesting story lines that intersect at surprising times.
ABC
10/9c
Maybe I have grown tired of the cookie cutter movies that Hollywood has been putting out over the past few years, but it takes a lot for a movie to make me walk out and say ‘Wow, I want to see that one again.” That was my exact reaction after seeing “The Prestige.” 
Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) used to be friends, but after a magic trick gone horribly wrong, the two become bitter rivals. Things start out small, they would sabotage the other magician’s show, but when Borden invents a trick called “The Transported Man,” Angier becomes so obsessed with doing it better, that he spends a lot of time and money on it. The rivalry becomes all-consuming for these two. They get lost in this game of one upping the other that they lose those around them. Borden’s wife, Sarah (Rebecca Hall), grows tired of his love of magic and just wants him to love her. Angier’s girlfriend, Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), becomes just another pawn in their game. Angier sends her to find out how Borden’s trick works. Stuck in the middle of all this is Cutter (Michael Caine). His job can only be described as illusion mechanic. He produces the apparatuses that help make the illusions possible. He warns Angier that obsessions are worse when they become all consuming, but at that point Angier is too far into it to see what he is doing.
Christian Bale was one of the most underrated actors until he got the role of Batman. To the mainstream public he has come out of nowhere, but Bale has taken a lot of roles in small, independent, or obscure movies. It is about time he was seen for the great actor he is. He is great in every role I have ever seen him in and this movie is no exception. Bale’s performance is one of the strongest in the film and proves again that he is one of the best actors today. The thing that makes his performance so great is that, while Jackman gets to play the all-consuming obsession, he plays a subtle obsession. Borden never goes to the lengths that Angier does. The only time we see him get rattled is when his daughter is going to be taken away from him. This subtle flaw in an otherwise unflappable character is a tribute to Bale as an actor.
My question is; can Christopher Nolan make a bad movie? The answer, so far, is no. Since his first big hit, “Memento,” he has made quality movies. He has revitalized the Batman franchise and remained a great director. He makes puzzles, not movies. It is up to the audience to figure out what is truly going on. There is always a payoff with the end of movies, the one moment where it all makes sense and things become clear. Even in “Batman Begins” there were little things that in the end were all apart of the bigger plan. He brings the same intrigue and mystery to “The Prestige” that made “Memento” a work of art more than a movie. The difference is that this is on a grand, theatrical scale. The art of “Memento” was in the clever editing; here it is the grandeur of the magic shows and tricks.
The movie may seem like it is about magicians, but that is only what it looks like. It is about how destructive obsessions can be if we let them take over. Both main characters let themselves succumb to it and it destroys them. The caliber of acting and directing in this film is a welcome vacation from the “more of the same” movies that have been put out in the recent years. If more movies were made with a cast and director of this caliber, then more people would go to the movies.
9 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.
Runtime: 128 min
So who knew that Martin Scorsese could direct a comedy? O.K. so to classify “The Departed” as a comedy isn't exactly accurate, but it has some genuinely funny moments. It still is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. The story centers around Billy Costigan (Leonardo Dicaprio), a cop fresh out of the academy who, because of his family’s violent and criminal history, is recruited by Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) and hot headed Digman (Mark Wahlberg) to go undercover with Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson.) Meanwhile, another fresh cop, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is working with Costello by tipping him off to the goings on in the department. The tension mounts as both sides realize they have rats within their organizations. Costigan and Sullivan both have to fight to keep their identities hidden.
I’m going to level with you here; I have no idea where to being. There are so many great performances and the directing and use of camera is the best I have seen in a long time. This is the best looking, best acted, best directed movie I have seen this year. I know it’s cliché to say, but this is one of the best films of the year.
Jack Nicholson gives THE performance of the movie. This is the first time that Scorsese has done a movie with Nicholson and from the looks of it, it will not be the last. Frank Costello is a despicable character. No matter what he does, the cops can’t do anything about it. Costello has the people he needs in the right place to insure he is never caught. He is so confident that he is untouchable that he even goes to deals himself. The huge risk is nothing to him. He knows that he has people who he can trust to get him out of a situation where he could get caught. There is one scene where Queenan and Digman confront him. They say that he is going to get caught and it’s only a matter of time. He basically laughs in their faces and walks off to commit another crime. Nicholson plays him with such a confidence and sick twisted humor that you just can’t help but think that the bad guy may actually win in this movie.
Robert De Niro was going to play Costello, but because of prior commitments, he had to drop out. To be honest, while he would have done a great job, I’m glad he didn’t do the role. I think that he would have brought a different take to the character, but one that he has done before. I imagine that he would have played him a lot like Ace in “Casino,” (another Scorsese movie). I think Nicholson brought something to this role that De Niro could not have; a different type of mobster. They both have these personas when they are in movies that have made them the icons they are, Nicholson brought his cool-guy persona and made himself a mobster.
Some of the other standout performances go to Damon and Dicaprio. Both are great in their roles of rats. It is strange, but the two main characters have very little interaction. That is what makes their scenes together all the more powerful. These two guys who grew up in very different households, took the same job, but ended up on different sides of the law (good mobster and bad cop). The battle between them is not physical, but ideological. Costigan became a cop because he was trying to leave the legacy of crime in his family behind him. Sullivan is doing what ever he can to get ahead. They remain the polar opposites and are constantly battling, even when they are not on screen together. 
As for why this movie is so funny, well that falls to Mark Wahlberg. Wish I could give some examples, but he tends to curse a lot, and as I must keep this PG rated, I will ask you to just trust me. Digman is a hot head. He will go off on anyone and speak his mind to anyone, even an FBI agent. He brings a toughness that Queenan cannot. He wants to make sure that Costigan is up for the job, so he questions him about what scum his family was. He never lets up, even when Costigan is undercover. Costigan goes to him with information that there may be a rat in the department and a way to figure out who it is, but Digman shoots him down.
This is up there with some of Scorsese’s best movies. It feels a lot like “Goodfellas,” with a new perspective. I must say as much as I love this movie, it still is a remake. It is a remake of a Japanese movie called “Internal Affairs.” Having never seen the original, I cannot comment on how they differ, or what Scorsese brought to the movie that was not there before. What I can say is the Scorsese knows how to shoot a mob movie. He has done it before and made some great, classic movies. He knows how to build tension. In on scene, in particular, Costigan needs to get a look at he man who is the rat, but Sullivan keeps ahead of him. We never know if these two are going to confront, but the pace of the scene keeps you riveted.
So what if this is a remake, not many people actually know that. I’m sure if you asked someone on the street, they would have no idea. It is still a damn good movie. In a time where horrible remakes, sequels and cookie cutter movies are being churned out with little regard for what audiences want to see, this is a welcome break. It is great on so many levels. The performances are some of the best theses actors have ever delivered, and Scorsese has returned to a genera that made him famous; the mob movie.
9 out of 10
Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material.
Runtime:152 min
A television show based on a movie based on a book. Could not be that good right? Wrong. “Friday Night Lights” is one of the best new shows of the season. Dillon Texas is a football obsessed small town where your success is measured by championship rings. Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is the new head coach and is pressured to win. His job hinges on winning a state championship. When star quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter) goes down in the first game of the season, Taylor’s job is made all the more challenging when he is forced to put in untested second string quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford). 
As said before this is based on the film, “Friday Night Lights” and the only returning cast member is Connie Britton who plays Tami Taylor (again she plays the wife of the coach). Again it is not about football. The show is more about the people and less about the game. The pressures that the players feel from the rest of the town are what most of the show is spent on. The show is very character driven and the entire cast does a great job. The backup turned starter is the one who feels the most pressure. The town has watched Street play for the past three years and is not going to be forgiving if Saracen messes up.
This past episode was all about losing. The team lost a game for the first time in 17 years. For a coach already under the microscope, the loss only magnified the pressure. One telling scene is when Coach Taylor goes into a restaurant to order food with his daughter. An angry fan starts talking to the daughter, asking if they had started packing yet. Taylor confronts the man and tells him to stop and to take the issues up with him. The man does. The man says that he will never get a title ring and will not last through the season.
This show is great. It is completely character driven and all the characters are strong and carry the show every week. The one thing I have said and will say again is that I love that the focus is not on the games, but on the players, coaches and fans. It is not about what happens on the field, but how the people of Dillon Texas deal with what happens. This has been called one of the best new shows of the season and I agree. It has such a sense of realism that it is more like a documentary then a television show. It is that realism that makes it stick out from all the other new shows.
NBC
TUES 8/7c
With Halloween just around the corner I decided to write a holiday themed review. I hate horror movies, I get scared way to easily. Let’s just say that I may be 22, but I scare like a 5 year old. So why am I about to review a “horror” movie? Well it’s simple, It’s not really a horror flick per say, it’s a comedy/horror. The poster even says “A smash hit romantic comedy. With Zombies.” Yes, “Shaun of the Dead” is a horror/ comedy movie. And a really good one to boot.
Set in the suburbs of England, “Shaun of the Dead” is about Shaun (Simon Pegg) a 29-year old store clerk who has nothing going in this life. His girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashford) has just left him because she wants more then he is giving her. His friend Ed (Nick Frost,) is a slacker who spends his days on the couch playing video games. The day he decides to get his life back together is the same day as the living dead invade. He must now fight off zombies and save Liz and his mother (Penelope Wilton) form the undead.
This movie is just down right hilarious. The way that Shaun goes about saving his family and friends are not he brightest of ideas. He constantly has to change his plan to make the trip to The Winchester (the only safe place he knows of) go smoother and avoid being eaten by the zombies. Shaun is the unlikely hero and for some reason, his friends follow him even when he doesn’t know what he is doing.
“Shaun of the Dead” is not a spoof per say. It doesn’t make fun of other zombie movies, while the film is a take on “Dawn of the Dead,” it is just a different take on the zombie film. It takes a humorous look at zombies. Shaun goes around killing zombies with a cricket bat, pool cues and even throws records at a few zombies. There is one scene I really like where Shaun and Ed are throwing records at two zombies. Shaun tells Ed to be careful, some of the records are rare. Ed begins to flip through and has to ask Shaun about every record "Purple Rain"? “No.” "Sign o' the Times"? “Definitely not.” “The "Batman" soundtrack?” “Throw it.” All the while the zombies are getting closer and closer.
The humor is not for everyone. I do not mean that in terms of curse words, or bathroom humor, which this movie has, but it is British humor, which not everyone gets. I find this to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen and recommend it highly. If your like me and you scare easier then an arachnophobic in a spider web then see this movie, it is less horror and more comedy.
8 out of 10
Rated R for zombie violence/gore and language.
Runtime: 99 min
Nine people were held hostage during a bank robbery. For 52 hours they were help captive in the bank while the cops stood outside and tried to get all of them out safely. What happened inside the bank over the more than two days is still a mystery to everyone on the outside. All we can tell is that those nine people were forever changed and bonded together by their experience. Three bank employees, Eva Rios (Lourdes Benedicto), Franny Rios (Camille Guanty), Malcolm Jones (Chi McBride), Jones daughter Felicia (Dana Davis), cop Nick Cavanaugh (Tim Daly), lawyer Kathryn Hale (Kim Raver), insurance sales man Egan Foote (John Billingsley), Dr. Jeremy Kates (Scott Wolf) and his girlfriend Lizzy Miller (Jessica Collins) are the only ones who know the truth of what happened over those 52 hours and the audience is just dying to find out what they know.
There has been a turn in television lately. Where many of the new shows were crappy reality shows a few years ago, now the shift has turned to dramas. Most of this has to do with two shows in particular, “Lost” and “24”. These shows both require every week viewing and for the audience to stay with it for an entire season. This is one of the best shows to use the new format (and it has to be good if both my parents are watching it, my dad only watches two shows religiously 24 and now The Nine). Over the course of the season the audience will learn what happened in the bank and more and more about the characters dealing with the events that brought them together.
What makes this show so strong, more then the mystery, is the characters. The characters are the driving force behind this. They are intriguing and well acted. You can make a show as mysterious as you want, but if the characters do not click, then you will fail. A great example is Fox’s “Vanished” which killed off the main character and will spend the rest of the season relegated to Friday nights (a time slot of death. Just look at what it did to “Firefly”). By far my favorite character is Nick. He is a cop with a gambling problem who has begrudgingly become the “poster boy” for the department. He knows that the entire situation was handled horribly and wants to let everyone else know, but can’t because, as we found out on this past Wednesday, the cops have dirt on a lot of the other hostages that they are not going to pursue as long as Nick goes along with what they want. He has been put in a position to protect the others from the cops, even if he does not like what he has to do for it.
I am looking forward to seeing where this season will take us and learning more about what exactly happened in the bank. There are so many unanswered questions that need resolution. Unlike “Lost,” I’m confident that the audience will get the answers they seek by the time the season comes to a close. On a personal note, I think the show would be better if it was not on after “Lost.” I tend to be still recovering from some sort of bombshell when it comes on. Luckily abc.com has replays of entire episodes steaming the day after they air. So go there and get caught up, or discover something you didn’t before. “The Nine” is a great show that allows has the perfect balance of mystery and strong characters.
ABC
WED 10/9c
I’m going to keep this one short and sweet for a couple of reasons. A) I’m exhausted and B) there is not that much to talk about with this movie. 
“The Black Dahlia” is a movie based on a book based on an actual murder case. When Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) is found brutally murdered, Officer Dwight Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Sergeant Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckheart) are assigned to solve the case. To be honest, that is all I can say for sure. This film is really confusing and has way to much going on at times.
The story is supposed to be about the murder of Elizabeth Short, but the amount of time actually spent on the case is minimal. The focus is really on Bleichart and Blanchard. Blanchard becomes obsessed with the case and his girlfriend, Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson) becomes worried and goes to Bleichart for help. Meanwhile, Belichart gets involved with Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank) who was involved with Elizabeth Short. There are way to many subplots going on here to make any type of sense. There are small back stories with both cops and their women that do nothing to further the overall plot. There were many times where I found myself saying “I thought this was about a murder?” The end of the film is rushed and seemed to wrap up things quickly and with very little continuity.
As for acting, no one stood out. Johansson gives a bland performance as do most of the cast. For being such a star studded cast, the performances are so unimpressive and dull that you forget that these are supposed to be accomplished actors. I was expecting a little more from this type of cast and left thoroughly disappointed.
5ish out of 10
Rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and language.
Runtime: 121 min
I’m going to do my best to keep this review spoiler free for those who won’t see the episode until later (cough, cough scott).
Wednesday night, the third season of Lost began. It was a long awaited premiere and it was worth every minute of wait time. Season two ended in shock. “The Others” had taken Kate, Sawyer and Jack hostage and were going to bring them back to their camp. That was exactly where season three began; in their camp (kinda). There is not much plot outline that can be given for multiple reasons.
So instead it’s to the performances. My favorite of the night would have to be Matthew Fox, who plays the doctor, Jack Shepard. He gives one of the best episodes in terms of Jack character development. All through seasons one and two, Jack was a rock. He was one of the strongest members of the survivors. He took the leader role and the other survivors followed him. He kept things together personally and among the others who looked to him for guidance. Not so in this episode. He is separated from Kate and Sawyer. Alone in a room, he has no one to contend with except himself. In flashbacks, we see Jack deal with divorcing his wife Sarah (Julie Bowen). He is still in shock that she wants to leave him. All through the episode he is obsessed with finding out whom the man is that she left him for. It drives him to irrational thoughts and he becomes so preoccupied with it that he even suspects that his father is sleeping with her. The panicle moment is when Jack interrupts his father’s AA meeting and gets into an argument with him, ending when he tackles him through a poster.
Jack’s out of control manner is complimented by a new character this season, Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). She is a member of “the others” and is the only one to have contact Jack. Even as Jack yells, and avoids her questions, she remains as calm as ever; making Jack seem all the more out of control. She keeps her cool even after Jack attacked her in an escape attempt. The tricky thing about her character is the fact that she is new. It is hard to come into a series three seasons in and be liked this well. She never loses her temper and never even raises her voice. She seems to have honest intentions and is actually nice to Jack. One of the things that makes her likable is that she seems out of place with the others. Their leader (or who we assume is their leader,) and Juliet seem to have some tension between them and most likely a troubled past.
The assumed leader, “Henry Gale” or as we now know, Ben (Michael Emerson) is another great character. The survivors captured him in season two and once it was discovered he was one of them, he became one of the best bad guys ever. It’s hard to hate him. He is so likeable in his evilness. He is calm and unflappable, even when he is threatened. Even when he tells Kate that, “the next two weeks are going to be very unpleasant,” I still can’t hate him.
So “Lost” is back and, safe to say, better then ever. This season will be in two blocks. Six episodes back to back and then a break until February when it will come back for the rest of the season uninterrupted. Great idea and it should pay off in the end. The three month break is going to be hard for the fans, but they have something planned for those Lost-free weeks. So the fall television premiere season has officially ended (at least in my eyes). There is a lot out there that is worth the time and I will be filling you in on those as soon as I find the time.
ABC
WED 9/8c
“My name is Chev Chelios and today is the day I die.” Thus begins the trailer for “Crank.” Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is a hit man who, after a hit, is injected by Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo,) with a substance that will kill him, if his heart rate drops. The only way to slow the effect is to keep his adrenaline up. Now he is on a mission to find Verona and kill him before the poison gets to him. He must find ways to keep his adrenaline up so that he can complete one last task.
“Crank” is non-stop action. From the moment he smashes a television, until the moment of his death, this movie does not stop for more then a few seconds. One of the major plot points is his need to keep his adrenaline up. He steals Red Bull (an energy drink) from a store, gets zapped with a defibrillator, slams his hand in a hot waffle iron, just to name a few. The entire movie is just him keeping up his heart rate and then getting to Verona before he dies. Its not a strong plot, but it manages to keep up it’s energy until the end credits. 
This movie is basically a video game. The opening title looks like it would be in an old-school video game. Taking that into consideration I can see how it is. If you look at is as a video game, him needing to keep his adrenaline up is just like getting extra lives in a game.
Many people talk about “the movie going experience,” but never have I seen it as much as I did in this movie. The audience was laughing, wincing, cheering, oooing and awing through the entire movie. Much like SoaP, it’s a fun movie to see
6 out of 10
Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and drug use.
Runtime: 87 min
You wake up one day and realize that your life has no more surprises and has become more or less pre-planned. This is exactly how Michael (Zach Braff) feels as “The Last Kiss” begins. His girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) is pregnant and she is the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with. He sees his future unfolding and it scares him. Enter Kim (Rachel Bilson,) a woman he meets at a wedding. She is spontaneous and everything he wishes he had. As their relationship grows, Michael’s relationship with Jenna grows more strained.
There are a lot of people who are going to compare this to Braff’s last film “Garden State.” Sure there are similarities to “Garden State,” but this is a more grown up version. The movie is about being ready to grow up and accepting the responsibilities and the struggles to face the future; it’s a scary thing to be forced to do (take it from a college student.) The movie is about confronting that future and taking it on.
Zach Braff is a great comedic actor and it’s good to see him doing something more serious then “scrubs.” He did a good job in “Garden State,” but here we get to see a lot more emotion and a wider range. There are some very powerful scenes involving Braff that speak to the talent he has as an actor. We see him struggle with his love of his wife, while wondering “what if” he took a chance on Kim. We see him make the mistake and realize what he had to begin with and do whatever it takes to get Jenna back. 
One of the strengths of this movie is the supporting cast. All have similar problems. Jenna’s parents, Anna (Blythe Danner) and Stephen (Tom Wilkinson,) who have been married 30 years, face an uncertain future of their own. They are growing apart and Anna feels that she has to leave her husband. Michael’s friend Chris (Casey Affleck) is having trouble in his marriage as well. As hard as he tries to help with his son, nothing is good enough for his wife. Michael’s other friends Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen) and Izzy (Michael Weston) face the realization that they have not done much with their lives. The supporting cast delivers some amazing performances and all of their story lines help to make the main one all the more powerful. Michael doesn’t want to get married because he doesn’t know any couples that stay together forever. Jenna offers her parents as an example and to see a strong 30-year marriage fall apart, only makes Jenna worry more.
Of these the best performance is Tom Wilkinson. Stephen loves his wife, but doesn’t pay as much attention to her as she would like. When she talks to him about it, he makes jokes and she feels that the love is gone from their marriage. He seems like this person who is unaffected by the threats, but when she leaves, he is devastated. One of the most poignant scenes of the movie is when we see him sitting on the couch heartbroken that his wife is gone. She is outside watching and sees the pain he is in. No words are spoken in this scene, but it is one of the most powerful and moving scenes in the entire movie.
The past few movies I have gone to see (Snakes on a Plane, Crank,) have been just plain fun movies. Nothing spectacular and nothing to take too seriously, but “The Last Kiss” is just the opposite. It made me think and reflect on my fast approaching future. It is a great movie that takes a look at growing up.
8 out of 10
Rated R for sexuality, nudity and language.
Runtime: 115 min
Never have I gone to see a movie purely for the novelty of the title. So, going to see “Snakes on a Plane” was a different movie going experience. For those who don’t know, “Snakes on a Plane” is about… well, snakes on a plane. There is more to the story, but not much. Samuel L. Jackson plays Agent Neville Flynn. He is escorting Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips) back to California to testify against Chen Leong (Terry Chen,) a mobster in Hawaii who Flynn has been trying to get for a long time. Chen is known for doing all sorts of horrible things to those who are going to testify against him. So in order to get to Sean before he can get back to California, guess what Chen does? That’s right he puts snakes on a plane.
“Snakes on a Plane is, at heart, a B movie. It has everything that made the other movies like “Evil Dead” so great. Sure it’s got the “cheese factor” and there are times the plot is kind of far-fetched, but that's what makes it enjoyable. How can you not enjoy the poetic justice when the man who feeds a small dog to a boa constrictor, gets eaten just moments later. It’s a change from other movies that try so hard to be good and fail. This movie knows it’s cheesy and it embraces that. It never takes itself seriously. This is a refreshing new take that allows the viewer to enjoy it for what it is because it doesn’t try to be anything more.
Never has a movie generated so much hype purely based on the title. The producers wanted to call the movie Pacific Air 121, but Sam Jackson’s agent insisted that it be changed back to the original. Once the title was announced, the mania started. All over the Internet, videos started popping up parodying the idea of snakes on a plane. All the hype lead the studio to not show the movie to critics, they said they wanted to let the fans see it first.
There was just something about this movie. As soon as I heard about it I knew I had to see it. I was not expecting anything and I left pleasantly surprised. Sure, it was cheesy, but it was also very creative. At one point they use the life raft to close off first class from the rest of the plane. There are not many ways to kill a snake, but they do come up with a few interesting ideas, like taping a lighter to an aerosol can and using it as a home…plane-made flamethrower. So the movie is not going to win any Oscars, and it sure isn’t trying to. It is just a fun movie and chances are you will leave satisfied with it.
6 out of 10
Rated R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence.
Runtime:105 min
Life in South Philly in 1976 was hard on a lot of people. Vince Papale (Mark Walburg) was an out of work substitute teacher turned bartender and a diehard Eagles fan. In a time of hardships, the entire town turned to the Eagles for relief from the struggles of everyday life. As of late, their beloved Eagles were letting them down by having losing season after losing season. When new coach Dick Vermeil (Greg Kenner) is hired, he decides to hold open tryouts. Anyone is Philly can become an Eagle. Through much pressure from his friends, Vince goes to the tryout and actually makes the team. As he begins tryouts he begins to doubt that he will make the team. The rest of the team, who see him as a publicity stunt that has gone on too long, hate him. He talks to his pseudo-girlfriend Janet (Elizabeth Banks) and she helps him to keep it up. When he eventually makes the team, he doesn’t perform well and again has thoughts of quitting, but it becomes evident to him that he is not just playing for himself but for the entire city of Philadelphia.
“Invincible” is based on the true story of Vince Papale, who tried out for and became a Philadelphia Eagle in 1976. The movie follows the same pattern as movies like “Rocky,” “The Rookie,” and “The Natural.” Ordinary man becomes a pro athlete and rises up to meet the challenge. As inspirational sports movies go, this ranks in the middle of the pack. It’s a fun, uplifting story that is very entertaining. The only thing that makes this movie stand out from its predecessors is the camera work used in the games. The camera is in the middle of the action. It is the as close you can get to playing with out having to actually put on pads. 
Everyone knows that Mark Walburg and Greg Kenner are both great actors, and I’m sure in other reviews you have heard all about their performances. One actress who is also getting a lot of press is Elizabeth Banks. She plays Janet Cantrell, a fellow bartender in the bar where Vince works. She befriends him and the rest of the patrons and becomes one of the guys. She can talk football with the best of them and they come to accept her as on of them. She ends up becoming involved with Vince. Her performance is one of the best in the movie. She has had only small roles supporting roles in movies up until the 
last year or so. She takes a semi-leading role and does a great job. Look for her to become a bigger star in the coming year.
So what if “Invincible” isn’t the most original sports movie. It’s still a very good movie. The movie had chances to be cheesy, but manages to keep it to a minimum. Although it does take liberties with what happened, it does so for dramatic effect and that is acceptable. It doesn’t match up to the best Disney sports movie, “Remember The Titans,” but it is still a very good movie that is worth the price of admission.
Rated PG for sports action and some mild language.
Runtime: 105 min
8 out of 10
