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Archive for the 'Action Film Reviews' Category
- 19/June/2007 [9:29 AM] -- Jericho
Hi everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to write more reviews for all of you! I have had lots of things going on lately! I am back though and ready to write you all some fun and entertaining movie reviews but before I get into those I’d like to take a moment to talk about a TV show, a TV show that has generated lots of buzz and a passionate outcry from it’s faithful viewers. CBS’s Jericho was my favorite new show of last season. Starring Skeet Ulrich, (who in my opinion is one of the greatest actors of our generation), Ashley Scott, Brad Beyer, Lennie James, Pamela Reed, Sprague Grayden, Kenneth Mitchell, Shoshannah Stern, Erik Knudsen, Michael Gaston, and Alicia Coppala.
Jericho is based in a small, rural Kansas town, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on twenty-three major cities in the United Sates. The series begins with a visible nuclear detonation of unknown origin over nearby Denver, Colorado; they suffer loss of power and loss of communication, isolating Jericho. Several themes regularly addressed in the show are gathering of information, public order, limited resources, the value of family, and internal as well as external threats. The show also features several mysteries involving the backgrounds of major characters, the perpetrators of the attack, and the extent of damage to the United States and its government.
The pivotal character in this story is Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich), the 32-year-old son of Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney), who returns home to briefly visit his family and friends before becoming stranded as a result of the catastrophe. After a somewhat awkward return home and a tense reunion with his father, Jake steps up to become a leader in Jericho, fighting to protect the town and its citizens. As the people of Jericho struggle to survive in a changed world, they remain unaware that one of the newest residents, Robert Hawkins (Lennie James), knows more about the attacks than he lets on.
Jericho is well written, superbly acted and holds a sense of mystery in every episode. Sounds interesting don’t you think? Intriguing? With 9+ million viewers CBS decided to cancel Jericho. Fans were, to say the least, very upset with this decision. Not only were they taking off one of the best shows on TV but in the season one finale they left the audience on a huge cliffhanger, which was just a slap in the face to all of us loyal followers. Well fans weren’t going down without a fight! A campaign was launched with the help of Nutsonline.com to SAVE JERICHO. Fans began sending NUTS to CBS in protest, why nuts you may ask? Well in the finale it is what Jake (Skeet Ulrich) says to Jericho’s attackers when asked to surrender is town. About $55,000 later, after 20 tons of nuts were sent to CBS that’s about 8 million peanuts CBS decided to give Jericho another chance renewing it for 7 more episodes with hopes of higher ratings so that the show may continue on. I can proudly say I was one of those passionate fans who sent some NUTS and in turn we also made history, networks are now starting to change the way they view ratings factoring in internet downloads, internet watching, TIVO and other forms, in this day and age with our technology TV shows are watched in many ways and it’s time the networks realized that. Too many times I have gotten involved in shows only to have them canceled after only a few episodes, times have changed and our rating system should change along with it.
Never the less, a brilliant show has been saved and given another chance! I hope all of you will tune into Jericho to see what all the passion is about! I also encourage everyone in this world to pick a greater cause and show support just as these fans did, can you imagine what a wonderful world this would be if we could all ban together for the greater good? Just something to think about…
Reruns of the first season of Jericho will start on Friday July 6th at 9pm followed by a recap episode of the first half of the season on Friday July 13th and then the remainder of the season will play out every Friday after that. Or you can always catch it online at www.cbs.com ! And I of course give this show:
Posted in [Commentary, Drama Reviews, Action Film Reviews]
- 29/January/2007 [4:52 PM] -- The Last King of Scotland
Forest Whitaker delivers a violently commanding performance as the brutal Ugandan president Idi Amin. The Last King of Scotland is adapted from a novel by Giles Foden and tells the story of Amin’s horrific reign through the eyes of a some-what fictional character, Nick Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young doctor who has traveled from Scotland hoping to do some good with his medical talents. He befriends two married doctors in a small village; he begins to fall for Sarah (Gillian Anderson), despite the fact that she is a married woman. After a car accident Nick is asked to help treat the president’s wounds and Nick’s out spoken behavior impresses Amin who then asks Nick to become his personal physician. Nick agrees for personal and professional reasons and is immediately intoxicated by his new found importance and life of luxury, until he begins to see the mayhem the president is inflicting upon the people, then realizing he could share the same fate he tries to make a desperate escape out of Uganda. This is a powerful story, compelling and intriguing; however there is a lull in the middle of the movie where I feel it tended to drag a bit. James McAvoy is truly outstanding and completely captivating and I feel should have also been nominated for his performance as Nicolas. Director Kevin MacDonald who is acclaimed as a documentary filmmaker is able to succeed at depicting the same sort of feel for this movie as well, which I believe made it very unique and riveting. The Last King of Scotland is not available in MoPix so some parts may be a little hard to follow; some of it is very visual but can be filled in with the help of a friend. It is an exceptional story that is definitely worth seeing.
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(Twentieth Century Fox)
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Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy and Gillian Anderson
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Rated: R
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Running Time: 2hours 3 mins
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This film is currently not available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews, Action Film Reviews]
- 12/January/2007 [5:35 PM] -- Blood Diamond
Leave it to Leonardo DiCaprio to a movie that is as equally entertaining as it is morally impactful. Blood Diamond is a story set in the chaos and misery of the civil war that covered 1990’s Sierra Leone. It focuses on Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Mende fisherman with a wife and four children. Solomon has been taken from his family and home by the rebels and forced to work the diamond fields when he finds a very rare, very large pink diamond and he decides to hide it even knowing it may cost him his life because he also knows it may be his only means to save his life and the lives of his family. Archer who has spent his life trading diamonds for armed weapons hears of Solomon’s diamond while serving time in prison with him. He will do whatever it takes to get the diamond from Solomon because it will be a payoff that will get him out of his brutal life of corruption. Then enters Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American Journalist working to uncover the truth behind conflict diamonds and wanting to expose the diamond industries leaders. She knows Archer can do this for her, but Archer may find he needs Maddy more then she needs him. This becomes a game of push and shove Archer needs Maddy’s name to get him from place to place unseen, Maddy needs Archer for her story, Archer needs Solomon to help him recover the diamond and Solomon needs Archer to help him rescue is son from the rebels who brainwashing him into a child solider. This movie is extraordinary, director Edward Zwick has out done himself this time. It is a moving and emotional work of art that also holds an incredibly powerful political statement. Leonardo DiCaprio gives the performance of his career. Every time I think he has reached his peak he takes it one step further. He is nominated for a Golden Globe (against himself in The Departed I might add). The Golden Globes air Monday night, I truly hope he walks away with the Globe; it was the best male performance this year as far as I am concerned. Djimon Hounsou is exquisite and Jennifer Connelly is lovely and powerful. Blood Diamond is offered in MoPix and I do strongly recommend it since there is a lot going on and a lot of action you won’t want to miss a second of this film. Superb.
Please visit: http://www.conflictfreediamonds.org/
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(Warner Bros.)
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Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Michael Sheen, Arnold Vosloo, David Harewood, Basil Wallace and introducing Kagiso Kuyp Dia
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Rated: R
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Running Time:
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This Film is currently available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews, Action Film Reviews]
- 25/September/2006 [3:49 PM] -- Flyboys
Flyboys is set during World War I which began in Europe in 1914. Despite the fact that the United States had still not entered the war by 1917, many brave young American men went to France to fly planes and fight for the French. This movie is inspired by actual events in the Lafayette Escadrille fighter squadron. Even against odds, the Germans had better planes, weapons, and pilots and the average life expectancy for a fighter-pilot was three to six weeks these men risked their lives everyday for the greater good. This was a time when young men were full of hope, bravery and optimism but naive to embark on such an adventure. James Franco (Spiderman, Tristan & Isolde) plays Blaine Rawlings who was forced to leave his home in Arizona after the the bank foreclosed on his family ranch. Blaine sees a newsreel of fighter-pilots in France and feeling a sense of purpose he decides that he has nothing more to lose and heads to France. Other characters in the squadron include Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine) who is shamed into joining the war by his rich father. African-American boxer Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis) who had been living in France, at the time a more racially tolerant country and wanted to give something back to his new country. These brave Americans were under the command of French Captain Georges Thenault (Jean Reno, The Professional) and American Squadron Leader Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson). They became some of the world’s first combat pilots. This film seemed to have all it needed to be epic but instead Flyboys just turned out to be dull and boring. The only time I felt myself drawn into the picture was during the parts of the film where the life of these men and what they went through was brought to life. Also the airial battle sequences were incredible and intense to watch. The special effects were amazing but the love story and character interactions were bland. The film is over two hours long and you felt every minute of it. It goes to show you that you need more then a great story to make a truly great movie. I also strongly feel this movie would be completely lost on the visually impaired. The characters are very one dimensional and the dialogue is poor. The fight scenes are great but completely visual. This film is also not available in MoPix so I would definitely skip this one. Ultimately Flyboys just doesn’t fly.
- (MGM)
- Starring: James Franco, Abdul Salis, David Ellison, Jean Reno and Martin Henderson
- Rated: PG 13
- Running Time: 139 mins to long
- This film is currently not available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews, Action Film Reviews]
- 3/January/2006 [5:05 PM] -- King Kong
For King Kong I had expectations as big as the ape himself, I mean you have academy award winning actors, an academy awarding winning director and a Kong-sized budget, it’s hard to believe I could be let down, but I was. Let’s start with the positive; Peter Jackson has proven once again he is one of the most gifted filmmakers of his time. He can film action sequences with remarkable vision that also has you on the edge of your seat. The actors were perfectly cast in every role from Kong himself down to the sea crew on the ship. The cinematography beautifully captures the imaginary world of Skull Island. Where I felt the film was lacking was in story. The movie I felt started off very well with the introduction of the characters including Carl Denham (Jack Black, who added his own flavor to his role) an overzealous filmmaker who decides he must shoot his next film on the worst location site known to man. However the producers funding Carl’s film decide to cut him off because of his crazy notion to film on an undiscovered island. So Carl takes matters into his own hands and with the help of his trusty assistant Preston (Colin Hanks, who fits into this role perfectly) they are able to leave with the ship provided to them before the film company knows what hit them. First though Carl had to find himself a leading lady, enter Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts, who was my favorite thing about this movie) a starving actress with strong morals, a girlish crush on Jack Driscoll the films scriptwriter (Adrien Brody) and an inkling for adventure. They all set sail on a somewhat rundown ship and no one is aware of their destination except for Carl Denham. Okay it all sounds good up until now right??? Well once they get to the island the movie begins to drag with long drawn out action scenes of Kong fighting Ann, Kong fighting Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs fighting the crew trying to rescue Ann from Kong. It’s one action sequence after another which does build tension but also leaves the story seriously lacking. The parts of the movie that I found the most entertaining were between Ann and Kong, which unfortunately didn’t offer up a lot of dialog for the visually impaired. However, Naomi Watts was absolutely mesmerizing you could see everything she was feeling through her expressions, her desperate need to communicate with this beast and eventually her understanding of him. Those tender moments I believe are the most beautiful to watch. Overall I would say the good outweighed the bad but this film could have definitely been shorter! I wouldn’t recommend this to the visually impaired since most of it is action scenes and even with MoPix the most you would get out of it is “Kong is chasing the dinosaur” ROAR ROAR “ Kong is fighting the dinosaur” ROAR ROAR and so on.
- (Universal)
- Starring: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black and Colin Hanks
- Rated: PG-13
- Running Time: 187 mins
- This film is currently available in MoPix
Posted in [Action Film Reviews]
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