Author: Jason Zingale (Page 46 of 154)

12 Rounds

June 30, 2009 /

Renny Harlin used to be good for the occasional guilty pleasure in the 90s (“Die Hard 2,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight”), but lately, he’s become little more than a go-to guy for genre flicks better off being released straight to DVD. In his latest film, Harlin teams up with WWE Superstar John Cena in an action thriller so ridiculous that its shameless forgery of “Die Hard with a Vengeance” will be the least of your worries. Cena stars as Danny Fisher, a New Orleans detective whose girlfriend (Ashley Scott) is kidnapped by a dangerous terrorist (Aidan Gillen) he arrested a year before. Now, he must play a twisted game with the criminal (lasting 12 rounds, natch) if he ever wants to see his girlfriend again. The idea that someone as threatening to national security could even break out of prison is a bit of a joke, but the story is filled with so many of these silly coincidences that you eventually have to just let it go – especially when Cena’s character is allowed to practically destroy an entire city in the name of saving a single life. The dialogue is terrible as expected, but what will really surprise viewers is just how dull the action scenes are. Cena might not be a good actor, but his previous effort, “The Marine,” at least had a couple of cool set pieces to keep you entertained. Unfortunately, “12 Rounds” can’t even offer that.

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Action Movies, External Movie DVDs, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

Blu Tuesday: Do the Right Thing, Street Fighter and Jonas Brothers 3-D

June 30, 2009 /

Much like last week’s disappointing selection of high-def titles, today’s pick of the litter isn’t quite as fresh as one might hope. There’s definitely a good variety among the movies available, but there’s nothing here that exactly screams “Buy me.” Still, while my personal collection will remain unchanged for another week, other Blu-ray enthusiasts might find something they’ve been waiting to pick up, or at the very least, take for a test drive.

“Do the Right Thing” (Universal)

I’ve never been a fan of Spike Lee, save for the uncharacteristic crime thriller, “Inside Man.” His fabricated racism is annoying, and it never fails in ruining an otherwise good story. Though it’s admirable to want to address a serious issue like racism through film, the way in which he tries to achieve it is nothing short of scandalous. Take Danny Aiello’s character in “Do the Right Thing,” whose life is ruined when a brawl inside his pizzeria leads to the accidental death of Radio Raheem. Not only is he completely warranted in his actions, but he isn’t even responsible for Raheem’s untimely demise. Of course, Lee wouldn’t have the ending he so desperately needs if he doesn’t lay the blame on Aiello, and instead of pointing a finger at Raheem (who refused to turn off his boom box after being asked nicely) or Giancarlo Esposito’s Buggin Out (the real culprit of the altercation), he decides to cook up a theory that even the much-loved (but still white) owner of the local hangout is a racist. Personal thoughts aside, the 20th anniversary Blu-ray release looks incredible, and the addition of a new retrospective documentary and audio commentary by Lee is a nice treat for fans of the film. You really have to love Lee’s work to want to sit through “Do the Right Thing” more than once, but if you do, you might as well watch it in HD.

“Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” (20th Century Fox)

Go ahead and file this one under Reasons Why Fanboys Hate 20th Century Fox. It’s not that the studio does a bad job of choosing properties to adapt. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, because they often make movies that no other studio would even bother with. Unfortunately, they don’t put nearly as much thought into the actual making of the film as they do into how much money they might make it if it’s a hit. I didn’t think it was possible to outdo the first “Street Fighter” film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in terms of sheer crappiness, but “The Legend of Chun-Li” wins hands down. This is a movie that is so determined to ground the world of “Street Fighter” in reality that it loses all connection to the source material except for its characters’ names. The end result is just another generic martial arts movie with some of the worst acting you’ll ever see. It’s difficult to single out just one performance (take your pick), but when all is said and done, Chris Klein is practically guaranteed to walk away with a Razzie. “The Legend of Chun-Li” is a guilty pleasure at best, but unless you’re a fan of the game, and don’t mind seeing your a piece of your childhood ruined, you’d be best to stay away.

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Action Movies, External Movie DVDs, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies

Between Good & Evil: Hollywood Heavy Hitters Going Toe to Toe

June 25, 2009 /

There’s just something about two great actors going toe-to-toe that makes for some of the most memorable cinematic moments. Call it chemistry if you will, but these days, when you get a couple of Hollywood heavy hitters in the same room, it’s usually guaranteed to light up the screen like the Fourth of July. So when it was announced that Michael Mann had enlisted two of this generation’s greatest actors – Johnny Depp and Christian Bale – to star opposite one another in his new film, “Public Enemies,” we couldn’t help but be reminded of the many other classic face-offs starring the industry’s cream of the crop. Some are as simple as good versus evil, while others are a little more, well, complicated. Below you’ll find a list of our ten favorite match-ups (and what makes them so special), along with five more that just missed the cut.

Here’s a sample entry:

Cinematic showdowns don’t come any more highly anticipated than this. More than two decades after sharing billing (but no scenes) in “The Godfather II,” Robert De Niro and Al Pacino finally had a big screen showdown in Michael Mann’s sleek, stylish 1995 crime epic. Pacino is LAPD Lt. Vincent Hanna, a true-blue cop whose dogged dedication to his job has destroyed two marriages and is on its way to wrecking a third; De Niro is Neil McCauley, a brilliant thief whose ego goads him into attempting the final score that’s supposed to finance his retirement – even though he knows Hanna’s watching him. Though the two characters share just a few of the 171 minutes that make up “Heat,” Mann makes them count, serving up a deliciously tense tête-à-tête in a coffee shop that foreshadows the final showdown between Hanna and McCauley in the film’s last act. After all that buildup, some film fans were a little let down by such an understated clash of titans, but now that we’ve seen what can happen when Pacino and De Niro spend an entire movie together (2008’s “Righteous Kill”), those seem like awfully petty complaints.

Of course, the idea of doing a feature like this without including the most famous movie match-up is kind of like eating a PB&J sandwich minus the actual peanut butter and jelly, but not all of our inclusions are quite as predictable. Head on over to Bullz-Eye to check out the rest of the best.

Action Movies, Actors, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies

Blu Tuesday: Waltz with Bashir, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Inkheart

June 23, 2009 /

I’m not exactly sure how movie studios decide when to release their films on DVD and Blu-ray, because sometimes (like last week, for instance), competition can be so stiff that titles get lost in the background, while if they were released just one week later during a day like today, they’d likely be the highlight of the all the new releases. Whatever the reason, it really makes it hard to be a consumer, because though there are few decent titles available on Blu-ray this week, the selection could have been so much better if some smarter planning was involved on the studios’ end.

“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony)

It might not have won the Oscar for Best Foreign Picture like many industry insiders had it pegged for, but “Waltz with Bashir” would certainly have been deserving of such an honor for its innovative fusion of documentary and animation. Equal parts interview and flashback reenactment, “Waltz with Bashir” is the latest from Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman who, after a friend tells him about a recurring nightmare involving the First Lebanon War, decides to reconnect with old acquantainces in order to recover lost memories of the 20-year-old event. Though the movie isn’t as potent as 2007’s likeminded “Persepolis,” “Waltz with Bashir” is a cinematic achievement that’s only downfall is its incorporation of news archive footage at the end. Though this is the kind of film you can really only watch once, cinephiles will love the extras included on the Blu-ray release, including a making-of featurette that not only debunks the general belief that the film’s visual style was achieved through rotoscoping, but details the advanced method of how the movie was actually animated.

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” (Walt Disney)

Completely undeserving of its critical lashing, “Confessions of a Shopaholic” might not be the most original romantic comedy to come down the pipeline, but what it lacks in originality it more than makes up for with a great cast, a solid script, and the manic energy of star Isla Fisher that is so captivating, you could bottle it up and sell it in stores. Of course, it’s hardly a movie you can expect a lot from in the special features department, but Disney has still done a pretty good job of putting together a decent collection of extras. The Blu-ray exclusive six-part “Behind the Fashion” may only run a scant 13 minutes long, but it covers everything from costume and production design to filming on location in New York. That’s hardly going to convince anyone to buy the film, but if you’re looking for a fun little date movie that won’t have you scratching out your eyeballs, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover that “Confessions of a Shopaholic” isn’t quite as bad as you were lead to believe.

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External Movie DVDs, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies

Nobel Son

June 20, 2009 /

Writer/director Randall Miller must be a great guy to work with. That’s the only possible explanation for how he managed to snag such an amazing cast for “Nobel Son,” a headache-inducing thriller every bit deserving of its direct-to-DVD sentence. Though Miller isn’t exactly new to the business (he directed his share of bad comedies in the 90s), it’s still quite a feat to go from the land of made-for-TV movies to working with the likes of Alan Rickman in back-to-back projects. Their 2008 film, “Bottle Shock,” was one of the best reviewed entries at Sundance last year, but just because “Nobel Son” is about an award doesn’t mean it’s on the same level.

Rickman plays Dr. Eli Michaelson, a narcissitic college chemistry professor who is delighted to discover that he’s won the Nobel Prize. While away in Stockholm to accept his award, his disappointment of a son, Barkley (Bryan Greenberg), is kidnapped and ransomed for $2 million. The kidnapper (Sean Hatosy) claims that Eli stole the award-winning idea from his own father, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make him pay. Of course, it’s what happens after the initial kidnapping that really matters, but to say any more would be to spoil the film’s only redeeming quality: the web of twists that begins to unravel around the midway point. Unfortunately, the movie is so damn irritating during the first hour – from the shaky camera movements and blazing fast edits to the Paul Oakenfold techno club soundtrack – that it never has the chance to win back the audience. Miller should stick to more low-key projects like “Bottle Shock,” because his embarrassment of a Guy Ritchie impersonation just isn’t going to cut it.

Click to buy “Nobel Son”

Actors, Actresses, External Movie DVDs, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

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