The black void that is the January film season only gets worse this week with the release of the vampire/werewolf flick “Underworld: Evolution,” the sequel to the stlyish genre film from a few years ago. Too bad director Len Wiseman didn’t just take the money and run, because “Evolution” is a disgrace to the original. Also in theaters this week is the Golden Globe-winning drama “Transamerica” and the Albert Brooks comedy “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.” It doesn’t look like the Brothers Weinstein are suffering any from their parting with Disney. The awards just keep rolling in for those guys, don’t they?
Category: Action Movies (Page 163 of 165)
Actually, in this case, I’m half-tempted to sell the set I already own and buy this bad boy, which includes FOURTEEN DVDs. You’re looking at all 5 original “Apes” movies, the Tim Burton remake from a few years ago, the fourteen episodes of the “Planet of the Apes” TV series, and – for the first time ever on DVD – all thirteen episodes of the Saturday morning cartoon, “Return to the Planet of the Apes.” Hell, I never even SAW the cartoon!
Plus…it comes packaged like this:
Of course, even as a pre-order through Amazon, it’s still gonna be $125.99, so I’d have to take out a small loan to be able to afford it…and since I can’t conceive of anyone else in the country willing to sit through a marathon (though I do know a fellow in Saskatchewan who wouldn’t require much arm-twisting), it may never make it into my collection. Dammit.
I’ll admit, I was one of the few who watched “Firefly” when it was on, but I was lukewarm about the idea of the show moving to the big screen. How often does that happen, anyway? Cancelled shows just do not get made into movies. Hats off to creator Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”) and the show’s fans (called “browncoats”) for keeping the dream alive.
I just watched “Serenity” and it is a nice piece of sci-fi storytelling. For those that are worried about not having seen the TV show, stop…it really doesn’t matter. Whedon does a nice job of summarizing the situation and getting everyone up to speed. The bottom line is: if you like sci-fi, you’ll probably like this movie.
I watched “The Island” this weekend and while I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling this Michael Bay-directed thriller was, there were a few glaring plot holes I’d like to discuss:
1. GPS: Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) leaves his room in the middle of the night. Considering how advanced the facility is, wouldn’t they have a GPS device inserted into each “product” for tracking purposes? This plot hole has a simple solution – have a scene where Lincoln digs the chip out of his shoulder.
2. The Key: To leave the facility, he uses the key that his supervisor gave him earlier that day. Wouldn’t the supervisor ask for that back? Would a supervisor in that environment really even loan a key like that to one of the products?
3. Contamination: When he left the facility earlier in the day to meet McCord (Buscemi) he had a contamination suit on. As he walks along, he just decides to take off the headpiece. At this point, he still thinks there is contamination outside, so what is he thinking?
4. Oblivious Truck Driver: During the impressive chase scene – where Lincoln and Jordan (Scarlett Johansson) jumped on the trailer of a semi – the giant dumbbells started to fall off the truck. Wouldn’t the driver of the truck notice that he is losing his whole load? We didn’t even get the requisite shot of the driver in the cab, barely paying attention as he drove.
5. Convenient Netting: Jordan and Lincoln fall off the building and are caught by some very convenient netting. The screenwriter missed an opportunity for a great line as the construction guy pulled the two out of the netting. He said “Jesus really loves you” (or something to that effect, indicating that the two were very lucky to survive the fall) – Jordan should have said, “Who’s Jesus?”
6. The Gun: After she was captured, how would Jordan be able to sneak a gun into the facility and why wouldn’t they have her restrained on the operating table?
7. The Doctor: Lincoln’s nemesis, Merrick (played by Sean Bean), is somehow the first to arrive in the turbine room where Lincoln is trying to shut down the hologram. I understand why he’s the first to arrive (so Lincoln and Merrick can square off, mono y mono) but there is no explanation whatsoever. This could have been remedied by having the tech (who notifies Merrick of Lincoln’s location) say, “He’s right by you – in the turbine room.”
Plot holes are generally an easy fix compared to how much enjoyment they suck out of the movie-going experience. You don’t want your audience rolling their eyes, or in my case pausing the DVD to ask their significant other about an oblivious truck driver. I’m always amazed that these plot holes exist in multi-million dollar movies. Couldn’t they pay someone (me) a hundred grand a year to make sure these movies make sense? I know my wife would appreciate it – I would stop pausing DVDs all the time.
“King Kong” will have no problem making back its $200 million dollar budget, but at what expense? Peter Jackson’s latest epic has already wowed the critics, who have mostly turned in positive reviews, but the film was snubbed from a majority of the categories during the announcement of the 2006 Golden Globe nominations. The film’s absence from the second-biggest entertainment awards show of the year shouldn’t have a big effect on it’s success, but it will probably result in a number of moviegoers hesitating to rush out and see it in theaters.
My biggest problem with the film, and possibly the biggest gripe universally, is it’s Biggie Sized runtime. At just over three hours long, “King Kong” runs about 40 minutes too long, and Jackson would have had no problem cutting a lot of the unnecessary material if he weren’t so fascinated by his subject. The guy must fall asleep behind the camera sometimes, because most scenes between Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and Kong drag on far too long.
That said, the action sequences were incredible and are worth the price of admission alone. I’ve even uncovered a worse fear of bugs thanks to Jackson’s crazy imagination, and will probably never step foot into a jungle, woods, or any other creepy environment where a mutant-sized larva could latch onto my head while giant grasshoppers attack me from all sides. “King Kong” is definitely a must-see affair, but it’s not one that will yield as much applause as Universal is hoping for.
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