Review: Iron Man

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: While not perfect, it comes pretty damn close - Iron Man is one of the best superhero movie adaptations to hit the big screen so far.

Finally. It's here.

And yes, you can rest easy - especially if you're a long time Iron Man fan, this movie will rock your world. If you're not, get ready to witness the launch of the next big superhero franchise.

Believe it or not, this is one of the more difficult reviews I've written. I've been a huge supporter of this film, the production and Jon Favreau since day one, and I've also been looking forward to it probably longer than most of you reading this have been alive. :-) So it was difficult to balance the fanboy love for the character and the fact that I want it to do well, with an objective look at the film as a whole.

So, without any further delay, here's my review, free of any major spoilers...

The movie opens with the very familiar scene of Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) riding in a Humvee with some soldiers in what is presumably Afghanistan. Although we've seen about a minute of this scene in trailers and clips, there's much more to it that's very funny and serves to start giving us a sense of who Stark is almost immediately. He's a billionare, but he's very engaging and as far from "stuffy" as you can imagine. Within a couple of minutes he puts the intimidated soldiers at ease.

Of course just as that happens all hell breaks loose when an explosion takes out the vehicle ahead of theirs and brings their convoy to a stop. They're obviously outgunned and the vehicle (and soldiers are peppered with armor piercing bullets. Stark manages to get away from the vehicle and behind cover where he tries to call for help, but (as we've seen) he gets hit by shrapnel from another explosion.

Review: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Your opinion of the film will with almost complete certainty be predicted by your opinions on Darwinism vs Intelligent Design.

Yes, I know everyone is looking for reviews of Morgan Spurlock's Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? Here's a spoiler: He doesn't find Osama. His movie is funny and entertaining, but I think this film will generate far more debate and discussion and is as relevant to what's happening today as Spurlock's movie.

Having said that, I believe that writing this review is almost a pointless exercise, but I'll write it anyway. Why? Because your opinion of the film will with almost complete certainty be predicted by your opinions on Darwinism vs Intelligent Design.

I've been scouring a few sites looking to see what people thought of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed and it is expectedly getting skewered. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 9% at the time of this writing and over at IMDB.com it's sitting at 3.3/10. The interesting thing about the rating over at IMDB is that 88% of the votes are either a "1" or a "10," with very few in between. I'm guessing that most of the votes on the "1" side are from people who haven't even seen the film.

Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Forgetting Sarah Marshall is like a great comedy buffet: a huge variety of jokes and situations, most of them laugh out loud funny.

When I attended WonderCon a few weeks back, I had the opportunity of attending the panel for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The cast and director were quite funny and engaging, in particular British actor Russell Brand, who the audience found hysterically funny. We were also shown some extended clips from the film which I thought were pretty good, but I did have some reservations.

Sometimes a funny cast and director manage to make a movie that isn't.

I'm happy to report that isn't the case here. If you don't mind (or are even a fan of) bawdy comedies that are not shy in their use of four letter words, nudity (particularly of the male variety, but I'll get to that in a minute) and um, mature situations, then I think you're going to like this one a lot.

The film opens with our "hero" Peter Bretter (played by Jason Segel). He's in a sloppy apartment, consuming a huge bowl (and I mean huge) of what look like Fruit Loops. He looks like your typical Joe Shmoe bachelor: sloppy apartment, pudgy, sloppy looking himself, and basically harmless. But as it turns out, he's been dating the uber-hot female star of a CSI-like TV series named of course, Sarah Marshall (played by the uber-hot Kristen Bell).

Review: Enchanted

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: As close as you can get to a family-friendly, live-action satire of Disney animation, made all the better since Disney itself made the film.

No, Enchanted isn't usually the sort of movie we review here on Screen Rant, but you know what? It's a great, funny film and if the more "macho" among you can set aside your testosterone, you just might find yourselves enjoying this. :-)

I mean who among us has never seen at least a couple of Disney animated films when we were kids? The fun of this film is watching how it manages to poke fun at Disney movies and the fascination comes from how they did it without being the slightest bit mean-spirited about it.

Enchanted opens with a traditional 2-D animated sequence that could fit into many old Disney movies: Pretty young girl, singing and dancing with a bunch of woodland creatures, all helping her to build a mannequin of her Prince Charming. The actual prince hears her singing, makes his way to her and within minutes they decide they're in love and prepare to be married.

Review: Black Sheep

By Sybil Vasche
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Don't wear white when watching this wonderfully crafted first feature film from Jonathan "we need more blood" King.

Picture if you will, scenic green hills next to a panoramic view of the ocean, beautiful orchestrated music, and mutant flesh-eating sheep.

It could happen and it does in the New Zealand import Black Sheep (2006). In New Zealand, the sheep out-number the humans so a movie like this was just begging to be made and thankful for us, that person was writer/director Jonathan King.

A young man named Henry (Nathan Meister) returns to his family’s ranch in order to sell off his share of the business to his older brother Angus (Peter Feeney). But instead of the quick transaction he imagines and (he arrives in a taxi and tells the driver to wait) he gets sucked into a weird journey that will take him through his own personal hell.

Review: Be Kind Rewind

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Jack Black is awesome in this movie that starts out hysterically funny but veers off into sentimentality.

Two things could have made Be Kind Rewind better:

1. If it actually had been made on a shoestring budget by a couple of buddies.

2. If it had stuck with the premise of being a comedy all the way through to the end.

Aside from those points, it was still a great film.

Jack Black stars as Jerry, a uneducated slacker with big dreams who lives in a trailer. He's pals with Mike (played by Mos Def), a low-key guy without any big aspirations who works at one of the last few VHS video rental stores left in New Jersey.

Review: The Signal

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Funny, scary, gory and unpredictable, this is sure to become a cult classic with a strong following.

The Signal was one of my favorite films from those I had the opportunity to watch and review at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. As a longtime horror movie fan (much more of older stuff than what's come out recently), it was great on many levels and fortunately you'll be getting the opportunity to see it soon as it was picked up for theatrical distribution.

There was a short film before the main feature called Little Farm which was shot in only 48 hours. Given that constraint it wasn't bad, except for the fact the two of the three main characters gave pretty close to the worst performances I've ever seen on screen. Aside from that, although it was pretty strange, in the end it delivered some pretty good scares. I actually had a woman sitting next to me ask if that was the main feature. :-)

On to the main event...

Review: Towelhead

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Towelhead manages to balance humor and drama in this cautionary tale of a 13 year old girl's burgeoning sexuality.

I realize I'm a little behind the curve on Sundance reviews, but I've got a couple more coming after this one. It's not like you'll have a chance to see the movie before reading my review anyway, right?

Like many films shown at Sundance this year, Towelhead combines different styles (humor and drama), but does it more successfully than most. It's the story of a thirteen year old girl who is half Lebanese / half WASP whose physical development is quite ahead of her age. Towelhead (aka Nothing is Private) was written, directed and produced by Alan Ball, the same fellow who wrote the screenplay for the similarly themed American Beauty a few years ago.

On a side note, due to the content of this film, you may never get a chance to see it since I doubt it will get picked up for distribution at theaters but it's definitely worth seeing.

Review: Rambo

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: If you're a fan of the previous films, Stallone's awesome new Rambo will blow you away.

After having seen some of the Rambo reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes and the overall rating of only 35%, I fully expected to be disappointed by Sylvester Stallone's second revisiting of an iconic character. So you can imagine that it came as a complete shock to me when I ended up loving it.

Rambo opens with real footage of the nightmarish abuses that are currently going on in Burma. It's very disturbing and at the very least I believe that Stallone is hoping that this will draw attention to what's going on over there with the military murdering innocent men, women and children on a daily basis.

From there the film cuts to John Rambo in the Thai jungle (Thailand borders Burma) where he is out with a local man wrangling cobras. The local town's main attraction involves shows were men taunt cobras, pythons and other dangerous snakes. It seems that he has been living there for a long time - living a spartan, simple existence among the local people.

Review: Cloverfield

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Yes, it lives up to the hype - Cloverfield is a blast.

Where does one start a review of a movie that has been the subject of so much attention and hype for months on end leading up to its release?

Bigger than the speculation about what the monster in the movie would look like, the hunting for clues on viral websites, what "Slusho" has to do with the movie - has been the question: After all the hype, will it be a great movie or a huge letdown?

Well I'm sorry to disappoint all the naysayers, but Cloverfield rocked.

Will it win an Oscar or Golden Globe? Heck no. Was it fun and exciting to sit through? Hell yes. This is what the ridiculously weak American version of Godzilla that came out a few years ago should have been.

The following review will be free of any major spoilers - to the point where I won't even say whether the images that have been making the rounds lately are accurate portrayals of the monster or not. :-)

Review: I Am Legend (IMAX)

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Despite a few problems, Will Smith makes this update of The Omega Man work.

The plot of I Am Legend is pretty obvious from the trailers and commercials, so it's not so much about surprises and plot twists as much as it's about experiencing what Will Smith's character goes through. At this, the movie succeeds very well.

I Am Legend is the story of a viral cure for cancer gone horribly wrong. As the film opens we see a television interview with a scientist who has succeeded in modifying a deadly virus so that it cures disease instead of causing it. The initial reports are extremely encouraging, with thousands of cases of cancer completely cured.

Of course we know what the final outcome will be and watching that news segment will cause you to cringe in your seat.

Review: No Country For Old Men

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Another fascinating and unpredictable character-driven movie from the Coen brothers.

I went into No Country For Old Men only knowing that everyone has been talking about how excellent it is, but not really knowing too much about the plot. As it turns out, it was different from even what little I thought I knew about it.

Going into a film by the Coen brothers you always know that you're going to get some interesting characters and an unconventional story, and it's no different here. No Country For Old Men is all about the characters and as far as story goes, it's one of those films that you really can't predict what's going to happen next.

Review: American Gangster

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: As usual, Denzel Washington gives an intense performance in this fascinating story of a drug kingpin's daring and rapid rise to power.

American Gangster is based on the true story of Frank Lucas, and African American drug kingpin that rose to power in the New York metropolitan area during the Vietnam war. Lucas is played by Denzel Washington in the uncharacteristic role of bad guy, but much like similar Mafia characters from other films, with a counterbalanced code of ethics when it comes to family. The film was directed by Ridley Scott and also stars Russel Crowe as Richie Roberts, the (almost only) honest cop who has been tasked with putting a dent in the drug trade in the area.

Review: Beowulf (IMAX 3D)

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: In 3D Beowulf is an incredible visual experience that you must see... but leave the kids at home.

I need to make a few things clear before I begin my review:

1. I have not read the source material in any form, be it the classic poem or any graphic novelization of it.

2. Folks, please ignore the PG-13 rating given to this film. This is an R-rated movie!! How in the hell it was given a PG-13 boggles my mind.

3. This is a review of the IMAX 3D version of the film, not the standard projection version and the review will reflect that experience.

The plot of Beowulf is pretty straightforward on the face of it: Monster torments the local kingdom periodically, the King finally says enough is enough, a hero and his hearty band of men show up to defeat the monster, monster defeated... but not really.

You've probably read about it (lots of articles about it here on this site) and between all the weirdness of the publicity campaign (restricted trailers for a supposedly PG-13 film) and the talk about how real (or fake) the CGI characters look you may be wondering if it's worth watching.

I'm here to tell you: Hell yes, it is.

Review: Gone Baby Gone

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: One of the best movies I have seen this year... highly recommended.

What comes to mind when you hear the name of Ben Affleck? I'll tell you what comes to my mind: a series of really bad career choices. For every Dogma on his résumé, he has a Gigli. For every Good Will Hunting, he has a Surviving Christmas. Indeed, for a while it seemed like he was destined to sit on the sidelines and do the Hollyweird equivalent of eating table scraps while his friend and fellow actor Matt Damon ended up with all the accolades and success. But then something surprising happened. He gave an impressive performance in a really good movie, Hollywoodland. Okay, I'll admit, he didn't remind me of George Reeves at all, but that didn't really matter to me. His performance was honest, charismatic and heartfelt. It was the best acting performance I had seen from him. For the first time in quite a while, it felt to me like Ben Affleck wasn't in Hollyweird by accident.

Review: Shoot 'em Up

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: A wild, crazy ride that knows what it is and doesn't pretend to be anything other than an insane, yes - shoot 'em up.

Shoot 'em Up is an unabashed action-fantasy movie from director Michael Davis. His goal was to make something that was action unleashed on the screen, and as far as I'm concerned he accomplished it. In spades.

Clive Owen plays "Mr. Smith", a carrot-chewing bystander of an attempted murder of a pregnant woman, who turns out to be, well... formidable would be too subtle a word to describe him as the hero of the film. From the first scene it's obvious that this will be a highly stylized movie, with an extreme close up of Owen that pulls back to reveal him chomping on a carrot. It seems that carrots are his snack of choice (with blatant Bugs Bunny references later on) as well as an impromptu weapon. Something I must admit I hadn't seen before. Not just once, Owen uses a carrot as a lethal weapon in the film, to the effect of much humor.

Review: The Simpsons Movie

By Kane Adrian
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: A fitting, relevant and hilarious tribute to a 20-year phenomenon. It's definitely for fans but - then again - who isn't a fan?

If there's ever been a more review-proof feature film in the history of the medium, somebody speak up now because I certainly can't think of one. After 18 seasons and a couple of years of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the motion picture debut of The Simpsons has been nothing if not highly anticipated. However, early concerns about the extended running time and whether or not the writers could offer up new jokes worth paying for were premature. I'm happy to say The Simpsons Movie is witty, original and makes the transition to the silver screen almost flawlessly.

Review: Ratatouille

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Pixar knocks another one out of the park with this extremely smart, touching and funny movie.

For some reason the commercials and trailers for Pixar's latest animated release Ratatouille just didn't do much for me. I was concerned that Brad Bird and company might have finally lost their magical touch. However I started to hear that the movie was very, very good some time last week and started to look forward to checking it out.

Well I'm happy to report that it's not just very good, but Ratatouille is in fact great.

Review: Live Free Or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4.0)

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: A fun, (almost) gritty & wild ride with Bruce Willis easily slipping back into his trademark role.

If you're wondering whether or not to see Live Free or Die Hard I suppose you might be asking two questions:

"Is Die Hard 4 good enough to become a member of the 'Die Hard' club?"

"Would it have been better if it were rated R?"

The answer to both questions is: Yes.

Purists (Is there such a thing as a Die Hard purist?) may be disappointed by the trimming required to bring Live Free or Die Hard down to a PG-13 rating, but I'm here to tell you that the movie still works despite that.

Review: 1408

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: 1408 proves that it's still possible to make a very scary and creepy movie that is not populated by teenage characters or victims being mutilated.

I guess it's weird to use the word "refreshing" when talking about a horror movie, but that's what 1408 is when compared to recent trends in the world of horror films. With the likes of the Saw series, Hostel movies and the upcoming Captivity, which all depend on scenes of excruciating personal torture to horrify the audience, I really enjoyed seeing an "old school" horror movie that was incredibly effective.

Review: Surf's Up

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: An unexpectedly smart and funny movie that will have both adults and kids laughing out loud.

I had no idea what to expect going into the CGI animated flick Surf's Up. I'd seen the trailers and they looked kind of cute... pretty much what you'd expect from a film about surfing penguins.

So imagine my surprise when I found myself laughing out loud at the very first scene in the movie. :-)

Review: 300

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Pretty close to being the ultimate "guy movie."

I've waited a long time to see 300, the movie inspired by Frank Miller's graphic novel about the Spartans. If nothing else, based on the trailers I was expecting a movie that at least visually, would blow me away. My only concern going in was that I had heard that there were WAY too many slow-motion scenes... in fact that every single battle sequence was in slow-mo. On the plus side, if ever there seemed to be a film that would connect directly into the testosterone center of the male brain this looked like it was going to be it.

For the most part, it delivers big time.

300 tells the (no doubt highly romanticized) story of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., where King Leonidas of Sparta made a stand against the self-proclaimed god-king of Persia and his massive army. Leonidas had 300 Spartan warriors and a few hundred other Greek conscripts as back up to go up against an army purported to be one million men strong.

Review: My Kid Could Paint That

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: A fascinating look at the world of modern art (seriously!) and the questions of whether a four year old's paintings can compete and whether those paintings were genuine.

My Kid Could Paint That was the last film I saw at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and is a fascinating look at the story of four year old Marla Olmstead, who a couple of years ago took the art world by storm by rocketing from lower middle class obscurity to international fame through the sale of her paintings. This documentary by director Amir Bar-Lev is extremely well done and is about as close to neutral as I think one could get.

Review: Black Snake Moan

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Funny, gripping, violent, and erotic, this movie from the creator of "Hustle and Flow" stands out from the crowd big time.

Up until now I haven't seen director Craig Brewer's hit movie Hustle & Flow, but I'm going to make it a point to see it now. If it has any of the power and style of Black Snake Moan, I'm in for a treat.

Black Snake Moan was a hot ticket at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and little did I know that I was attending the premiere of the film at that particular showing. It was through sheer luck that I got in, trading my ticket for the very wierd horror-comedy Teeth for the opportunity to see this film. That was a good call. :-) My bad call was to leave while the director and cast were still on stage to see the absolutely dreadful Weapons, which I'll be reviewing here as well.

The film stars the awesome Samuel L. Jackson and (in this movie, anyway) sexual heat personified in the person of Christina Ricci. The film opens with a bang (if you'll pardon the pun) showing a sex scene between Rae (Ricci) and Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) which is, for lack of a better word - intense. Let me just say now, that between the sex, violence and drug use in this movie, PLEASE for the love of Pete do NOT bring little ones to see this when it's released this February!!!

Review: Fido

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Just a really fun (and gory) movie about how zombies might fit into the (supposedly) idyllic 1950's lifestyle.

This is the first movie I had the pleasure of viewing at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It was preceded by the insane short film Goodbye Mr. Snuggles by Jonathan Hopkins, about a shootout between an insane clown and an elderly and refined British gentleman out in the countryside. It was a great warm up for the feature: Fido.

We learn the premise of the film in a 1950's style black and white educational movie, the sort of which most of you reading this have only seen as a parody, but I actually watched as a kid. It describes a mysterious "radiation cloud" that came from outer space and re-animated corpses. Shortly thereafter came "the great zombie war", and the rise of a huge corporation called ZomCon which at first took over protection of populated areas, but then introduced a method of domesticating zombies. This was done by means of an electronic collar which eliminated the zombies' desire for human flesh, and rendered them quite docile. They're used to mow lawns, pack groceries, deliver newspapers and most any other mundane job you can think of.

Review: End Of The Spear

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: A low budget, yet beautifully shot and extremely moving film with an underlying core that may be too subtle for Christians' tastes yet too strong for others.

Initially I wasn't going to watch End of the Spear.

However, my wife tends to have a good eye when it comes to determining what films I'll like outside of my typical genres of action, sci fi, and occaisonally, horror. It's usually something that she's seen without me and on which she then gives me her micro-review: "You'll like it". So far I think she's never missed. :-)

End of the Spear is basically a story about Christian missionaries in the Amazon jungle who are trying to end the cycle of violence among factions of the Waodani tribe. For centuries they have been murdering each other using their weapon of choice (spears, of course) and the byproduct of this fact is that they are on the edge of extinction. If they do not kill each other off, the government will soon be stepping in to hunt them down due to their attacks on the regular folks who live nearby. The tribe members believe that the "outsiders" are cannibals.

Review: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: This is the Superman sequel that should have been, VASTLY superior to the ridiculous theatrical release.

I won't be getting into much detail about the story which should be well known in a 20+ year old film, but instead will concentrate on what makes this new version so much better than the original.

If you're not familiar with the story behind the story, it's really quite fascinating. Originally Richard Donner was hired to film both Superman and Superman II simultaneously, after which the footage would be edited into two separate movies. Unfortunately, what happened during the course of filming was that many differences began to manifest themselves between Donner and the producers, the Salkinds.

The culmination of this conflict was that although Richard Donner had filmed probably more than 80% of the footage for Superman II, the Salkinds decided to pretty much fire him before completion of the sequel and brought Richard Lester to film additional footage and make the film "his".

Review: Casino Royale

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Daniel Craig is the best James Bond since Sean Connery in a movie that's sure to bring this franchise back to life.

Bond is BACK, baby!

Casino Royale is a very different James Bond film from probably any made in the last 30 years, and that's a good thing. You can consider this the Batman Begins of the Bond franchise: It's faithful to the source material but pretty much discards anything that's come before it as far as other movies, it gives us some insight into the character, and is much more "raw" than the films that preceded it.

Review: Superman Returns (IMAX 3D)

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Although the third act drags a bit, Superman Returns is a worthy successor to the Richard Donner version.

This is going to be a rough review to write... I think there will be two opposing views concerning Superman Returns and I'm extremely curious to see how this film does box office-wise after the first week. On the one hand we'll have people who are HUGE fans of the first Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve film and will absolutely love how Bryan Singer's version seems to be almost an unabashed tribute to that film. On the other hand there will be people who've been waiting for this film for years and will be disappointed by the fact that it doesn't really bring anything new or fresh to the mythos.

Review: Cars

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: As usual, a feast for the eyes and great entertainment for the entire family, although the pace may be a little slow for the younger kids.

I vote here and now that we just take the staff of Pixar and put them in charge of Hollywood. Every movie must come through them, whether it's animated or live action. No I'm not saying that all movies should be rated G... what I'm saying is that all movies should be GOOD. It's incredible to me that these guys are able to make animated cars express more emotion and make you care about the characters more than in some live action films.

I can't imagine what it's like for these guys, after every film the bar is raised higher and they have to got to meet the incredibly high expectations of moviegoers that show up for a Pixar film. Whatever the case, they continue to hit home runs film after film.

Review: Napoleon Dynamite

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Sweet! This movie has, like, almost no story, but it's flippin' hilarious! Gosh!

Napoleon Dynamite is one of those movies that you'll either love or hate. There's not too much in between. About half the people who see it will think it's a classic, and the other half will think it's one of the dumbest movies they've ever seen. I happen to think it's a classic — not because the storyline is incredibly developed (it's not), not because the movie has a ground-breaking point to make (it doesn't), but because it's one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I had a big grin on my face throughout the entire movie, and at times I was laughing so hard that I almost couldn't catch my breath. Most of the movie makes absolutely no sense, but it doesn't matter because it's so funny, and even charming at times.

The movie's tagline is "He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove" and that's quite accurate. Set in Preston, Idaho, the movie does a good job of reminding the audience how silly and pointless high school can be. Napoleon Dynamite (played by Jon Heder) is his own person; he has no need to be popular. However, that's a double-edged sword, since he's a prime target for the bullies and jocks, who give him a hard time every chance they get. As if that's not bad enough, his home life is almost worse than his school life. He and his older brother, Kip (played by Aaron Ruell), live with their grandma, but when she goes on vacation, she has their Uncle Rico (played by Jon Gries) stop by to take care of them. To say that Uncle Rico is not the sharpest tool in the shed would be an understatement.

Review: Glengarry Glen Ross

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: This movie has one of the finest casts imaginable... what a joy to watch them work together. And unlike most movies that come out of Hollywood, this one actually has a point to make. Only an abundance of profanity and weak direction detracted from my enjoyment of this movie.

It could be said that 1992 was Al Pacino's year. He appeared in Glengarry Glen Ross, which got him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in Scent of a Woman, for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. In addition to all that, he became the first actor in movie history to be nominated for two acting awards from two different movies in the same year. (Jamie Foxx would become the second actor to accomplish that 12 years later.) I've always had mixed feelings about Pacino. In his early years, Pacino was taken very seriously as an actor, and his film roles reflected that. However, since the late 80's, it seems like most of his roles have been caricatures. His trademark style is to let loose with a buggy-eyed, profanity-laden tirade; in some of his movies, that's about all he does. Sadly, the number of movies that choose to explore the quiet, pensive side that allows him to really shine as an actor are few and far between, but Glengarry Glen Ross happens to be one of them. Oh, don't get me wrong; he still does plenty of profanity-laden, top-of-his-lungs ranting, but there's enough variety in his character to make his Oscar nomination well-deserved. However, I want to note for the record that I think Jack Lemmon's Oscar snub should have been declared a crime against humanity. More on that later...

Review: Batman Begins

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Chris Nolan has brought us a vision of Batman that feels real, true, and yes, even plausible.

The word that popped into my head most often during the awesome experience that is Batman Begins was:

Wow.

Folks, you can forget Joel Schumacher's DOA version of Batman... heck, in this reviewer's opinion you can even forget Tim Burton's. This is the real deal, and not just for fans of The Dark Knight, either. This movie works as both superhero flick and as a bonafide drama. Chris Nolan (director) and David Goyer (story and co-writer of the screenplay) have brought us (for the first time outside a comic book) a vision of Batman that feels real, true, and yes, even plausible.

Batman Begins opens directly into a red sky teeming with bats off in the distance, briefly forming into a vague Batman logo. That's it for opening credits, and we're on to what doesn't seem like a superhero movie at all, with a young (9 years old or so) Bruce Wayne playing on the grounds of Wayne Manor with a young girl, chasing each other over what turns out to be an Indian arrowhead. Almost immediately Bruce falls into the opening that leads to the huge underground cavern under the property and the girl (Rachel, who appears in the movie later) runs off to alert his father, who rescues Bruce from the bottom of the well.

Review: Unleashed

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: A surprisingly dramatic martial arts film.

Some may accuse me of being overly picky when it comes to movies, but I also know when to step back and look at something within the context of it's genre. I've read a couple of excerpts of reviews of Unleashed that use words like "ludicrous" and "preposterous" to describe the film. You want to talk picky? Go bother those guys.

Me, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Of course I went in expecting to see some cool martial arts fight scenes. What I didn't expect to see was actual drama and a great performance by Jet Li. I think the issue that some people might have with Unleashed is the fact that it straddles two (or more) movie styles instead of fitting squarely into just one category of film.

Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Who knew Charlie Kaufman could write a compelling love story? Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are perfectly cast in this movie, and Winslet's Oscar nomination was well-deserved. The writing, direction and acting are all top-notch.

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.

— Alexander Pope, from his poem Eloisa to Abelard

First of all, there's an admission I need to make. Historically, I haven't really liked Charlie Kaufman's work. Don't get me wrong; I like movies that make me think, I like movies that defy convention, I like twisted movies and I like thoughtful, well-written dialogue. Kaufman does well on all counts, but for whatever reason, I have never really "gotten" his style of writing. I hated Being John Malkovich so much that I had to stop about halfway through the movie. Original? Yes, but I didn't get it. I had no need to see Adaptation; it didn't appeal to me in the least. But this movie did. I was a little reluctant to see it in the theater because I knew it was going to be a mind trip (and trust me, it is). But by the time it made it to DVD, I knew I had to see it, and I have to admit, I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Review: The Polar Express

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: An instant classic that illustrates what the true spirit of Christmas is all about (from a secular perspective anyway). The graphics and the script are top-notch. See it on an IMAX screen if you can, but just go see it.

For nearly 20 years, one of my Christmas traditions has been to watch A Christmas Story. That movie is on my short list of Christmas classics, right alongside the 1966 animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This year, with the release of Elf on DVD and The Polar Express in theaters, my short list has grown by two movies. Quite honestly, I have been very surprised by all the negative reactions to this movie, mostly centering around the computer graphics and an overall tone that lacks the warm, jolly tone you typically expect from holiday movies. Personally, I thought the computer graphics were excellent. In fact, they helped to tell the story in a way that probably wouldn't have been possible with live actors and sets.

Review: The Incredibles

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: A great, fun family film, but not quite as endearing as previous Pixar movies.

The Incredibles is the long anticipated film from the geniuses over at Pixar Animation. I'd been looking forward to this for a long time, and perhaps I'd seen one too many commercials because it didn't quite measure up to the likes of Finding Nemo and Toy Story.

The world is populated by many superheroes, saving the day whenever required. The most well known of these heroes is Mr. Incredible, who posseses super-strength, and is on the cover of many magazines and is making TV appearances due to his popularity. He's drives a car that transforms from mild mannered sedan to tricked out sportscar at the push of a button, and he's the type of guy who will stop to rescue a cat from a tree while on the way to catch getaway bankrobbers (who, of course, he catches as well).

A young kid who has no superpowers tries to tag along as his partner, but Mr. Incredible states repeatedly that he works alone. Junior does have a knack for inventing gizmos as demonstrated by the jet boots he uses to fly around. Still, it's no go as far as the big guy is concerned, and it's pretty obvious this will come back to haunt our hero.

Review: FahrenHYPE 9/11

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

The short version: If you're looking for an accurate rebuttal to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, this short and sweet (if dry) documentary is for you.

FahrenHYPE 9/11 is Dick Morris' response to Michael Moore's pseudo-documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Morris, he managed Bill Clinton's successful bid for the Presidency in 1996, and has been a close associate of the Clintons for over 20 years. He has a long history as a (successful) political consultant and most recently writes a column for the New York Post and appears regularly on FOX news as a commentator. (Click on the image to rent it from Netflix)

In contrast to the over the top style of Fahrenheit 9/11, with it's splashy graphics, animation, and sarcastic voiceover, FahrenHYPE 9/11 is much more of a traditional (read: dry) documentary. It won't win points for production values, fancy direction or musical score, but it does state facts... which last time I checked is what a documentary is supposed to do.

There are interviews with a number of people who have done extensive research both on the items brought up in Moore's film as well as on the Iraq situation (before and after the war) and terrorism in general. Liberals will no doubt want to toss out anything said by Ann Coulter, but among other interviewees are the likes of Ed Koch, former mayor of NYC, and on the non-expert side are people who were highlighted in Moore's film... without their permission.

Review: Star Wars Trilogy DVD

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4 out of 5

The short version: There aren't a ton of extras here, and purists will be annoyed by George Lucas' changes, but picture and audio is excellent and you'll finally have these on DVD.

Well, after all my bellyaching about how Lucas went and ruined a good thing by fixing what wasn't broke, I decided to make the plunge and buy the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set. Overall, I am very happy with the movies (hey, it's Star Wars after all!), but I have quite a few "nitpicky" things I want to point out here. This review is not so much of the movies themselves, since the movies have been reviewed to death elsewhere. This is more of a commentary on what's there and what's not there. Since I never saw the "Special Editions" of the movies that were released in 1997, I may be giving commentary on content that has existed for years without realizing it, so bear with me.

The first thing that surprised me about this DVD set was the lack of extras. Compare this to the collector's edition DVD's of Pulp Fiction or Jackie Brown, or the Extreme DVD version of Terminator 2, and you'll see what I mean. There is commentary on each movie disc, but that's it. There is a fourth "extras" DVD that has a fairly lengthy behind-the-scenes documentary and some old trailers, but nearly everything else appears to be a plug for an upcoming movie or video game. Nearly every featurette on the "extras" DVD shows either a bunch of losers dressed up as Star Wars characters or a bunch of directors talking about how George Lucas is bigger than God. Ultimately, the extras were a bit of a letdown.

Now for the movies themselves...

Review: Spoorloos (The Vanishing)

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: If you're looking for excellent character development with a healthy dose of disturbing creepiness, don't miss this one.

I ended up seeing the original version of The Vanishing because I had heard from several people that it was one of the scariest movies ever made. After seeing it, I didn't find it extremely scary, but it was quite disturbing. (There is a distinct difference.)

I haven't seen the 1993 remake that stars Jeff Bridges, and I don't plan to see it anytime soon. In my experience, remakes are seldom better than the original, although I really liked the remake of The Ring. Directed by George Sluizer (as was the 1993 remake) and based on Tim Krabbé's novel The Golden Egg, this Dutch/French import from 1988 has similar pacing to many of the foreign films I have seen. It starts out very slow, almost boring, then it slowly picks up the pace until it avalanches into an ending that will leave you feeling like you just got run over by a big rig.

Review: House of Sand and Fog

By Brian Rentschler

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: Mostly overlooked by audiences, this movie is very well done, and worth seeing.

As I'm sure most of you have already figured out, House of Sand and Fog is not for everyone. This is not a happy movie that the whole family will enjoy watching. It has some points to make, and it makes them in a gritty, unapologetic way. However, if you prefer well-made, intelligent movies, this one is worth checking out.

What frustrated me the most about this movie was how badly marketed it was. I don't know if that was deliberate, but somehow this movie didn't seem marketed for the masses. It almost seemed like it was being aimed directly at the Oscars. (It was nominated for three Oscars, but it didn't win any of them.) For starters, the movie is based on the book of the same name by André Dubus III. I know it's traditional to keep the name, but in this case, couldn't an exception have been made? The title is booooring. And all the trailers and previews I saw conveyed only one thing -- people arguing over a house. Well, stop the presses! I know I can't resist a good story about people arguing over a house. Obviously, the movie is far more complicated than that, but Dreamworks sure didn't seem to do a very good job of making that clear to the general masses. Another frustrating thing was the fact that the movie never makes it clear when this story takes place. It turns out that the story takes place a few years after the Iranian Revolution (which started in 1979), so it's probably set in the early or mid 1980's. It would have been helpful to reinforce that fact, especially considering the nature of some of the plot points.

Review: The Bourne Supremacy

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: If you enjoyed The Bourne Identity you'll enjoy this worthy sequel, that except for some overly jumpy camera work and editing, delivers.

In my earlier review of The Bourne Identity, I stated that The Bourne Supremacy had a lot to live up to due to the prior film's excellence.

I'm here to tell you that it didn't disappoint.

Except for a new director, it's pretty much the same team at work here as in the first film, and there's a sense of that here... like everyone has gotten to know the characters and this world, and it's all become second nature to them.

Review: Shrek 2

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: A witty followup to the original film that while very funny, contains a few scenes that are inappropriate for kids and could have been left on the cutting room floor.

Well, you know how you look forward to a sequel to a really great movie while at the same time dreading it? You can rest easy, Shrek 2 was great (with a few caveats for parents). You'll be laughing from the first five minutes.

The best thing a sequel can do is to take the same characters and go in a different direction. Take the story from the original film, change it only slightly and you've got a recipe for boredom. For an example, look at the Lethal Weapon movies. First one was great (for what it was). Second one wasn't bad, but then the series became formulaic (Hey, it worked once, didn't it?) and went down the tubes.

In the original Shrek, Dreamworks took aim at the classic Disney stories and characters with broad strokes... poking good-spirited fun at them. Been there, done that. It's funny once, but if it was repeated here in the same way it would have gotten old fast. In Shrek 2, they've pulled in references to other well-known films with a nudge and a wink, and it's great for bringing either just a grin to your face or a hearty laugh out of you.

Review: Kill Bill Vol.2

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: Sure, it's gory, but if you're old enough to be a fan of 70's kung fu movies you'll revel in this tribute.

Quentin Tarantino may be a weird, obnoxious person, but I have to say this: The man is genius when it comes to film.

A lot of people complained when the decision was made to split the original single film into two separate films. Financially, this was brilliant, instantly doubling the box office take. After seeing both movies, it made sense on a cinematic level as well.

The two films complement each other and balance each other out. Yin and Yang, Tarantino might say. The first film had a frenzied pace... made you feel like you were on some wild rollercoaster ride, while the second film is slower, replacing the frenzy with tension.

I've decided that I'm a fan of non-linear films. Opening the first film with the wedding massacre and then flashing back much later on to what led up to it felt great. It was kind of agonizing to watch Uma and David Carradine in their molasses-slow dialog, knowing what was to come.

Review: The Passion of the Christ

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: A brutal, moving, and eye opening depiction of what Jesus endured to pay for our sins, which could have used some time depicting WHY he was persecuted.

Let me start by saying that I don't think this is going to be an objective review. If this were a trial instead of a movie, I would not be selected as a member of the jury because I took in all the pre-release news and hysteria full-force, thus influencing my viewing of the film.

Secondly, if you have children under 10 years old, DO NOT BRING THEM TO THIS MOVIE. Is that clear enough for you? And if you have young teens, screen it first by yourself.

I went in braced for excruciating violence and gore (to which I am no stranger, from my younger days as a slasher movie fan), as well as prepared to render my opinion on whether this was an anti-Semitic film (which I thought it wouldn't be).

The last bit of subjectivity comes from the fact that yes, I am a Christian, so it's hard for me to imagine watching this movie as an atheist/agnostic/pet-rock-worshipper or whatever (so, are you offended yet?).

Before this starts reading like a Harry Knowles review, let me get to it...

Review: Peter Pan

By Vic Holtreman

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

Short version: A magical film that is great viewing for kids and adults alike.

Imagine with me, if you can... a movie about Peter Pan in which the title role is not played by either a petite female actress or a short hairy Jewish comedian. Wouldn't that count for HUGE points right off the bat? Well in Universal's release of the new Peter Pan movie, that was just one of the things that was done right.

I didn't really know what to expect when I sat down to see this film. I went and checked out ScreenIt.com's review of the film from a parent's viewpoint, and decided to take my 7 year old daughter to see it. I'm very careful with what I let her watch and had been concerned that it might be too intense for her despite the PG rating. (I have about as much faith in the MPAA's ratings these days as I do in the government's ability to spend taxpayer money wisely, but that's a whole 'nother rant.)