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admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:02:33 +0000

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Michigan Welcomes Aspiring Filmmakers With Film Festivals

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:56:04 +0000

Michigan may be best known for its auto industry, its college football teams, and its contributions to the art of office-furniture manufacture. The fact is, though, that this mitten-shaped Upper Midwestern state has made great contributions to American arts and culture-and all sorts of positive signs, from the growth of downtown Grand Rapids to the sudden explosion in Detroit-based visual arts, suggest that Michigan plans to remain one of the cultural capitals of the United States.

And that place is well-earned. After all, this is the state where Motown Records was founded, where punk rock pioneer Iggy Pop, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, and author Nelson Algren hail from, where the classic Anatomy of a Murder was filmed, and where Ernest Hemingway set his first published story. Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Gilda Radner, and Lily Tomlin were all born here, Elmore Leonard calls the state home, and Sufjan Stevens made his name as the leader of West Michigan-based band Marzuki.

Michigan has an important place in film history, too. It provides backdrop for such films as The Evil Dead, Four Brothers, Grosse Pointe Blank, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, RoboCop, and 8 Mile. A recent bill enacted by the Michigan legislature ensures that the Wolverine State will continue attracting quality film productions, luring famous and unknown film artists alike with a forty-percent across-the-board refundable tax credit, a loan program, and other goodies. (A complete list and application are available from the Michigan Film Office.) This incentives package, coupled with the state’s unique geographic diversity that allows it to “stand in” for many kinds of locations (urban, mountainous, forested, coastal), makes Michigan one of the most attractive possible shooting locations in the United States. But filmmakers should also note the state’s lively film-festival calendar-a mere sampling of which is provided below.

In the Detroit area alone, we have a plethora. Royal Oak offers the results of the innovative 48 Hour Film Project every July, after teams of Detroit-area filmmakers spend a forty-eight hour period writing, shooting, editing and scoring an entire film, using just a prop, line of dialogue, character, and genre which must be included in the film. Similar projects are done in fifty-four other cities from around the world, and Detroit’s version features robust participation from area filmmakers.

And in December there’s Dearborn’s Annual Arab Film Festival, hosted by the Arab American National Museum. Given the impact that filmmakers from Arab cultures have had on the art form in recent years-Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami is regularly acclaimed as one of the great artists of world cinema, and films from the region are often cited as influences by such directors as Werner Herzog and Michael Haneke-this is one festival not to miss, since today’s Arab film festival entry may be tomorrow’s influential new classic.

Other possibilities for the discerning Michigan cineaste include the long-running Ann Arbor Film Festival. The lower-Michigan city of Ann Arbor is something of a regional cultural capital-it supports one of the world’s best research universities in the University of Michigan, and it has all the bookstores and museums you’d expect of such a place-so it’s no surprise that it’s also the home of one of the oldest, best-established, and most vital film festivals in the country, which continues to attract artistic experimenters from all over the world. Early work by Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Andy Warhol, and Gus Van Sant, among others, has appeared at this festival (one of Variety’s top ten “Festivals We Love”); it’s the place to catch works by tomorrow’s trendsetting young film directors-today.

For filmmakers and their personnel visiting any of the above festivals (and many more every year in places such as Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Mt. Pleasant), the state offers an excellent transit infrastructure experienced in handling film and television productions. For example, Checker Sedan-the company that most recently handled transportation for SuperBowl XL, and the official transportation provider for the Detroit Metro Airport-has years of experience in dropping off dailies, picking up stars, and every other kind of work associated with film and television production.

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Soave Enterprises is a privately held, Detroit-based company with holdings in dozens of companies. Its substantial financial and managerial resources bring strength to these entities. For more information, please visit http://www.soave.com

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Deep Blue Sea [1999] [DVD]

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:18:23 +0000

Deep Blue Sea [1999] [DVD] ‘Aliens’ in a bath tub! Great fun! – P. WELLS – UK
Expect nothing ‘deep’ about Deep Blue Sea, and you’re on to a winner. This movie has everything you could want from a mindless popcorn movie and rattles along at an effortless pace. The ideas are absurd, there are some outrageously cheesy one-liners, and the effects act the cast off the screen. It’s genre perfection.
I was having doubts about buying this after reading quite a few poor reviews. I then saw it cheap at a local store and was actually tempted for a while, i still had thought about liking it because i love shark films:) I’d say it shares slight similararity to jaws and it actually is as good as jaws (my opinion). I didnt watch the whole thing properly but i was pleased with the bits i did see. But i will say this is one enjoyable MOVIE, not just some entertainment thing, but actually a good film. :

Renny Harlin’s first feature since The Long Kiss Goodnight reinvents the rampaging shark movie for the digital age. Echoing Alien and Deep Rising, a typically motley crew is trapped and terrorised in a remote ocean research station incapacitated by storms. Saffron Burrows’ scientist has devised a means of using shark brain-tissue to fight Alzheimer’s Disease, but it has the unfortunate side effect of increasing by fivefold the intelligence of the station’s three test sharks. Once the sharks escape captivity, their captors become prey and Burrows, along with Thomas Jane’s diver and corporate sponsor Samuel L. Jackson, are pursued through the station’s maze of corridors. LL Cool J also appears as the most unlikely action-movie chef since Steven Seagal in Under Siege, chanting Biblical passages to his pet parrot and choosing the perfect omelette recipe as his message for posterity.
As the bizarre premise indicates, this is not a film for those seeking great acting or rich narrative complexities, but it does deliver action and effects in abundance, particularly with the state-of-the-art computer-generated sharks themselves. While they’ll never attain the iconic status of Bruce in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (still the granddaddy of all screen sharks), Harlin’s swift predators are clever enough to open doors and operate an oven. As the water level rises, Burrows indulges in some Sigourney Weaver-in-Alien-style disrobing, there is one of the great surprise-death scenes, shocking and funny in equal measure, and all concerned keep their tongues firmly in cheek. This DVD version also features commentaries from Harlin and Jackson, deleted scenes, a “making of” feature and a documentary on sharks. –Steve Napleton

With a voracious trio of mako sharks wreaking havoc, Deep Blue Sea dares to up the ante on Jaws, but director Renny Harlin trades the nuanced suspense of Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster for the trickery of the digital age. In other words, why build genuine terror when you can show ill-fated humans getting torn into bloody chunks? The aforementioned makos have been lab rats in an effort to harvest a miracle cure for Alzheimer’s disease from the brains of sharks, but the research has an unfortunate side effect: the sharks get smarter, and they are determined to break out of Aquatica, the deep-sea complex where they’ve been penned.

Model-actress Saffron Burrows plays the researcher; Thomas Jane pulls double-duty as shark expert and action hunk; Samuel L. Jackson’s the corporate sponsor who chooses the worst time for an Aquatica tour; and rapper LL Cool J is nicely cast as Aquatica’s cook and comic relief. Michael Rapaport, Jacqueline McKenzie and Stellan Skarsgård round out the cast, most of whom are turned into shark food as the makos turn Aquatica into a floating junkyard. Harlin takes devilish pleasure in providing sudden, unexpected shocks–no small feat in such a derivative thriller–and as a series of action set-pieces, Deep Blue Sea never disappoints. It is inevitable that Burrows should end up in her underwear like Sigourney Weaver in Alien, but even then the movie offers a credible reason for the strip-down; that Deep Blue Sea can be simultaneously ridiculous and sensible is just another one of its shlocky charms. –Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com Deep Blue Sea [1999] [DVD]

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Dumbo [DVD]

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:28:12 +0000

Dumbo [DVD] This is just another very good Disney DVD film, which now I bought for my granddaughter. I enjoyed it as much as I rememeber I did the first time I watched it. I did not realise that, as many other Disney films, it has scenes that are either scary or upsetting for little children. So, I would say children younger than 4 should watch it with their parents. : A Disney “classic” that actually is a classic, Dumbo should be part of your video collection whether or not you have children. The storytelling was never as lean as in Dumbo, the songs rarely as haunting (or just plain weird), the characters rarely so well defined. The film pits the “cold, cruel, heartless” world that can’t accept abnormality against a plucky, and mute, hero. Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo is a mean-spirited nickname) is ostracized from the circus pack shortly after his delivery by the stork because of his big ears. His mother sticks up for him and is shackled. He’s jeered by children (an insightful scene has one boy poking fun at Dumbo’s ears, even though the youngster’s ears are also ungainly), used by the circus folk, and demoted to appearing with the clowns. Only the decent Timothy Q. Mouse looks out for the little guy. Concerns about the un-PC “Jim Crow” crows, who mock Dumbo with the wonderful “When I See an Elephant Fly,” should be moderated by remembering that the crows are the only social group in the film who act kindly to the little outcast. If you don’t mist up during the “Baby Mine” scene, you may be legally pronounced dead. –Keith Simanton Dumbo [DVD]

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Into the Wild – The Book and Feature Film About Christopher McCandless

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:28:24 +0000

Into the Wild is the best-selling non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer. Telling the story of Christopher McCandless, a young wanderer and adventurer who succumbed to starvation and died in the Alaskan wilderness, the book spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list when it was first published in 1996.

On September 21st, the movie directed by Sean Penn and based upon Into the Wild will be released. It’s already receiving stellar reviews from the film festival circuit and I suspect that the movie will impact people in the same way that the book did. The story of Chris McCandless is simultaneously tragic, dumb-founding, irritating and passionately moving.

I ‘m a big fan of Jon Krakauer and its primarily because of this book, Into the Wild, and his other book, Into Thin Air, about the ill-fated Everest expedition in 1996 that turned into a total disaster. All of his books are excellent, but Into the Wild is definitely my favorite book of the bunch and also the first book I read by him. Into Thin Air is brilliant as well, but Into the Wild really guts me. The movie trailer for Into the Wild has an incredible effect on me as well. So far it’s made me cry every time I watch it. It gives me shivers. I’ve never been crazy about the other films directed by Sean Penn, they are kind of dreary, but I am really looking forward to this one.

Since the story behind it is just one of those things that grabs people, I expect it will be one of those movies that people talk about. The book itself spent two years on the bestseller list and it really is just an incredible and heart-breaking story — and also tends to be controversial since people have such markedly different opinions about Chris and his decisions — was he a fool or a visionary? My personal opinion is that he was both and I don’t think I’m alone in thinking so.

If you’ve never read the book, I highly recommend it. Regardless of how you feel about Christopher McCandless when you come away from it, Krakauer is an absolutely gripping storyteller.

For complete coverage of Into the Wild, including the book by Jon Krakauer and the film by Sean Penn, please visit the Christopher McCandless site.

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Dr. No [DVD] [1962]

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:52:09 +0000

Dr. No [DVD] [1962] The beginning of a Legend – Siamese – Azores, Portugal
The first entry in the decades long successful James Bond franchise seems irrevocably dated in its aesthetics and style of filmmaking. Nevertheless, this is indeed where it all started as several of the standards that were to recur in the series were already here: the Bond/M scene in London, an airplane flight to an exotic location, the Bond girls (two good, one bad), a loyal local contact to show 007 around before he gets killed, many unusual attempts to assassinate Bond, an inscrutable villain owning a hidden HQ soon to be blown up in colourful pyrotechnics and so forth.
Even though it’s well made considering the budget limitations, ‘Dr. No’ seems to go in two directions, the first half being a detective thriller and the second a rather naive and occasionally poor science fiction movie typical of the late 50s and early 60s. Sean Connery holds it all together brilliantly and he portrays James Bond as a tough, cold and merciless killer – just look at how he kills Dent -, a characteristic that would be subdued in the subsequent films.
The restored print included in this ultimate edition is so good it feels like the film was finished only a few months ago. The remaining extras are not sensational, but the film itself is worth its purchase so go for it!

MASTER PLAN: sabotage America’s space program. Way back when, the wicked humor was already evident, indoctrinating us into a new style of mayhem and violence. Three blind mice, it sings over the credits, after the now-familiar gun-barrel opening shot. These are three blind men, or so it seems, tragically comical as they make their way along; but, we’re in for a rude awakening – they are actually ruthless assassins. We’re rarely prepared for such plot turns in a Bond thriller, even now, and back then, this being the first one, it must have been fairly shocking. Especially brutal is the murder of the female – this was no way to treat a lady back then. Of course, other ladies in this pic behaved somewhat differently than viewers were accustomed to back in the early sixties. Then Bond himself is introduced (on his home ground of England) – a classic for the ages, as if the filmmakers knew he would still be thrilling us on film four decades later. Maybe they did. Then the 1st appearances of M (male for the next 30 years or so) and Moneypenny, and we’re off and running, for 45 years and counting. Even the Q dept. shows up in M’s office, but he’s not called Q, yet (M refers to him as ‘Armourer’); and, a different actor would take over in the next 15 or so Bonders. The repartee here would be revisited in most of the subsequent films and is very enjoyable. Later, we and Bond meet Leiter, Bond’s CIA liaison, even though this was redone in the new “Casino Royale” version in 2006.

Bond’s first mission on film (not counting the TV “Casino Royale” back in ‘54) was to Jamaica, where a local agent and his secretary have disappeared. As such, this first one had less scope than the epic adventures dominating the later sixties and onward, where the formula always entailed about three different locations scattered across the globe; Bond stayed in the Jamaica area for this entire mission. And, for most of the film, he was engaged in almost pure detective work, a skill which many feel was subsumed under gadgetry and huge sets as the film series went on. I suppose this can be viewed as a trade off when the budgets became much bigger. But here, Connery as Bond had to command our attention through his powers of observation, training and natural cunning. Bond is a target as soon as he arrives at the new locale and must avoid such dangers as assassination attempts by being pro-active: he anticipates the bad guys, obviously due to years of experience. Connery proves to be the best Bond right off the bat: you can see him out-thinking the villains scene to scene and he’s arrogant enough to allow himself some self-knowing smirking as he foils their lethal plans over & over, yet it’s not over the top; in fact, it can be quite chilling – Bond proves to be just as ruthless as the villains, a type of hero audiences were not, again, used to (Dirty Harry copied this attitude in the States almost a decade later). But, we cheer him on, knowing that if he was any nicer, he’d probably be terminated halfway thru the story. And, the arrogance – some of this just makes us shake our heads: near the end, when Bond is captured, he’s still issuing orders to his captors (check out that scene just before the decontamination). No wonder Bond wins at everything.

The epic, fantastic elements the film series is known for do not enter the picture here until the 2nd hour begins, involving such concepts as radioactivity and guidance rocket systems. Bond finally meets his main Bond girl, Ms. Ryder, coming out of the blue or out of the sea, take your pick. She is stunning, no doubt, and lends to this air of the unexpected, with some unusual character traits. The main villain of the title and his awesome lair are not shown until even later – such large elements were given more exposure in many of the later films. This is all calculated to string the audience along in terms of suspense (we do hear Dr.No’s ominous voice in an earlier scene) and then, hopefully, fulfill their expectations with some grand reveals. Dr.No is the first of the wealthy, genius-level megalomaniacs to plague Bond in the film series, suitably larger-than-life and almost godlike (but serving dark gods). He’s created his own world and seems serene in his near-omnipotence, which also may suggest over confidence. This may be why Bond’s escape (via an air duct) to cause trouble in the final minutes appears to be a gross oversight for such a master villain. Well, Dr.No spells it out (’You are just a stupid policeman’): master villains tended to underestimate Bond in many of the films. Bond may also pique such villains curiosity – it may be reasonable to assume his ruthlessness is a trait they need to examine for a brief, crucial time. By the way, SPECTRE is first mentioned, being the organization Dr.No serves, so it does suggest a series of films from the get go. Bond would return in “From Russia With Love.” Would Dr.No? Bond:10 Villain:9 Femme Fatales:9 Henchmen:6 Leiter:8 Fights:8 Stunts/Chases:7 Gadgets:5 Auto:6 Locations:8 Pace:9 overall:8 : Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie remains one of the best and serves as an entertaining reminder that the Bond series began (in keeping with Ian Fleming’s novels) with a surprising lack of gadgetry and big-budget fireworks. Sean Connery was just 32 years old when he won the role of Agent 007. In his first adventure James Bond is called to Jamaica where a colleague and secretary have been mysteriously killed. With an American CIA agent (Jack Lord, pre-Hawaii Five-O), they discover that the nefarious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) is scheming to blackmail the US government with a device capable of deflecting and destroying US rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. Of course, Bond takes time off from his exploits to enjoy the company of a few gorgeous women, including the bikini-clad Ursula Andress. She gloriously kicks off the long-standing tradition of Bond women who know how to please their favourite secret agent. A sexist anachronism? Maybe, but this is Bond at his purest, kicking off a series of movies that shows no sign of slowing down. –Jeff Shannon
Edition details

Inside Dr. No (PG)
Terence Young: Bond Vivant
Audio commentary featuring director Terence Young and members of the cast and crew
1963 Dr No “featurette”
Dr. No gallery of pictures
Radio advertising
Trailers for Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger
Goldfinger and Dr. No TV advertising

On the DVD: “He was James Bond,” remarks several interviewees of the late Terence Young, the suave, globetrotting, hard-living director who played a major role in defining the look, humour and tailoring of the Bond movies, making the extras on this DVD something of a cinematic festschrift to his talents. Since this was the first film in the franchise, the “making of” featurette goes into some detail about the Ian Fleming novels and how Sean Connery came to be cast, and made-over, by Young. The featurette also has excerpts from one Young’s last interviews, spliced together with observations from his daughter, Ursula Andress (Honey Rider) and many of the other actors, production-designer Ken Adam, composer Monty Norman and host of other talents who took part in the making of the film. Many of their quotes are integrated into the commentary track. Also included is an amusing black and white doc from 1963 narrated by a podgy guy with specs who appears to be cousin of Harry Enfield’s Mr. Cholmondley-Warner. –Leslie Felperin Dr. No [DVD] [1962]

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Lethal Weapon Movie Review

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:20:10 +0000

Along with the Die Hard series, “Lethal Weapon” has to be one of the seminal big budget Hollywood action films of the 1980’s, if not ever. Numerous sequels followed to both franchises, and some of those sequels are quite decent, but both original entries to both franchises are spectacular films in their own right and impossible to top. “Lethal Weapon” is the quintessential cop-buddy film, with the older, stable family man in Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and the unstable, suicidal, but ultimately lovable and sharp younger man in Sergeant Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson). The two of them together are quite the odd couple, but they ultimately overcome their differences to tackle a big drug operation run by some powerful (and not just physically) ex-army mercenaries who are hell bent on destroying anyone that tries to stop them. It’s big, it’s noisy, has some humour, some great action and car chase scenes, and some very likable characters. “Lethal Weapon” is a great action film, a template from which many other films have followed.

The film opens quite dramatically with a call girl diving out of a high rise building to her death set to the music of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’. Sergeant Murtaugh arrives on the scene the next day and discovers that the girl was actually the daughter of one of his old war buddies. Then we’re introduced to Sergeant Riggs who puts his life on the line to bust some local drug dealers by playing a pretend buyer. It’s not long before the two of them are teamed up together, much to each other’s chagrin. As Murtaugh proceeds with his investigation, he inadvertently drags both of them in to a much bigger plot involving ex-army mercenaries who are importing heroin from Asia and selling it on the streets, making a tidy profit. After some amusing and antagonistic banter between Murtaugh and Riggs, they eventually go to work on the bad guys, but not before they kidnap Murtaugh’s daughter, which leads to the ultimate showdown.

Mel Gibson shot to superstardom in the Mad Max films, and the Lethal Weapon movies shot him to the stars with even wider acclaim and fame. He’s perfect in the title role as the man who can crack at any moment. Quite a bit of tension is built through his character, particularly in one confrontation between Murtaugh and Riggs where Murtaugh challenges Riggs to put his money where his mouth is and kill himself. In the end, Murtaugh comes to his senses, and ultimately Riggs has enough sense in him to keep going and to find his feet. Danny Glover plays Roger Murtaugh as a down-to-earth family man with genuine sincerity and who originates the phrase, “I’m getting to old for this…”

The chemistry between these two guys is very evident throughout the film and makes this action film stand out as an iconic film. This work on character extends to the quality of the villains, with Mr Joshua played by Gary Busey, and his boss, General McAllister (Mitch Ryan), providing just the right level of nastiness to give our heroes a run for their money.

On the action front, “Lethal Weapon” does not disappoint. There are a number of sequences that will impress, most of which occur in the second half of the film which begins with the assassination of Murtaugh’s friend Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins) who is working with the heroin smugglers. It goes up a notch when Murtaugh’s daughter is kidnapped, and then it’s all action until the end as the two sides engage each other with a ruthless intensity. Perhaps the standout action piece is the final fight between Riggs and Mr Joshua. A burst water pipe allows water to spray everywhere, giving the visuals a down and dirty feel as the two men engage in an old-fashioned fist fight.

As for this being a Director’s Cut edition, I didn’t think the additional scenes added much to what was already there, and to be perfectly honest, I preferred the original cut simply because it moves faster. It’s nice to see some extra scenes, but overall, this probably wasn’t necessary. I also get the impression that these added scenes are meant to be an extra in of themselves, which I have to say is no excuse for having no extras on this DVD!

“Lethal Weapon” is an iconic action film from the 80’s; it’s an entertaining action thriller with spectacular sequences and memorable characters that you will enjoy again and again.

For the complete, original DVD review, click this link: http://www.allaboutmovies.net/dvdreviewlethalweapon.htm

Alex DeMattia is the lead DVD reviewer at the film/DVD review web site All About Movies.net. He also contributes reviews and articles for the Digicosm Film Blog: http://www.filmannex.com/Digicosm

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Achtung Baby

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:19:10 +0000

u2’s high point – H. Sharp – uk
u2’s best album, a creative high point and one of the best rock albums ever made.
it sounds as fresh now as when it was released, this is u2’s “blood on the tracks” and should be in any serious music fans collection.

: Achtung Baby

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End Of Days [DVD] [1999]

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:04:14 +0000

End Of Days [DVD] [1999] Always the Amazon critique putting a movie down… – Mr. Joseph G. Black – Yorkshire, England
End of Days [HD DVD] [1999] [US Import]
End of Days, I will admit, jumped on that money making band wagon, that 1999 was going to be the end of everything….so what? Its something to look back at if anything as humourous nostalgia, the event that is. I’m going to play the optomist with this movie. I thought it was quite good, yes it took a slapping in Empire Magazine, amongst others, but, why can’t people just enjoy the damn movie? A bad critique is as bad as someone in the movie theatre using a mobile phone, or knocking your seat. Special effects, top notch, sound track, top notch, picture quality, first class. I knew what to expect when I saw this movie, it was’nt hard to guess the outcome either, but sometimes, its easier to just shut up and stop taking life so seriously. I liked it, so there!! PS. Empire magazine apologised for the slating of Hudson Hawk, a Bruce Willis comedy from 1991, which was a superbly unique approach. The gags were fab. So, down with the critique and judge for yourself. Enjoy!!
I think this is one of Arnie’s best films – it ranks alongside the terminator films and the ones he made when he was at his acting peak – Commando and Predator. Rather than the comic book hero or the unstoppable machine, here Arnie plays a very human, very flawed man. He is full of pain, remorse and anger. He is suicidal and alcoholic. A desperate man in desperate times, searching for some kind of meaning in what he does. Arnie is not only fighting the devil in this film, but the darkness within himself – and to me, Arnie played his most vulnerable role yet. A man with nothing left in his life, and a terrible choice to make.

Gabriel Byrne is absolutely fantastic as the devil he is obviously having plently of fun, and his character flits between cheeky and menacing in a way that is both amusing and immensely powerful. Robin also plays a wide eyed, innocent role as the destined bride of satan, who is desperate to escape her destiny as the potential biggest threat to mankind ever.

But for me, it’s the struggle of good and evil between Arnie and Gabriel’s characters that capitvates and holds the screen. Arnie is a man completely burnt out and doesn’t fear death or the idea of going to hell, for he has been living in hell for a long, long time. He is driven to save Christine because finally he finds that meaning in his life, and at the end of the film, redeems himself and is finally complete again.

It’s a great film, full of explosive effects, great acting turns and stella performances. Definitely worth a four out of five! : After a two-year hiatus that included recovery from heart surgery, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the big screen at the end of 1999 with End of Days, a Christmas turkey if ever there was one. Overcooked and bloated with stuffing, this ludicrous thriller attached itself to the end-of-the-millennium furore. The prologue begins in 1979 with panic in the Vatican when a comet signals the birth of a child who will, 20 years later, become the chosen bride of Satan, destined to conceive the devil’s spawn between 11 p.m. and midnight on December 31, 1999. It’s hard to decide who has the more thankless role–Robin Tunney as Satan’s would-be bride, or Schwarzenegger as Jericho Cane, the burned-out alcoholic bodyguard assigned to protect the girl from Satan, billed as “The Man” and played with cheesy menace (and an inconsistent variety of metaphysical manifestations) by Gabriel Byrne.

With kitsch character names like Jericho and Chicago (Arnie’s partner, played by Kevin Pollack) and lapses in logic that any five-year-old could spot, End of Days is a loud, aggravating movie that would be entertaining if it were intended as comedy. But Schwarzenegger and director Peter Hyams approach the story as an earnest tale of redemption and tested faith, delivering a ridiculous climax full of special effects and devoid of dramatic impact. You’re left instead to savour the verbal and physical sparring between Satan and Jericho, resulting in the most thorough pummelling Schwarzenegger’s ever endured on screen. Of course he eventually gets his payback, just in time for New Year’s Eve. Perhaps he was touched by an angel? –Jeff Shannon End Of Days [DVD] [1999]

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Ghost Whisperer – Series 4 – Complete [DVD] [2009]

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:13:18 +0000

Ghost Whisperer – Series 4 – Complete [DVD] [2009] I don’t understand what all the complaining is about this. It is not only a great series, but the best one so far.
FANTASTIC. BUY BUY BUY : An effective supernatural thriller, Ghost Whisperer–here in its fourth season–once more stars Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon. Melinda, as you may know, doesn’t have the easiest of lives, seeing as she’s able to communicate with ghosts. She uses this skill to help them pass over properly, closing off the mysteries and loose ends of their lives. And there are plenty to deal with.

Season four of Ghost Whisperer, which runs to 23 episodes, finds Melinda facing many tumultuous problems of her own, as she finds her own life turned upside down. While she addresses that, she also has to help out a ghost who’s struggling to cross over, a teenager with vampire desires and a ghost causing havoc at a nursery.

The episodes stand alone here well, and even at its weakest, Ghost Whisperer does offer a solid episode of entertainment. But it’s regularly more than that, and even though this isn’t the strongest season of the show, there’s little doubt that you get your money’s worth here. Furthermore, Love Hewitt is excellent in the title role, and she helps paper over some of the narrative cracks. It’s still a fun show, and a warmly recommended thriller. –Jon Foster Ghost Whisperer – Series 4 – Complete [DVD] [2009]