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Most Recent Movie Reviews:
review archive: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008
(click a poster to purchase a poster)
Movie Review of Street Kings (2008) [R] 109 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.25
It would be tempting however cliché to write voluminously about how Street Kings is no Training Day. Of course it's not, nor should it be. The two films do share a common creation pedigree of sorts. The stories virtually are set in similar gangland rogue cop Los Angeles territory and feature top acting talents—though the scales would probably tip a bit more in the direction of Denzel Washington/Ethan Hawke than that of Forest Whitaker and Keanu Reeves with all due respect to Keanu fans. Street Kings begins with an introduction to a special unit within the LAPD commanded by Captain Jack Wander—his last name, perhaps, a euphemism for his respect for the rule of law in that he deviates from those nagging technicalities that he believes prevent his men from actually doing their job. You know the sorts of things like warrants, innocent until proven guilty, and Miranda rights. …continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of The Ruins (2008) [R] 91 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $4.75
Think quickly and you'll be smart enough to skip this hogwash pseudo teen horror flick. Despite the young and beautiful cast and slickly scary trailer with that awesome sound effect that reverberates through one's bones, um, this film couldn't possible be more ineffectual in its aims if its goals were to thrill, chill, and entertain that is rather its bore, snore, and needless gore. Theoretically, the premise is kind of good though it violates an awful lot of rules. A group of four [note: violates rule #1 of good horror films: you need at least 6 young people 17-23 preferably 4 women and 2 men otherwise once you kill off one, what's left?] college kids vacationing in Mexico get invited by a suspicious dude named Mathias (Joe Anderson) to go the next day to see a cool Mayan ruin that's off the tourist map [note: violates rule #1 of vacationing in a foreign country: don't go to places off the tourist map, there's a tourist map for a reason].…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of Nim's Island (2008) [PG] 95 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $8.25
Don't be fooled by the preview for Nim's Island as this film might look like a magical and wondrous children's story, when in fact, it's more like Home Alone meets "Survivor: Vanuatu" collides with "LOST". The film, co-directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin (who also co-wrote), starts out with an depressing animated tale of a young girl's marine biologist mother getting devoured by a whale and lost forever at sea. Her father, Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler) then raises Nim (Abigail Breslin) alone on a deserted 'dreamy' island created by a now extinct volcano somewhere in the uncharted waters of the south Pacific. He orders in supplies and somehow manages to keep the idyllic island off the radar. They live in Swiss Family Robinson-style with Nim's animal friends: a pelican, a sea lion, and a racket-making lizard. Things are swell on Nim's Island until her father needs to leave to try and find some undiscovered plankton he's been seeking out for a decade, and Nim prefers to stay back and protect the baby turtle's hatching on the beach from being devoured by crabs. He acquiesces to her demands that turns out to be a good thing for her since his ship is wrecked at sea in a surprise storm disabling his communication as well as his ability to sail home. Fortunately, for Nim, at precisely the same time, her father receives an email on their home computer from none other than her favorite adventure novelist Alex Rover (Jodie Foster) seeking information about his island she's seen in National Geographic and hoping that he can end her writer's block so she can finish her latest novel. Nim has read all of the Alex Rover novels and considers herself quite a fan of Alex Rover the superhero in the novels. Nim has no idea that the author is a woman. Via their email communications, Alexandra Rover realizes that Nim is alone on the island and decides to fight her agoraphobia and traipse halfway around the world to find and rescue a lost child. While awaiting either the return of her father or the arrival of Alex Rover, a cruise ship of Australian tourists is set to arrive on her island for a few hours of idyllic life. Hence, defending the island becomes her top resource.…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of Leatherheads (2008) [PG-13] 114 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.00
It's pretty difficult these days to sit down and dream up the kind of movie they used to make back in the 1920s. What's kind of cool about George Clooney's Leatherheads is that, honestly, is that's exactly what's been done. Without special effects and gadgets and wizardry, using a simple story with "aw shucks" kind of values, chiseled features, and complete sass, the result represents a film that could have cozied on up to the sofa and been read aloud as a radio play. No, it's not a perfect film by any means. Still, it's important to give credit when credit is due, and it's about time somebody tried to revitalize the old-school style of filmmaking which hinged so much more on the simple things and how you feel when the film is over. …continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of Superhero Movie (2008) [PG-13] 85 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $5.50
In the tradition of Airplane! comes the spoof parody of superhero movies from writer / director Craig Mazin and featuring most of the tricks of the trade of the older school spoof parody films including the must-be-cast Leslie Nielson. Roughly following the plot of the Spider-man trilogy, Superhero Movie introduces us to the newly hatched superhero, Dragonfly (Drake Bell) formerly the mild-mannered Rick Riker. Whenever possible, references and themes from the Fantastic Four, X-men, etc. superhero films have been weaved into the over-arching Spider-man plot. The result is as effective as it is ineffective. The purpose, of course, of spoof parodies is generally uproarious comedy. Well, Superhero Movie is not that. It does have several hilarious scenes, but the overall film minus those few falls a bit flat on its face. The reasons are numerous but the most obvious is that the material isn't that fresh, and the story of course derivative and recycled—as parodies are nearly by definition. Unfortunately, Craig Mazin probably erred in his thinking about a superhero film spoof because he decided to make his hero pretty heroic. He's very likable and Drake Bell plays him a lot like Tobey Maguire portrayed his Spider-man. Because of this little problem, it's frustrating to see him flounder rather than funny.…continued…
Other Recent Reviews:
21 (2008) [PG-13] 123 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.50
Stop-Loss (2008) [R] 113 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Funny Games (2008) [R] 107 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Shutter (2008) [PG-13] 85 minutes WIP™ Scale: $8.50
Drillbit Taylor (2008) [PG-13] 102 minutes WIP™ Scale: $9.00
Doomsday (2008) [R] 105 minutes WIP™ Scale: $10.75
Never Back Down (2008) [PG-13] 110 minutes WIP™ Scale: $10.50
Horton Hears a Who (2008) [G] 88 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.75
Semi-Pro (2008) [R] 90 minutes WIP™ Scale: $6.50
10,000 B.C. (2008) [PG-13] 109 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.75
Jumper (2008) [PG-13] 90 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.75
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) [PG] 97 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.75
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008) [PG-13] 114 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Shrooms (2008) [NR] 84 minutes WIP™ Scale: $7.00
Fool's Gold (2008) [PG-13] 113 minutes WIP™ Scale: $7.25
Wild West Comedy Show (2008) [R] 100 minutes WIP™ Scale: $5.00
The Kite Runner (2007) [PG-13] 122 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.25
The Eye (2008) [PG-13] 97 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.00
Teeth (2008) [R] 88 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.50
Over Her Dead Body (2008) [PG-13] 95 minutes WIP™ Scale: $9.00
Strange Wilderness (2008) [R] 87 minutes WIP™ Scale: $3.00
How She Move (2008) [PG-13] 98 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.25
Film Premiere and Award Photo Sets
archive:2008 • 2007
Listed in Order of Publication in the mEd database not necessarily chronologically...
Film Premiere Photo Sets
Prom Night Premiere • Street Kings Premiere • The Ruins Premiere • Leatherheads Premiere • Forbidden Kingdom Premiere • Nim's Island Premiere • 21 Premiere • Stop-Loss Premiere • Never Back Down Premiere • Vantage Point Premiere • Horton Hears a Who Premiere • Semi-Pro Premiere • 10,000 B.C. Premiere • (continued)
Brand New Movie Posters Just In:
New Movie Poster Archive: 2007 / 2008 | TV Posters: 2005 2006 2007
New as of 4-April-08
Recent Movie Star Birthdays:
birthdays: last month / this month / next month / by month / alphabetically
[click star names to see tribute pages]
| 18-Mar | 14-Mar | 9-Mar | ||||||||
| Dane Cook | Chris Klein | Kerr Smith | ||||||||
(click photo to purchase) |
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| 8-Mar | 13-Feb | 12-Feb | ||||||||
| Mena Suvari | Christina Ricci | |||||||||
| (click photo to purchase) |
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| Also: Freddie Prinze Jr | Also: Josh Brolin | |||||||||
| 11-Feb | ||||||||||
| Related DVDs | Related DVDs | |||||||||
(click photo to purchase) | ||||||||||
| Also: Matthew Lawrence Burt Reynolds |  |  |
Movies Now on DVD and Download:
DVD releases: Archive / This Week / Next Week
(click poster to purchase)
Charlie Wilson's War (2007) [R]-- W.I.P. Scale™ Rating: $14.50
Review-lite: Director Mike Nichols takes Aaron Sorkin's powerful political commentary script based on the life of real Texas Congressman, Charlie Wilson, and illustrates some of the major and compelling pitfalls of the USA's overt and covert operations of the past 40 years. Starring Tome Hanks as Wilson and Julia Roberts as his funder, the film challenges us to think and reconcile our government's actions with the outcomes. Philip Seymour Hoffman helps the two out as their C.I.A. liaison in their foreign affairs work. The threesome provides not only ample comedic brilliance but also wonderful gifts in bringing out the subtleties of their characters. The result is purely astute political comedy that cannot be ignored. (click for full details and complete review) • (click to purchase Charlie Wilson's War)
(click poster to purchase)
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) [PG-13]-- W.I.P. Scale™ Rating: $14.75
Review-lite: A profoundly moving cinematic experience that derives its greatness from the simplicity of its bewildering story. A young man, lost in a curious delusion believing a life-sized doll to be his soul mate, bring about a lasting change in his small Midwestern town as to what it means to be a 'real' person. In the process, Lars (Ryan Gosling), forces everyone to confront his mental illness, and help him rediscover the true person he can be. The wonderful cast and understanding direction from Craig Gillespie who seems light years away from his direction of Mr. Woodcock, prove to make Lars and the Real Girl one of the best films of the decade, let alone year. (click for full details and complete review) • (click to purchase Lars and the Real Girl)
Also This Week:
Aliens vs Predator - Requiem • Before The Devil Knows You're Dead • December boys • I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With • Juno • War Dance
Previously Announced Available for Pre-Order:
27 Dresses • A Collection Of 2007 Academy Award®-Nominated Short Films • Cassandra's Dream • Cloverfield • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly • El Cantante • First Sunday • The Golden Compass • Grace is Gone • The Hottie and the Nottie • How She Move • Little Children • Mad Money • Nanking • National Treasure: Book of Secrets • Nina's Heavenly Delights • One Missed Call • The Orphanage • Over Her Dead Body • Rambo • The Savages • Semi-Pro • Starting Out In The Evening • Teeth • Trailer Park Boys: The Movie • Untraceable • The Walker • What Would Jesus Buy? • Youth Without Youth
Movies Coming Soon:
Dynamic Calendar Jan 2007 - Jun 2009 with links to official sites, trailers, reviews and more
Plain Calendars: 2006 / 2007 / 2008-09
Friday, 18 April
88 Minutes • Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed • Forbidden Kingdom • Forgetting Sarah Marshall • Pathology • The Rocker
in limited release only: The Life Before Her Eyes • Where in the World is Osama bin Laden
Friday, 25 April
Amusement • Baby Mama • Big Stan • Deal • Deception • Harold and Kumar 2 • The List • Roman De Gare • Standard Operating Procedure
in limited release only: none
Top 10 Hottest-Selling Movie Posters:
(source: our friends at
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
| The Dark Knight | Harold and Kumar 2 | Iron Man | Hancock |
| #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 |
| Wall-E | Indiana Jones 4 | Horton Hears a Who | Speed Racer |
| #9 | #10 | ||
| Step Brothers | Chronicles of Narnia 2 |
Movie Poster Extravaganzas:
archive
Here we honor two film series as they began and then merged into one mega film franchise: Aliens and Predators then Aliens vs. Predator with a movie poster extravaganza.
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