Movie Review: The Brave One by ME

Title: The Brave One
Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Nicky Katt, Naveen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen
Directed By: Neil Jordan
Produced By: Herb Gains, Bruce Berman, Jodie Foster
Genre: Action/Adventure and Thriller
Release Date: September 14th, 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language and some sexuality.
Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

It seems to me that Jodie Foster has been playing pretty much the same role throughout the last ten years or so. Usually either a woman with something to prove or a woman trying to protect her children. Either way there hasn't been much variation, but it doesn't hurt The Brave One much. As Erica Bain, a NYC radio show host whose fiancée is brutally beaten to death, she takes matters into her own hands to exact revenge.

Two things keep this movie from being a standard take on the revenge flick, Terrence Howard and an ending that completely throws you for a loop. First, Howard plays Detective Mercer, a straight by the books detective who befriends Bain and is working on catching the vigilante, unknowingly helping her to carry out her nightly vigilante outings by providing information. This man is going to be a huge star, after Crash and Hustle and Flow helped to get him in the mainstream, this year's The Hunting Party and The Brave One should help to cement him into the minds of the public. His portrayal of Mercer as a caring cop who still believes in the letter of the law is so believable that the twist really comes out of left field and hits you upside the head like a bag of rocks. The movie ended with applause from the packed theater. What does that tell you?

What hurts The Brave One is the aforementioned standard Jodie Foster character, a score that becomes extremely melodramatic at times and some camera tricks that make you feel like you are on the Pirate ride at your local fair. Still, The Brave One gets my approval as a decent thriller that I could see actually happening. Not many could go through what Erica Bain does without becoming bitter. What got me was I realized that it was almost dumb luck that leads her down the road to vigilantism, I can see in my mind's eye the other path. The woman who lives in fear for the rest of her life. Kudos to Erica Bain for not curling up in a corner somewhere.

Sometimes the end of a movie makes it worth seeing, The Brave One is one of those films.

Till Death Wish 6: Kersey VS. Bain,
keep reading

Mitch E
mitchemerson@hotmail.com

DVD Review: An American Werewolf in London by JR

An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Writer/Director: John Landis
Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine
Produced by: George Folsey, Peter Guber, Jon Peters
Genre: Horror/Comedy/Thriller/Werewolf

Two American tourists, Jack and David, are backpacking through England when they stop for rest at a pub in the country, the Slaughtered Lamb. The strange people at the pub are less than welcoming, and let the two young men venture back out on their own with the warning to “Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors.” Jack and David take this as normal weird behavior and take a shortcut through the moors, only to be attacked. Jack is killed and David awakens in a hospital with a few scratches. Judging by the title, I’m sure you know by now: they were attacked by a werewolf. David, since he has survived the attack, is now a werewolf himself, and will transform into the beast during the next full moon.

It’s a story we’ve all heard a thousand times, right? Especially lately with terrible renditions of the story such as “Blood and Chocolate” and “the Skinwalkers”. “An American Werewolf in London” is, in my opinion, the definitive werewolf film. I had dismissed it previously due to the poor reception of “An American Werewolf in Paris”. I’ve always associated the two and thought that if “Paris” wasn’t any good, then “London” couldn’t be good either. Ever since I had heard that “London” was the reason that the Academy Award for Best Makeup was created, I’ve wanted to see it. How could a werewolf movie possibly be this good?

The make up award is absolutely ascertained in this case. The werewolf is amazing! If they were to make this movie now, I’m sure most of the werewolf would be CGI. If not the werewolf, then for sure most of the transformation. But back in the early 80’s, this wasn’t possible. I mean, just look at the TV in Nurse Price’s apartment! And the metal box above David’s bed in the hospital with all of the little switches and lights! The entire transformation in this film is real, and it makes it that much more scary and amazing. David’s hands grow before our eyes, his sharp nails poking out from under his regular nails, the hair appearing on his back, chest and feet. And then, just when you thought that it couldn’t get any better, his face grows too. He grows a snout, just like a wolf. It’s really an awesome sight. The first transformation occurs about an hour into the movie and by this time the audience is ready for it. When it happens, it happens right before our eyes. Nothing is hidden. The werewolf is one makeup achievement in the film, the other is Jack’s makeup. Jack has been killed by the werewolf in the beginning, but he returns to David throughout the film to give him advice. He’s also dead and in “limbo” so he progressively decays. David even refers to him as a “walking meat loaf”.

Oh and the soundtrack makes the transformation scene. During this hideous transformation, the song “Blue Moon” is playing. The soundtrack is perfect for this film. Director/Writer John Landis picked the songs for the film: every one of them has the word “Moon” in the title.

“An American Werewolf In London” would be a great film without the astonishing make up effects. The dialogue is brilliant and hilarious. The banter in the opening scene with Jack and David is real and establishes a great chemistry between the two. Some of their quotes:

Jack: Do you think she'll meet me in Rome?
David: I think Debbie Klein is a mediocre person with a good body.
Jack: Debbie is not mediocre and she has one of the great bodies of all time.
David: She's a jerk.
Jack: You're talking about the woman I love.
David: I'm talking about a girl you want to fuck, so give me a break.
Jack: Well, anyway, do you think she'll be there?
David: I don't know.
Jack: [like an announcer] Rendezvous in Rome starring Jack Goodman and Debbie Klein. The love affair that shocked Europe! See torrid lovemaking at its most explicit! See Jack and Debbie expose their lust in the sacred halls of the Vatican! Never has the screen dared....
David: If you don't stop, I'm going to kill you.
Jack: I have to make love to her. It's very simple. She has no choice really.
David: It just fascinates me that you can spend so much energy on someone so dull.
Jack: There is nothing dull about that body.
David: We've known Debbie what, since the eighth grade? How many years of foreplay is that?
Jack: She says she "likes me too much".

This is just in the very beginning of the movie, there are tons more! This is truly a comedy/horror, and one of the best. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out on a classic that is still holding its own over 20 years later.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Jenny Rushing
beccajane67@yahoo.com

Movie Review: Vacancy by ME

Title: Vacancy
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry, Scott G. Anderson
Directed By: Nimrod Antal
Produced By: Brian Paschal, Stacy Cramer, Glenn Gainor
Genre: Suspense/Horror
Release Date: April 20th, 2007
MPAA Rating: R for brutal violence and terror, brief nudity and language
Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing

Vacancy is a smartly done take on the standard thriller. David and Amy Fox (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) are on their way home from an anniversary party. They take a detour and the car breaks down. Checking into a hotel that makes the Bates Motel look like your local Hilton, our heroes settle in for the night. After discovering tapes of murders taking place in the very room that they are in, they realize that they are next. David and Amy then begin the fight for their lives.

I was quite surprised by Vacancy. Choosing not to follow the genre standard of scares through cheap shots or extremely detailed gore makes this film a more palatable type of horror/thriller. Doing exactly what it sets out to do, the movie delivers thrills, chills, action, suspense and mostly great performances. Our heroes aren't stupid, you don't find yourself screaming,” Don't go in there you dumb s**t!”. They are also not too smart for the situation either. You know, when the characters figure everything out on the first try or seem to know exactly what to do. You get to see them figuring things out.

Luke Wilson plays David as an almost everyday guy. I say almost because you that if you or I were in the same situation, we'd be cringing in a corner needing a new pair of undies. The chemistry, or lack of, between Wilson and Beckinsale works well as a couple at the end of their marriage. There is some great dialogue in the beginning that establishes their relationship. One other note on the casting, Frank Whaley will never be creepy. I don't care what anyone says, he will always be Jim from Career Opportunities to me.

Vacancy isn't a perfect movie. With a few minor “cheats” and a somewhat abrupt ending, Vacancy won't break any records but won't be a black mark on any resumes either. Some may say that the lack of depth may be a hindrance, but I find it refreshing to have just the bare bones. No unneeded details about our characters. Hell, you never even find out anything about the villains, no explanations or back story at all.

Until Mason meets Norman,
keep reading,
Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com

Movie Review: Grindhouse by ME

Title: Grindhouse
Starring: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez
Produced By: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Sandra Condito
Genre: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Horror and Thriller
Release Date: April 6th, 2007
MPAA Rating: R for strong graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use.
Distributors: Dimension Films

In "Death Proof," a psycho named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) stalks and kills beautiful women with his car. In "Planet Terror," a small-town sheriffs' department has to deal with an outbreak of murderous, infected people called "sickos." A gun-legged woman named Cherry (Rose McGowan) and her martial arts-wielding partner (Freddy Rodriguez) take on the zombie army. The two films will be fused together by fake movie trailers by directors Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, Robert Rodriguez and Edgar Wright.

Let's start from the beginning. As I sat down to watch the cheesy goodness that is Grindhouse, I had both high and low expectations. High because this is a film by two of the best and cutting edge directors that Hollywood has seen in a long time and they both have some great movies under their belts. Tarantino with Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. Rodriguez with the Mariachi trilogy and Sin City. Low because of the subject matter: 70's grindhouse and exploitation flicks. Being a child of the 80's and 90's I have no prior experience of these types of films. The closest I can claim is a horror double feature on Saturday afternoons on WKBD 20 (Detroit). So I cannot compare this film to those, which may give my review a different tone than some of the others that are out there. So let's get to the meat of the review. I enjoyed Grindhouse to no end. A little long, clocking in at 3 ½ hours, but otherwise an almost perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Machete – One of four fake trailers directed by guest directors. This one was by Robert Rodriguez himself. Rodriguez regular Danny Trejo is Machete, one Mexican you don't want to f**k with. With Cheech Marin as a shotgun weilding priest, these two are going to clean up the town. Rumored to be an actual direct to video movie by Rodriguez, Machete was a fun little take on the revenge picture.

Planet Terror – Beginning with the best opening credit scene ever to be put on celluloid (Rose McGowan go-go dancing for 3-4 minutes) Planet Terror is filled with over the top acting, blood, gore and comedy with characters that you find yourself caring more than you would expect. For instance, two brothers (Michael Biehn and Jeff Fahey) who have been having a feud over a BBQ recipe for years finally reconcile at the end. Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) wants to be a stand up comedian but thinks that can never happen after losing her leg. Get it? Stand up comedian? Ha ha! Don't let that fool you though, Planet Terror doesn't slouch in the gore department either. Just a few choice bits include a brainless Fergie (yay!), head shots, popping pustules, dripping genitals and decapitation by helicopter. Rodriguez has made a zombie movie that encompasses everything that I love about horror. With missing reels, dust, dirt, scratches and hair in the film, Planet Terror is a throwback to a much different era of horror. Planet Terror feels like it could be the precursor to the style that dominated horror in the 80's while still thinking that it is a “serious” horror film. My personal favorite of the two.

Intermission – The other three fake trailers were presented between features. Werewolf Women of the S.S is Rob Zombie's addition. While it was cut together a little to quickly for my taste it looks like it could be an interesting concept. The best part – Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu. Now that made me choke on my Pepsi. Don't – yes that was a name of a trailer and a lame one to boot. Thanksgiving – Eli Roth's spoof of Holiday themed horror with a few extremely inappropriate kills that would never have been in an 80's flick.

Death Proof – While Planet Terror spoofed horror, Tarentino's Death Proof spoofs the car thriller. Not being a big fan of the genre I can only spout off Christine and Duel as well as the Smokey and The Bandit movies as any kind of comparison. Which isn't really a comparison at all so never mind. Anyways, Death Proof is a little more flawed due to some irreverent and overlong dialogue that supposedly serves to flesh out some of the characters but is really pointless since they die in the next scene anyways. Albeit a kick ass death scene that we get to see four times, so we can see how each passenger in the car buys it extremely gruesome detail. It just seemed that Tarentino forgot that he was making a grindhouse film and started making a Tarentino film instead. I mean, even with all the extemporaneous dialogue and character building, you still don't care about these girls. But, once the tires get rolling in the third act, look out! You are in for one hell of a car chase. This next batch of would be victims aren't slouches and turn the tables on Stuntman Mike. Chasing him down and giving him a healthy dose of his own medicine.

I neglected to talk about the cast in order to address them here. Everybody is perfectly cast. From Planet Terror you get Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Tom Savini, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, Carlos Gallardo, Fergie and Naveen Andrews. Rose proves that she is one of the sexiest women alive. Fergie proves she's brainless, Freddy Rodriguez proves that he can be a bad ass, Biehn shows that he has a sense of humor and Fahey just does his thing. Death Proof brings us Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Sydney Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Michael Parks, and Vanessa Ferlito. Russell shows that he can still be a mean dude. What I like about Stuntman Mike is that you don't know why he is doing these things. I actually liked him when we first meet him. Russell plays him as a normal guy, which is strange because I thought that grindhouse movie villains were the precursor to the 80's slasher flicks. Tarentino slipping off the track again. The three would be victims, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms continue the underlying theme of strong women that began with Rose McGowan's Cherry Darling. The stand out is Zoe Bell, who plays herself. Once Death Proof gets rolling and she does what she does best, the tension just keeps getting cranked up and doesn't stop. If Tarentino would have cut out half of the dialogue and added another group of victims, Death Proof would be damn near perfect.

There is a rumor that the Weinstein company is going to split the two movies up and re-release them as stand alone films. While that may be a good idea, it means that you may have a short time in which to enjoy Grindhouse as it was originally intended. So go see it now! You may see me there as I will definitely catch this one again before it leaves theaters.

Until I get Rose McGowan,
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Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com

Movie Review: Premonition by ME

Title: Premonition
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Mark Famiglietti, Kate Nelligan, Nia Long
Directed By: Mennan Yapo
Produced By: Andrew Sugerman, Lars Sylvest, Nick Hamson
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: March 16th, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violent content, disturbing images, thematic material and brief language
Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing

When Linda Hanson is told that her husband Jim has been killed in a car crash, she is shocked to find him alive and well the next day. Linda’s premonition sets off a series of puzzling events as she tries to grasp the situation and stop the accident from happening. -Yahoo! Movies

I'll be honest. I owe it to you readers. It has now been four hours since leaving the theater and I still don't know what the point of this movie was. I asked three other people who were attending the screening and they didn't know either. So hopefully this review isn't as disjointed as the movie was. Most movies of this type leave clues for the viewers to pick up on that point you to where the plot is going, even if the characters themselves don't see or aren't quick enough to catch them. Premonition just throws events at you willy nilly and lets you try to sort them out on your own. I honestly wonder about the state of cinema when an untried director like Mennan Yapo ( this is only his third try at directing) can get a star like Sandra Bullock to be in a film this bad.

What makes it bad? Almost everything. The acting, while not great isn't what kills this movie. Bullock and McMahon can't really be blamed here but they could have turned up a little. The cinematography was bland with no style. Just straightforward storytelling which is fine if you have a good story to tell but here it just adds to the faults of the film. The way events unfold left me in a cloud of confusion. Supposedly Bullock knows that something is wrong and has a slight idea of what is going on, yet when she sees the things that have already happened she is clueless and only makes a real effort to save her hubby in the last five minutes of the movie. In one scene (without any prior mention of God, religion, faith or the church), Bullock goes to church to talk to the Father who just happens to have a book with post-its marking many different cases of premonitions and fortune telling. How handy is that? And, the only thing offered as an explanation is he says, “It's been a while.” and then you never see him again. That's just one example! Another example is the ending itself. So if you don't like spoilers, skip the next paragraph.

**Spoiler Alert**

Nothing changes! He still dies! The only difference is that she is pregnant. The accident that kills him happens almost exactly the way it did in the first place except this time, Bullock is there to watch her husband die! Oh, they try to make it interesting by panning down to see her protruding belly in the last scene but by that point you really don't care anymore. I was to busy wondering why she didn't try harder to convince him not to go on the trip. And don't even get me started on the daughters disfiguring accident that tries to be a shocking moment but just leaves you wondering “What the hell?”

**End Spoiler**

What's good about Premonition? The movie poster. That's about it.

I can't even think of a fitting end to this review except this. If you choose not to heed my warning and go see this, please, write me and tell just what the point was, ok? I'd really appreciate it. Then, tell me why you went and saw it anyways.

Keep reading,
Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com

Movie Review: The Number 23 by ME

Title: The Number 23
Starring: Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Danny Huston, Rhona Mitra, Logan Lerman
Directed By: Joel Schumacher
Produced By: Mike Drake, Eli Richbourg, Brooklyn Weaver
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: February 23^rd, 2007
MPAA Rating: R for violence, disturbing images, sexuality and language.
Distributors: New Line Cinema

The psychological thriller The Number 23 stars Jim Carrey as a man whose life unravels after he comes into contact with an obscure book titled The Number 23. As he reads the book, he becomes increasingly convinced that it is based on his own life. His obsession with the number 23 starts to consume him, and he begins to realize the book forecasts far graver consequences for his life than he could have ever imagined.

I used to think Joel Schumacher was a crap filmmaker after what he did to the Batman franchise. Not quite at the level of Ewe Boll, but not high on my list. And then I looked at his IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base – www.imdb.com) page and noticed that there are quite a few films that he has done that I enjoy including Lost Boys, Flatliners, Falling Down and even Phantom Of The Opera. So I will forgive him for nipplefying Batman. That being said, I was highly impressed with The Number 23. It's almost a throwback to the suspense thrillers like some of those mentioned above.

Joel Schumacher has created a dark, suspenseful thriller which isn't as supernatural as the trailers would lead you to believe. If you want complete honesty, I would call this a psychological thriller with elements of the supernatural. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this movie. It had a good story that kept you guessing, some good camera tricks such as a scene at the beginning when Walter (Carrey) starts to read the book. The camera is continuously moving forward through each scene like chapters in the book. For some reason it just caught my eye. In actuality almost all of the “book” scenes had a noirish, dream like quality to them that really separated the fiction from Walter's real life developments.

Jim Carrey turns in a great performance here. One of his rare turns in a serious role, he plays obsessive well enough to be, well, obsessed by the number 23. He is in a downward spiral that will only end when he learns the truth and plays it accordingly. Virginia Madsen, who seems to have been a busy little beaver lately with this and The Astronaut Farmer being released on the same day, plays another supportive mother/wife who just wants to protect her family. Their son Robin, played by Logan Lerman is one of the semi-small touches that makes this movie work for me. He gets just as enthusiastic and almost as obsessed as Walter does and helps to solve the mystery.

I must say that this film has gotten some negative press but I really liked it. I will probably add this to my DVD collection if only to see how many instances of the number 23 I can notice. And yes, there are a ton of them. The number 23 (number, not the movie) has some significance in history as being regarded as a supernatural number. I'm sure you can find tons of interesting articles and what not if you are interested. Me, I just watch movies.

With an ending that really caught me by surprise, The Number 23 is an ideal movie for fans of flicks like Stay, The Sixth Sense, and Donnie Darko if not just for seeing Carrey in a serious role that he pulls off very well.

Until Carrey does Ace Ventura 3: Ace in Jurassic Park,
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Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com