.45 (2006)
Nobody does revenge like a woman.

Director: Gary Lennon
Writer: Gary Lennon
Genre: Drama
MPAA: Rated R for pervasive strong language including graphic sexual references, violence, sexuality and some drug use.
Country: USA
Running Time: 101 min
Rating: 5.5/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0259822/

Cast:
Milla Jovovich as Kat
Angus Macfadyen as Big Al
Stephen Dorff as Reilly
Aisha Tyler as Liz
Sarah Strange as Vic
Vincent Laresca as Jose (as Vincent LaResca)
Tony Munch as Clancy
Kay Hawtrey as Marge
John Robinson as Cop #1
Tim Eddis as Cop #2
Hardee T. Lineham as Father Duffel (as Hardee Lineham)
Dawn Greenhalgh as Fran
Nola Augustson as Gertie (as Nola Auguston)
John Gordon as Danny
Shawn Campbell as Original Owner

Kate and her brutish boyfriend Big Al sell handguns on the streets of New York. She's smart, stylish, and self-confident, but all that leaves her when Al, in a jealous and self-indulgent rage, beats her. Three friends encourage her recovery: Vic, a woman who would like to be Kate's lover; Reilly, who runs with Al but also is attracted to Kate and repulsed by Al's violence; and, Liz, the counselor assigned to Kate from a battered-women's program. Vic and Reilly talk about killing Al, Liz gives pep talks; Kate remains frightened. Will Al's menace and Kate's dependency hold sway?

User Comment:
Based on other user's comments, the raw emotion and grit present throughout this film might be too much for some, but for me it added an entirely new dimension to the story that really helped draw me into the harsh reality that these characters live in.

I was truly impressed with Milla's performance as "Kate" and I was pleasantly surprised to see her outside of a movie laden with kung-fu, guns and monsters and instead see her in a wonderfully directed and extremely well written film.

While I've only seen Angus Macfadyen on screen a handful of times, he completely blew me away as "Big Al". He plays one of the most powerful, controlling and abusive characters I've ever seen on screen, yet he's still very much human.

There's something about Gary Lennon's writing that really helps you understand these characters and the reality they live in, no matter how dysfunctional and messed up they may be.

Overall, .45 is an amazing debut for writer/director Gary Lennon, full of brilliant acting and an enthralling story. Highly recommended!

100 Girls (2000)
He met the girl of his dreams. If only he can meet her again.

Director: Michael Davis
Writer: Michael Davis
Genre: Comedy / Romance
MPAA: Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, and for brief violence.
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: 94 min / Finland:90 min (DVD)
Rating: 5.8/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0214388/

Cast:
Jonathan Tucker as Matthew
Emmanuelle Chriqui as Patty
James DeBello as Rod
Katherine Heigl as Arlene
Larisa Oleynik as Wendy
Jaime Pressly as Cynthia
Marissa Ribisi as Dora
Johnny Green as Crick
Aimee Graham as Ms. Stern
Ange Billman as Dana
Kristina Anapau as Sasha
Rainbeau Mars as Maureen
M?nica Huarte as Janeite #1
Reilly McLaren as Janeite #2
Kristin Herold as Barbara

This sexy, teen-comedy is about a freshman, Matthew (played by Jonathan Tucker), at college who meets his dream girl in a dorm elevator during a blackout. He never sees her face, but instantly falls in love. In the morning, the power is restored, but the "dream girl" has vanished. All Matthew knows is that she lives in an all-girls dorm. He sets out on a semester-long journey to find his mystery girl amongst a hundred female suspects. Could it be Wendy (Larisa Oleynik)? Dora? Arlene? Patty (Emmanuelle Chriqui)? Cynthia? Or the 95 other girls, any of whom could have been in that elevator with Matthew.

User Comment:
I actually like 100 girls, it tried to show you the inner mind of how a guy thinks and probably not all guys think like that but i think a few deep down. Its pretty much all about a guy who met a girl in the elevator and fell in love but unfortunately never saw her face. It seems a little unlikely but who knows it could happen. I give the movie a 8/10 it had some good humor and laughs and it did keep my interest up the WHOLE movie. Also it just seemed like a good time, I would recommend this to anyone!

100 Million BC (2008)

Director: Griff Furst
Writer: Paul Bales
Genre: Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: 85 min
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1136683/

Cast:
Michael Gross as Dr. Frank Reno
Christopher Atkins as Erik Reno
Greg Evigan as LCDR Ellis Dorn
Stephen Blackehart as Lt. Robert Peet
Geoff Meed as CPO Lopes
Wendy Carter as Betty
Marie Westbrook as Ruth
Dean Kreyling as Chief 'Bud' Stark
Phil Burke as Stubbs
Nick McCallum as Burke
Aaron Stigger as Manriquez
Daniel Ponsky as Jones
James Viera as Przyzicki
Dustin Harnish as Young Frank Reno
Prince Pheenix Wade as Myrick

User Comment:
For a 21st century film, you gotta applause to how awful appalling the effects were. The dinosaurs were in bloody 2D god dammit! Not even sculptures were made to add some form of modern looks to these creatures but looked like a simple animation which was done using anim8or. This is by far the worst film I have seen in a long time. Not to forget the acting. No sympathy was shown when the soilders saw one of their men get taken away by these "reptiles", no thought was gone into safety of the soldiers when they were in a contested zone. This film was clearly done by a run-down production team and I really recommend you all not to waste a single penny or time for this film.

Hope this helped =) My Rating: 1/10

10th & Wolf (2006)
The intersection where family, honor and betrayal collide.

Director: Robert Moresco
Writer: Robert Moresco, Allan Steele
Genre: Crime / Drama / Thriller
MPAA: Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some drug content and sexuality/nudity.
Country: USA
Language: English / Italian
Running Time: 107 min
Rating: 6.4/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0360323/

Cast:
James Marsden as Tommy
Brian Dennehy as Agent Horvath
Leo Rossi as Agent Thornton
Dennis Hopper as Matty Matello
Tony Luke Jr. as Rocco
John Capodice as Sipio
Billy Gallo as Provenzano
Ken Garito as Willy
Dash Mihok as Junior
Brad Renfro as Vincent
Giovanni Ribisi as Joey
Rose Rossi as Blonde at Diner
James Grimaldi as Ricky Jerk-Off
Patrick Jordan as Ricky's Crew
Igor De Laurentiis as Ricky's crew

February, 1991. Tommy, a Desert Storm marine dismayed that the US isn't taking out Saddam, breaks some rules and faces hard labor. An FBI agent offers him an out: go home to his gritty, dockside home in Pennsylvania and help get the goods on an Italian heroine dealer; in return, no prison time and no arrest of Tommy's brother Vincent and cousin Joey. Loyalty to family conflicts with loyalty to the code of the street. Can Tommy sort it out, protect his brother and cousin, and stay true? Do young men die - in the sands of the Middle East and on the mean streets of the US - for no reason?

User Comment:
This is a fancy production with all the right bells and whistles however it gives an impression of only being an assembly of second takes from past gangster flicks. There is nothing original or spellbinding in the film and unfortunately the acting comes across as only being phony. It rings of a small-town group trying to outdo the pros by imitating them. Like Dennis Hopper the movie is just not believable. I must say I do believe the storyline is credible along with all of the film's technical aspects though I find it hard to believe more of an effort wasn't made to appear unique and intriguing in overall presentation.

12 Angry Men (1957)
Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds!

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writer: Reginald Rose, Reginald Rose
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: 96 min
Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/

Cast:
Martin Balsam as Juror #1
John Fiedler as Juror #2
Lee J. Cobb as Juror #3
E.G. Marshall as Juror #4
Jack Klugman as Juror #5
Ed Binns as Juror #6 (as Edward Binns)
Jack Warden as Juror #7
Henry Fonda as Juror #8
Joseph Sweeney as Juror #9
Ed Begley as Juror #10
George Voskovec as Juror #11
Robert Webber as Juror #12

Heralded as one of the all-time great theatrical releases, "12 Angry Men" focuses on a jury's deliberations in a capital murder case. A 12-man jury is sent to begin deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of an 18-year-old Latino accused in the stabbing death of his father, where a guilty verdict means an automatic death sentence. The case appears to be open-and-shut: The defendant has a weak alibi; a knife he claimed to have lost is found at the murder scene; and several witnesses either heard screaming, saw the killing or the boy fleeing the scene. Eleven of the jurors immediately vote guilty; only Juror No. 8 (Mr. Davis, played by Henry Fonda) casts a not guilty vote. At first Mr. Davis' bases his vote moreso for the sake of discussion after all, the jurors must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. As the deliberations unfold, the story quickly becomes a study of the jurors' complex personalities (which range from wise, bright and empathetic to arrogant, prejudiced and merciless), preconceptions, backgrounds and interactions. That provides the backdrop to Mr. Davis' attempts in convincing the other jurors that a "not guilty" verdict might be appropriate.

User Comment:
Intense courtroom drama which has 12 very different people, all males, struggling with a murder case involving a young Puerto Rican boy that seems cut-and-dried. However, juror Henry Fonda does not believe it to be as sure-fire as it appears. He votes not guilty and what follows is a chain of events that will test the views, beliefs and thoughts of the other 11 members. Fonda is great, but Lee J. Cobb steals every scene (and that is not easy to do in a film like this). Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, Jack Klugman, Joseph Sweeney, E.G. Marshall and John Fiedler are among the other individuals caught in a situation that is much more difficult than it appears on the surface. An excellent character-study that should be studied and embraced by all present and future film-makers. 5 stars out of 5.

13 Going on 30 (2004)
For some, 13 feels like it was just yesterday. For Jenna, it was.

Director: Gary Winick
Writer: Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance / Fantasy
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and brief drug references.
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: 98 min
Rating: 6.2/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0337563/

Cast:
Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink
Mark Ruffalo as Matt Flamhaff
Judy Greer as Lucy Wyman
Andy Serkis as Richard Kneeland
Kathy Baker as Bev Rink
Phil Reeves as Wayne Rink
Samuel Ball as Alex Carlson
Marcia DeBonis as Arlene
Christa B. Allen as Young Jenna
Sean Marquette as Young Matt
Kiersten Warren as Trish Sackett
Joe Grifasi as Mr. Flamhaff
Mary Pat Gleason as Mrs. Flamhaff
Susan Egan as Tracy Hansen
Lynn Collins as Wendy

Jenna Rink is an ultra-adorable naive 13-year old who envies the 'cool' popular girls at school and would do absolutely ANYTHING to be accepted in that group. Her best friend and ardent adorer, Matt, is (in her mind) part and parcel of her uncool persona and (we're led to believe)is an associate she's quite willing to lose in order to gain admiration from the cool set. Before she has occasion to actually dump him, however, a bit of 'magic'(initiated by her heart of heart wish) relocates Jenna into adulthood. She wakes up to find she's thirty, beautiful, a successful magazine editor at her fav publication, and has a hockey-player celebrity boyfriend and (seemingly) all she ever wished for. Of course, as it so often does, life has thrown Jenna some serious curves and dealt her some cards she didn't count on or particularly want. She's become sneaky, selfish, and has virtually rejected her family and the friend (Matt) who meant the most to her in exchange for her 'wishes come true'. As her 13-year-old mentality recognizes her adult 'profits and losses' she is heartbroken and wants only to return to her early teen innocence. And of course, as must be the case in truly 'feel good' movies, she gets her opportunity to make things right. This film is a real heart-warmer, especially for all those who remember the awkward teenage years as well as for all of us who have made poor choices along the way which we wish we could change. Just watching Jenna make good use of that opportunity makes us feel better, allowing us to realize how great it would feel.

User Comment:
In "13 Going On 30" Garner is a 13 year old with a guy best friend and an impossible dream of becoming one of her school's "in" crowd. She pulls a "Rip Van Winkle" and suddenly finds herself 15 years older, with boobs, and the editor of a glitz and glam NYC femme fashion magazine. The rest is a fun frolic about coming to grips with what is important in life...what's steak and what's just so much sizzle. Garner and Ruffalo work well as the leads in this good old family values bop flick which keeps the momentum up 'til the very warm and fuzzy end. An unabashed chick flick, "13 Going On 30" should be an enjoyable watch for teen females and anyone in the mood for a romcom who can still remember what it's like to be 13 going on 30. (B-)

1408 (2007)
The Dolphin Hotel invites you to stay in any of its stunning rooms. Except one.

Director: Mikael H?fstr?m
Writer: Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander
Genre: Drama / Horror / Thriller
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for thematic material including disturbing sequences of violence and terror, frightening images and language.
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: 94 min
Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0450385/

Cast:
John Cusack as Mike Enslin
Samuel L. Jackson as Gerald Olin
Mary McCormack as Lily Enslin
Tony Shalhoub as Sam Farrell
Jasmine Jessica Anthony as Katie Enslin
Len Cariou as Father
Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Engineer
Paul Birchard as Mr. Innkeeper
Margot Leicester as Mrs. Innkeeper
Walter Lewis as Cashier
Eric Meyers as Man One at Book Signing
David Nicholson as Man Two at Book Signing
Holly Hayes as Lady at Book Signing
Alexandra Silber as Young Woman at Book Signing
Johann Urb as Surfer Dude

Writer Mike Enslin, an author of two hit books, focuses on supernatural phenomena. As research for his latest book, Enslin is determined to check out the notorious room 1408 in a New York City hotel by personally staying as a guest in the fabled room. With the intention that 1408 is just a myth perpetuated by stories and rumor that Enslin has collected for his past works. However, hotel manager Mr. Olin has strong objections to Enslin's stay and only warns him of possible danger to come. But Enslin is determined to go through and convinced that the horrific past of 1408 is just mere coincidence and a myth. But what Mike Enslin is about to experience is no myth, as 1408 truly is a room where the guests don't check out by noon.

User Comment:
While doing some research before reviewing 1408, I was shocked to discover that this was the first time since 2004's Riding the Bullet that a film based on a Stephen King story had gotten the big screen treatment. 1408 marks somewhat of a comeback to the silver screen for the author after mainly working with television the past couple years. Director Mikael Hafstrom has created the most atmospheric and downright tense thriller I can think of so far this year. The premise may be thin, and yeah, it doesn't always make a lot of sense. But, is it ever effective.

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) used to be a promising author until the untimely death of his young daughter, Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony). He now spends his time writing trashy paranormal novels about the world's most haunted areas. He travels the world, doing research by staying overnight at places that are supposed to be haunted, gets some colorful background info that he can use for material, and then moves on to his next job. One day, Mike receives a postcard informing him of an old hotel in New York City called the Dolphin Hotel, which is supposed to have a room that has quite the history. Doing some private research, he learns that the Dolphin has had a long and tragic history of deaths, all of them surrounding the guests that have stayed in Room 1408. Mike books the room, despite the warnings of the hotel manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L.Jackson). Entering the room, nothing seems ominous at first. But then, the room itself begins to take on a life of its own, and begins tormenting Mike with various ghostly apparitions, mind tricks, and even displaying his own painful past before him in various ways.

1408 is the second thriller set around a hotel released in less than two months (the other being April's Vacancy), and is by far the superior film. The film is actually quite subtle in its way of creeping us out and disturbing us, which is a nice change of pace from the recent Hostel: Part II. Rather than bombard the audience with ghostly special effects and gore, the movie gets under your skin and goes for a much more psychological approach. The screenplay by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karaszewski, wisely does not even attempt to explain Room 1408. It's just a very evil presence that can somehow look deep within troubled souls, and torture them to death with their own personal demons. In the wrong hands, this material could have been laughable. Even though the movie frequently flies into the realm of the unbelievable, it manages to somehow stay grounded.

A lot of this has to do with the fact that the film never loses its way, and become an excuse to throw as many special effects and jump scares into the movie as it possibly can. The human element of Mike Enslin is always at the center of the story itself, and its scares. The movie is built around the fact that he is forced to face his personal demons the longer he stays in his room, as well as try to keep his mind in check as various nightmarish hallucinations are paraded before him. It's much more effective than the usual characters that have passed as villains in recent paranormal films (usually gray-skinned people with hair over their faces), and it never once becomes heavy-handed or preachy. This is also a tricky balance to pull off. When the room started showing him flashbacks of Mike's own past, I grew nervous, thinking that the movie was going to start hitting us over the head with morales. Fortunately, it never once loses its sense of the eerie, and remains appropriately unsettling throughout.

At the center of the movie is John Cusack, who literally has to carry the movie almost by himself. This is essentially a one-man show for most of its running time, with fleeting apparitions being his main companions. Cusack has long been a favorite of mine, and this is one of his stronger recent roles. He not only has to carry almost the entire film on his own, but he also has to convincingly act like he is slowly going insane without hamming it up, or losing his personality. Any actor can tell you that madness is a difficult thing to depict. He strikes a very good balance, and remains believable throughout. Samuel L. Jackson is also notable in his small, but no less important, role as the manager who tries to talk Mike out of his decision to stay in the room. And then, of course, there is Room 1408, which is a character itself. The way it is constantly changing itself, right down to the paintings on the wall, creates an effectively creepy atmosphere that is continuously bizarre, but never so much so that we lose our sense to believe.

1408 succeeds where so many other films have failed in that it is not about apparitions jumping out at the actors or lurking in dark shadows. It digs much deeper for its horror than simple jolt thrills, and becomes an effectively thrilling horror film. It could be argued that the whole thing loses some weight when we apply logic to the story. But seriously, who wants to apply logic to a movie about an evil hotel room that can read your mind? When all is said and done, 1408 is a reminder of what horror can do. It can do so much more than thrill us. It can also make us laugh and leave us captivated. Perhaps what's more surprising than the fact that the movie can accomplish all that is that so few other horror films can.

16 Blocks (2006)
For a New York cop and his witness, the distance between life and death just got very short.

Director: Richard Donner
Writer: Richard Wenk
Genre: Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language.
Country: Germany / USA
Language: English
Running Time: Philippines:110 min / USA:105 min
Rating: 6.7/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0450232/

Cast:
Bruce Willis as Det. Jack Mosley
Mos Def as Eddie Bunker
David Morse as Det. Frank Nugent
Jenna Stern as Diane Mosley
Casey Sander as Capt. Dan Gruber
Cylk Cozart as Det. Jimmy Mulvey
David Zayas as Det. Robert Torres
Robert Racki as Det. Jerry Shue
Patrick Garrow as Touhey
Sasha Roiz as Kaller
Conrad Pla as Ortiz
Hechter Ubarry as Maldonado
Richard Fitzpatrick as Deputy Commissioner Wagner
Peter McRobbie as Mike Sheehan
Michael F. Keenan as Ray Fitzpatrick (as Mike Keenan)

Jack Mosley, a burnt-out detective, is assigned the unenviable task of transporting a fast-talking convict from jail to a courthouse 16 blocks away. However, along the way he learns that the man is supposed to testify against Mosley's colleagues, and the entire NYPD wants him dead. Mosley must choose between loyalty to his colleagues and protecting the witness, and never has such a short distance seemed so long...

User Comment:
This movie was an excellent surprise. It starts slow, but stay with it. Your first look at Bruce Willis as the burnt-out over the hill cop tells you this will not be the normal shoot-em-up cop drama. The plot starts building almost instantly, unlike many movies where you have to wait through thirty minutes of fluff before the story goes anywhere. The characters in the movie are surprisingly endearing, honest and genuine. They're just normal enough to identify with. Not the standard super evil villain and valiant good guy. Bruce Willis is awesome in his role as the tired underdog struggling with the morality of torn loyalty. Mos Def, whose character's voice was a little aggravating, played an excellent supporting role. The relationship he develops with Willis'character is both surprising and humorous. Overall, the movie was tense from the start and is filled with suspense, humor and a great deal of drama. It takes some unexpected turns and has a great ending. I highly recommend it.

16 Years of Alcohol (2003)

Director: Richard Jobson
Writer: Richard Jobson
Genre: Crime / Drama
MPAA: Rated R for pervasive language, some violent content and sexual material.
Country: UK
Language: English
Running Time: Switzerland:102 min / USA:102 min
Rating: 6.0/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0331338/

Cast:
Kevin McKidd as Frankie
Laura Fraser as Helen
Susan Lynch as Mary
Jim Carter as Dirctor
Ewen Bremner as Jake
Elaine C. Smith as AA meeting woman
Kate Robbins as Fighting couple woman
Marcia Rose as Female Actor
Lewis Macleod as Frankie's Father
Lisa May Cooper as Frankie's Mother
Gerald Lepkowski as Male actor
Iain De Caestecker as Frankie as a boy
Stuart Sinclair Blyth as Miller
Russell Anderson as Kill
Michael Moreland as Budgie

User Comment:
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

As a young boy,Frankie (Kevin McKidd) idolises his father,until he discovers him to be a philandering p*sshead.Years later,he's formed a violence gang with three of his mates,terrorizing pubs and record shops with equal disdain.But then he finds love and finds his faith in life being redeemed and decides to turn his back on his old ways and start a new life.But then,he finds turning away from what you know is not very easy at all.

The film is shot in a style and presentation that I wasn't expecting it to be.The style of the story unravelled in a way I wasn't expecting either.But,if these are the provisos for enduring such an excellent film as 16 Years of Alcohol,I'll happily accept them.

Everything about the film just comes together brilliantly and perfectly.The script is fantastic,carried by lead star McKidd with a sobering,haunting presence and delivery making astute observations about life and especially the relevance of 'hope.'The film plays some clever homage to ones that have gone before it,such as,most prominently,A Clockwork Orange and Enter the Dragon.

Frankie's story is extremely engaging,as we follow him down his path from a happy,idealistic young boy to a disillusioned young man who can't identify love to anything and can only see the hard,grainy reality of life and accordingly decides to follow suite,onto an older and more mature man,hardened by the realities of life but more adhered to them and functioned to deal with them more knowingly,only for it all to tragically come crashing down around him for one silly mis-understanding.

If a film like Trainspotting could have made it as big as it did,with a far superior script it's hard to see why this couldn't.But maybe this should be kept apart from a mainstream audience and kept firmly stuck in it's art-house roots so that it can be appreciated by those who truly can.It really is a fantastic experience,the best film I've seen in ages and one I'd whole-heartedly recommend you to see.*****

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
George Orwell's Terrifying Vision Comes To The Screen.

Director: Michael Radford
Writer: George Orwell, Michael Radford
Genre: Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Country: UK
Language: English
Running Time: 113 min
Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087803/

Cast:
John Hurt as Winston Smith
Richard Burton as O'Brien
Suzanna Hamilton as Julia
Cyril Cusack as Charrington
Gregor Fisher as Parsons
James Walker as Syme
Andrew Wilde as Tillotson
David Trevena as Tillotson's Friend
David Cann as Martin
Anthony Benson as Jones
Peter Frye as Rutherford
Roger Lloyd-Pack as Waiter (as Roger Lloyd Pack)
Rupert Baderman as Winston as a Boy
Corinna Seddon as Winston's Mother
Martha Parsey as Winston's Sister

In the year 1984, rocket bombs and rats prey on the inhabitants of the crumbling metropolis of London. Far away on the Malabar Front, a seemingly interminable war rages against Eastasia. The Ministry of Truth broadcasts ceaselessly to the population via its inescapable network of telescreens. These devices, which pervade all aspects of peoples' lives, are also capable of monitoring their every word and action. They form part of an elaborate surveillance system used by the Ministry of Love, and its dreaded agents the Thought Police, to serve their singular goal: the elimination of 'thoughtcrime'. Winston Smith is a Party worker - part of the vast social caste known as the Outer Party, the rank and file of the sprawling apparatus of government. Winston works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth - the section charged with modifying historical news archives for consistency. When by chance Winston uncovers incontrovertible proof that the Party is lying, he embarks on a journey of self-questioning. In doing so, he becomes a thought-criminal. Winston begins to notice that a young Party member, Julia, is watching him. She wears the distinctive sash of the ultra-zealous Anti Sex League and Winston fears that she is an informant. However, to his surprise, she reveals herself as a subversive and they embark on an illicit and dangerous relationship. This prompts Winston to explore deeper the blur between propaganda and reality. Ultimately, it leads him to O'Brien - a member of the Inner Party who sets Winston on an irreversible course of discovery.

User Comment:
I had high hopes for this movie, because I enjoyed the book so much. However, I don't think I would have understood the premise of the movie if I hadn't already read the book. The movie is a noble attempt to show the despair of people trying to break the bonds of overpowering government rule, but the book portrays the suffering much more thoroughly. The corrupt government officials have comfortable, almost luxurious lives, while the common people struggle to obtain the bare necessities for survival. Perhaps most people feel this way toward their leaders and rulers regardless of whether or not they are actually oppressed or repressed. Orwell's dystopia seems as if it could exist in many places in our modern world. It has been several years since I've read the book, but one hears references to Big Brother, the Thought Police, and Newspeak frequently in the media and casual conversation. Probably many people using these terms don't realize where the terms came from. I strongly recommend that you read the book.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
George Orwell's Terrifying Vision Comes To The Screen.

Director: Michael Radford
Writer: George Orwell, Michael Radford
Genre: Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Country: UK
Language: English
Running Time: 113 min
Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087803/

Cast:
John Hurt as Winston Smith
Richard Burton as O'Brien
Suzanna Hamilton as Julia
Cyril Cusack as Charrington
Gregor Fisher as Parsons
James Walker as Syme
Andrew Wilde as Tillotson
David Trevena as Tillotson's Friend
David Cann as Martin
Anthony Benson as Jones
Peter Frye as Rutherford
Roger Lloyd-Pack as Waiter (as Roger Lloyd Pack)
Rupert Baderman as Winston as a Boy
Corinna Seddon as Winston's Mother
Martha Parsey as Winston's Sister

In the year 1984, rocket bombs and rats prey on the inhabitants of the crumbling metropolis of London. Far away on the Malabar Front, a seemingly interminable war rages against Eastasia. The Ministry of Truth broadcasts ceaselessly to the population via its inescapable network of telescreens. These devices, which pervade all aspects of peoples' lives, are also capable of monitoring their every word and action. They form part of an elaborate surveillance system used by the Ministry of Love, and its dreaded agents the Thought Police, to serve their singular goal: the elimination of 'thoughtcrime'. Winston Smith is a Party worker - part of the vast social caste known as the Outer Party, the rank and file of the sprawling apparatus of government. Winston works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth - the section charged with modifying historical news archives for consistency. When by chance Winston uncovers incontrovertible proof that the Party is lying, he embarks on a journey of self-questioning. In doing so, he becomes a thought-criminal. Winston begins to notice that a young Party member, Julia, is watching him. She wears the distinctive sash of the ultra-zealous Anti Sex League and Winston fears that she is an informant. However, to his surprise, she reveals herself as a subversive and they embark on an illicit and dangerous relationship. This prompts Winston to explore deeper the blur between propaganda and reality. Ultimately, it leads him to O'Brien - a member of the Inner Party who sets Winston on an irreversible course of discovery.

User Comment:
Michael Radford's utterly superlative film of Orwell's famed novel may well be the greatest cinematic adaptation of a major literary source ever -- and it stands out as one of the most memorable British films of the past thirty years. Full credit is due to cinematographer Roger Deakins who shoots everything in grainy, washed-out, desaturated colors adding to the picture's atmosphere of wistful yet austere, dream-like strangeness. The modern London settings -- with their cobblestone streets, shabby, dilapidated buildings, desolate fields, rubble-strewn alleyways, and forbidding, blackened Gothic-Victorian fa?ades and hints of minimalist fascist architecture -- resemble a Depression-era housing project after the Luftwaffe. And Dominic Muldowney's score, with its martial clarion calls, bombastic church-organ blasts, and swelling choral leitmotiv of `Oceania, 'tis for thee,' has a mixture of Wagnerian grandeur and Bach-like religiosity about it. All the while, the bizarre, mantra-like drones of the much-maligned Eurythmics soundtrack rises and falls, weaving in and out of the narrative like so many subconscious banshee wails.

Radford treats the book's premise not as a sci-fi flight of fantasy or grim prophecy but rather as the world of 1948 seen through a glass darkly -- a kind of medieval morality play for the post-totalitarian age. There is less emphasis on the novel's musty, well-worn-and-endlessly-picked-over polemical import and more focus on the stark human element, and indeed, the actors bear such uncanny resemblance to Orwell's descriptions they practically seem born for their roles.

With his quiet, brooding eloquence and haunted eyes peeking out of a gaunt, cadaverous frame like a tubercular, ashen-faced Egon Schiele figure, John Hurt is ideally cast as Winston Smith. As Julia, Suzanna Hamilton (first seen as a lovelorn dairymaid in Polanski's TESS and as the paralyzed daughter in BRIMSTONE AND TREACLE) has a serene, arresting presence ? and she appears as mysteriously stirring and beguiling to us as she does to Hurt. She brings a captivating freshness and warmth to her role, a little reminiscent of a young Harriet Andersson. Her pale, wiry, broad-hipped body has a simple, unaffected, almost archetypal beauty, and in the film's more intimate moments, she radiates all the tactile sensual grace of a Munch or Degas nude.

As O'Brien, the Jesuitical inquisitor of infinite patience, Richard Burton delivers a superbly perspicacious swan-song performance ? he becomes almost a kind of an oracular Thanatos to Hamilton's Eros. In an exquisite, maliciously Swiftian twist of irony, Burton's famous voice, with its rich, mellifluous Welsh inflections and descending cadences of Shakespearean sonnets and Dylan Thomas poetry, becomes a cruel herald of the willful, systematic destruction of the human spirit -- of `the worst thing in the world' that waits in Room 101? in the fated `place where there is no darkness.' When O'Brien tells Winston, `you are thinking that my face is old and tired?and that while I talk of power I am unable to prevent the decay of my own body,' Burton's sagging, weary face speaks volumes.

In the lesser roles, Gregor Fisher's Parsons literally resembles a sweaty frog, James Walker's Syme is the classic image of a squirrelly, mealy-mouthed hack-intellectual, while Andrew Wilde cuts the most chilling figure as the bespectacled, unblinking ?company man,' Tillotson. The late Cyril Cusack plays Mr. Charrington, the kindly Cockney landlord who is not all that he appears to be, with an understated sentimental charm punctuated by slight flickers of calculating menace (watch closely for the way Cusack's facial expression changes whenever Hurt is not looking at him). Phyllis Logan (the star of Radford's d?but feature, ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, and a supporting player in Mike Leigh's SECRETS AND LIES) provides one of the film's most clever unacknowledged ironies: as the Telescreen Announcer, her strident, hectoring voice suggests a more shrill caricature of Margaret Thatcher.

If anything, this film makes a unique and compelling case for some of the oldest cinematic devices in the book that nearly all contemporary filmmakers have since abandoned: slow dissolves, fades, blackouts, shock-cuts, slow motion, flashbacks, montage. The high-contrast photography, alternately harsh and low-key lighting, and iconic close-up shots evoke the abstract, transcendental purity of Bresson or Dreyer. There is even one extraordinary sequence when Winston, bruised and battered, is seen having his head shorn in a holding cell that is clearly meant to recall Falconetti's famous haircutting scene in Dreyer's LA PASSION DE JEANNE D'ARC (1928). Similarly, Burton is filmed in oppressive, looming low-angle with Expressionist shadows defining the lines of his craggy visage ? la Eug?ne Silvain's Bishop Cauchon sans the warts. And the idyllic barley fields of the ?Golden Country,' where Winston and Julia have their first tryst is a possible homage to the titular peasant paradise of Dovzhenko's EARTH (1926).

What makes the film so powerful is not merely its fidelity to its source but its vivid sense of realism. NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR is such an impassioned and richly textured work that the visuals almost seem to seep into the pores of your skin, intoxicating you with dread and longing. And Radford is so adept at obscuring the boundaries that separate the ameliorative persistence of reverie from the glaring harshness of waking reality, that the film's seamless perfection becomes almost frightening.

Pecan Pie (2003)

Director: Michel Gondry
Writer: Michel Gondry
Genre: Short / Musical / Comedy
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: USA:2 min
Rating: 6.1/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0393582/

Cast:
Jim Carrey as The driver
Eric Judor as Gas station employee
Ramzy Bedia as Gas-station employee

A "bed-car", driven by a man in his pajamas (Jim Carrey) who joyously sings "Pecan Pie", pulls over in a gas-station where two employee (french stand-up comedians Eric & Ramzy) change his blankets. Until the "bed-car" disappears into the night...

User Comment:
From the director of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' and its star Jim Carrey we get 'Pecan Pie'. A short film that takes about a minute and a half showing Jim Carrey singing Elvis Presley's "Pecan Pie" while driving in his car. His car is actually a bed, the kind that is quite popular with small children, with real wheels and an engine attached to it. With his bed-car he enters a gas station where two pretty well-known comedians help him... but not the way you really expect.

This weird little film that could easily be one of the dream sequences from 'Eternal Sunshine' is pretty interesting to watch though. Despite a lot of others I do not think the film really meant anything, I just liked the idea since I have seen a lot of car-beds but never a bed-car. Just fun with Carrey.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Let the Awe and Mystery of a Journey Unlike Any Other Begin

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Genre: Adventure / Sci-Fi
Country: UK / USA
Language: English / Russian
Running Time: 141 min / 160 min (premiere cut)
Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/

Cast:
Keir Dullea as Dr. Dave Bowman
Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole
William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
Daniel Richter as Moon-Watcher
Leonard Rossiter as Dr. Andrei Smyslov
Margaret Tyzack as Elena
Robert Beatty as Dr. Ralph Halvorsen
Sean Sullivan as Dr. Bill Michaels
Douglas Rain as HAL 9000 (voice)
Frank Miller as Mission controller (voice)
Bill Weston as Astronaut
Ed Bishop as Aries-1B Lunar shuttle captain (as Edward Bishop)
Glenn Beck as Astronaut
Alan Gifford as Poole's father
Ann Gillis as Poole's mother

When the world is ruled by apes, one particular group discovers a mysterious rectangular monolith near their home, which imparts upon them the knowledge of tool use, and enables them to evolve into men. A similar monolith is discovered on the moon, and is determined to have come from an area near Jupiter. Astronaut David Bowman, along with four companions, sets off for Jupiter on a spaceship controlled by HAL 9000, a revolutionary computer system that is every bit mankind's equal, and perhaps his superior. When HAL endangers the crew's lives for the sake of the mission, Bowman will have to first overcome the computer, then travel to the birthplace of the monolith.

User Comment:
Mankind's Self awakening is the theme of "2001: A Space Odyssey", a process that unfolds along a space-time continuum. We "see" our primordial past, and we "infer" a cosmic future. The powers of intuition thus become the doors of perception, in our ongoing collective journey.

From this transcendental perspective, a conventional, egocentric plot seems superfluous. Our frenzied conflicts and self-important dialogue are consumed in evolutionary change, and are irrelevant in a cosmos that is vast beyond comprehension. It's a tough lesson for a vain and aggressive species. Not surprising then that some of us huff and puff about the film's slowness and minimal story. For perceptive viewers, the remuneration is an inspirational sense of wonder and awe.

In this film, which is mostly visual, geometric symbols guide our intuition. Circles and arcs represent nature. Right angles represent conscious intelligence. Some people think the sleek, black monolith is a Von Neumann probe. Maybe. Without doubt, the monolith is a visual metaphor for an extraterrestrial intelligence whose physical form is never shown. Mystery is more profound than explanation.

"2001 ... " is unique among films in content and scope. The cinematography is out-of-this-world, the special and visual effects are breathtaking, and the classical music is sublime. I rarely use the word "masterpiece" to describe a movie. But Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is art in the highest sense, like Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", or Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night".

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28 Days Later... (2002)
His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn't.

Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Alex Garland
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and nudity.
Country: UK
Language: English / Spanish / Finnish / French
Running Time: 113 min
Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/

Cast:
Alex Palmer as Activist
Bindu De Stoppani as Activist
Jukka Hiltunen as Activist
David Schneider as Scientist
Cillian Murphy as Jim
Toby Sedgwick as Infected Priest
Naomie Harris as Selena
Noah Huntley as Mark
Christopher Dunne as Jim's Father
Emma Hitching as Jim's Mother
Alexander Delamere as Mr. Bridges
Kim McGarrity as Mr. Bridges' Daughter
Brendan Gleeson as Frank
Megan Burns as Hannah
Justin Hackney as Infected Kid

It has been twenty-eight days since Jim, a young bicycle courier, was knocked off his bike and injured in a car accident. When he wakes up from his coma, the world has changed. London is deserted, litter-strewn and grim, and it seems the entire world has disappeared. The truth, however, is even more horrifying - a devestating psychological virus has been unleashed on the world, turning the population into blood-crazed psychopaths driven only to kill and destroy the uninfected. A bitter struggle to get out of the city with fellow survivors to a military encampment at Manchester follows - but there, their troubles are just beginning...

User Comment:
The 2003 State-side release of Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later" was advertised as being a shockful scare-fest of a movie. I didn't get around to seeing it until a few days ago and I gotta feel like that was somewhat of an embellishment on the promoters' part.

When environmental terrorists attack a lab that contains diseased chimps who are infected with a "Rage" virus, they unwittingly let loose a plague that lays waste to England and(perhaps)the rest of society. The 28 Days later of the title cuts to a mostly abandoned London where a coma-tized bicycle courier named Jim(Cillian Murphy,effective) wakes from his stasis to find himself alone in a hospital. As he searches London for signs of life,he is rescued from raging zombies by a couple of survivalists(one of them,the lovely Naomie Harris)who he follows from place to place to keep alive. From there,he also meets a man and his daughter(Brendan Gleeson,terrific,and Megan Burns,good)and they try to find a refuge out of London-town. A recorded message of a "paradise" where "salvation" can be found is tracked by Frank(the man) on his shortwave radio.

This film feels more like a meditation on what happens to people when they are reduced to their lowest elements. A friend of mine told me that this movie's running zombies was what inspired the zombies in the remake of "Dawn of the Dead",but where "Dawn of..." was pretty much a full-throttle action/horror hybrid from about start to finish,this film plays more like a "What if..." movie,with less emphasis on the creatures themselves and more on the (lucky?) survivors. There are also disturbing lessons on the nature OF survival,too.

An very interesting and disturbing flick that probably sold itself wrong.

28 Weeks Later (2007)
It All Begins Again

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Writer: Rowan Joffe, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Genre: Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller / War
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexuality/nudity.
Country: UK / Spain
Language: English
Running Time: 101 min
Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0463854/

Cast:
Catherine McCormack as Alice Harris
Robert Carlyle as Donald Harris
Amanda Walker as Sally
Shahid Ahmed as Jacob
Garfield Morgan as Geoff
Emily Beecham as Karen
Beans El-Balawi as Boy in Cottage
Jeremy Renner as Sgt. Doyle
Harold Perrineau as Flynn
Rose Byrne as Maj. Scarlet
Imogen Poots as Tammy Harris
Mackintosh Muggleton as Andy Harris
Meghan Popiel as DLR Soldier
Idris Elba as Gen. Stone
Stewart Alexander as Military Officer

Seven months after the rage virus has annihilated the British isles, the US army declares that the war against infection has been won, and that the reconstruction of the country can begin. In the first wave of returning refugees, a family is reunited--but one of them unwillingly carries a terrible secret. The virus is not yet dead, and this time, it is more dangerous than ever

User Comment:
When I first heard there was to be a sequel to Danny Boyle's excellent 28 Days Later and that Boyle himself would not be directing it, I was less than excited.

Then the reviews began flooding in and I was surprised, shocked even, that the majority of them were positive.

It was then after the well respected film critic Mark Kermode said it was "very good" and "better than we had any right to expect" that I began to raise my expectations.

Im happy to report that they were exceeded by a sequel that surpasses the original in terms of tension and spectacle.

Boyle remained on board with the project, albeit as a producer, but also directed some second unit footage and never allows it to veer away from the look or feel of his original.

Not that he had cause to worry as the new director,Juan Carlos Fresnadillo obviously understood Boyle's vision and expands on it without getting too carried away.

The result is a faster paced, less reflective film, containing a very intelligent political subtext and some fantastic action set pieces that (and this is the most important part) delivers a large number of quality scares.

It also dwarfs 28 days later in terms of gore, meaning true horror fans have much more in the way of visceral glee to sink their teeth into (pun intended).

Bring on 28 months later...

28 Weeks Later (2007)
It All Begins Again

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Writer: Rowan Joffe, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Genre: Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller / War
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexuality/nudity.
Country: UK / Spain
Language: English
Running Time: 101 min
Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0463854/

Cast:
Catherine McCormack as Alice Harris
Robert Carlyle as Donald Harris
Amanda Walker as Sally
Shahid Ahmed as Jacob
Garfield Morgan as Geoff
Emily Beecham as Karen
Beans El-Balawi as Boy in Cottage
Jeremy Renner as Sgt. Doyle
Harold Perrineau as Flynn
Rose Byrne as Maj. Scarlet
Imogen Poots as Tammy Harris
Mackintosh Muggleton as Andy Harris
Meghan Popiel as DLR Soldier
Idris Elba as Gen. Stone
Stewart Alexander as Military Officer

Seven months after the rage virus has annihilated the British isles, the US army declares that the war against infection has been won, and that the reconstruction of the country can begin. In the first wave of returning refugees, a family is reunited--but one of them unwillingly carries a terrible secret. The virus is not yet dead, and this time, it is more dangerous than ever

User Comment:
When I first heard there was to be a sequel to Danny Boyle's excellent 28 Days Later and that Boyle himself would not be directing it, I was less than excited.

Then the reviews began flooding in and I was surprised, shocked even, that the majority of them were positive.

It was then after the well respected film critic Mark Kermode said it was "very good" and "better than we had any right to expect" that I began to raise my expectations.

Im happy to report that they were exceeded by a sequel that surpasses the original in terms of tension and spectacle.

Boyle remained on board with the project, albeit as a producer, but also directed some second unit footage and never allows it to veer away from the look or feel of his original.

Not that he had cause to worry as the new director,Juan Carlos Fresnadillo obviously understood Boyle's vision and expands on it without getting too carried away.

The result is a faster paced, less reflective film, containing a very intelligent political subtext and some fantastic action set pieces that (and this is the most important part) delivers a large number of quality scares.

It also dwarfs 28 days later in terms of gore, meaning true horror fans have much more in the way of visceral glee to sink their teeth into (pun intended).

Bring on 28 months later...

3 Needles (2005)
Where Despair Prevails, Hope Lives.

Director: Thom Fitzgerald
Writer: Thom Fitzgerald
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Language: Afrikaans / Mandarin / Xhosa / French / English
Running Time: Canada:123 min (Toronto International Film Festival) / USA:127 min / Canada:125 min (DVD)
Rating: 6.7/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0395424/

Cast:
Mabel Adams as Nahmnru, the African Grandmother
Asckt as Tea Picker
Shawn Ashmore as Denys, the Porn Actor
Caroline Aspirot as Stripper
Nontombi Bovana as Grandchild
Rob Burns as Broker
Stockard Channing as Olive Cowie, the Porn Actor's Mother
Chin Han as Soldier Xuan
Tanabadee Chokpikultong as Tong Sam, the Rice Farmer
Yotaka Cheukaew as Qi, the Rice Farmer's Daughter (as Yotaka Chorkreaw)
Eric Codana as Abakeweta
Catherine Colvey as Clara the Novice's Mother
Kathryn Costello as Tourist
Steven Crowder as Depanneur Manager
Douglas Cwaba as Hermit

A three-paneled look at the worldwide AIDS crisis: in Montreal, a porn actor (Ashmore) schemes to pass his mandatory blood test; a young nun (Sevigny) makes a personal sacrifice for the benefit of a South African village; in rural China, a black market operative (Liu) posing as a goverment-sanctioned blood drawer jeopardizes an entire village's safety.

User Comment:
3 NEEDLES as written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald (The Hanging Garden, The Wild Dogs, Blood Moon, Beefcake) is a powerful statement about the insidious spread of AIDS throughout the world, taking us to places we the viewers would rarely visit from the news media emphasis on the disease. The film is three stories in three countries told in tandem not unlike the technique so successfully used in BABEL, CRASH, and TRAFFIC. Employing cinematography of enormous talent and a cast of terrific actors, Fitzgerald manages to share his stories with such sensitivity that every viewer will feel involved in the tragedy that is rotting away our globe.

The film opens with a ceremony in Africa (supposedly South Africa) where young boys undergo ritualistic circumcision, learn the fighting tricks of manhood, and move into society as Men. This single portion of the film is intensely beautiful in its non-voyeuristic observation of an ages old ritual, so beautiful to watch that it calls for Pause/Replay! From Africa we go to rural China where Jin Ping (Lucy Liu, speaking Mandarin only) is the very pregnant force who runs an underground blood bank which while serving the donors with some cash also contaminates the population with HIV virus (we discover that Jin Ling is HIV positive, carrying a baby at risk, and supporting her HIV husband). The trials she encounters in her shady business are nothing to the moment of personal anguish when she delivers her baby without assistance in a cornfield.

Moving to Canada we meet Denys (Shawn Ashmore), a porn star who is HIV positive but steals blood from his ill father for his frequent 'tests' required by the porn director to hide his positive status in order to continue making porn movies to support his family. His mother Olive (Stockard Channing) discovers his status, hears about AIDS patients' ability to cash in on life insurance early, and infects herself so that she can take advantage of the early insurance cash to provide a life of comfort in the small time they both now have for herself and her now fatherless son.

And we return to South Africa where three nuns - Sister Clara (Chlo? Sevigny), Sister Hilde Francis (Olympia Dukakis) and Sister Mary John (Sandra Oh) - set up a clinic to treat the villagers, finding only that acts of tremendous self-sacrifice can stave off the spread of the gore of AIDS. The Men we have watched in the beginning of the film walk into the life that faces a world crippled by HIV and the contrast is powerful.

3 NEEDLES' cinematographer Tom Harting deserves awards for the sheer magnificence of his images he captures on film, not only the majestic vistas of Africa and China but also the intimate moments such as Jin Ping's birthing. The musical score by Christophe Beck and Trevor Morris manages to find the atmosphere of each of the three stations of the cross Fitzgerald examines. The acting cast, both the gifted well-known actors as well as the smaller roles by unknowns in each location, is magnificent. If the film has a flaw it is in the unfortunate arena of avoiding preaching: watching and hearing the events is so very powerful that words of summation feel superficial and even insulting. But that is a small flaw in a film of wonder. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

30 Days of Night (2007)

Director: David Slade
Writer: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie
Genre: Horror / Thriller
MPAA: Rated R for strong horror violence and language.
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: USA:113 min
Rating: 6.7/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0389722/

Cast:
Josh Hartnett as Sheriff Eben Oleson
Melissa George as Stella Oleson
Danny Huston as Marlow
Ben Foster as The Stranger
Mark Boone Junior as Beau Brower
Mark Rendall as Jake Oleson
Amber Sainsbury as Denise
Manu Bennett as Deputy Billy Kitka
Megan Franich as Iris
Joel Tobeck as Doug Hertz
Elizabeth Hawthorne as Lucy Ikos
Nathaniel Lees as Carter Davies
Craig Hall as Wilson Bulosan
Chic Littlewood as Issac Bulosan
Peter Feeney as John Riis

User Comment:
30 Days of Night is based on a comic book by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith which, like every other comic book, I haven't read. It's not hard to see why they'd turn this comic into a movie, however, as the chance for a brilliant vampire flick is clearly there; we've got a snow setting, coupled with one of nature's strangest happenings, and of course a pack of hungry vampires. Considering all these elements; it really does have to be said that 30 Days of Night is a big let down. While certainly not a bad film; it probably could have been a masterpiece. The plot centres on a small Alaskan town. Most people that live there are deserting; not wanting to have to withstand the upcoming month of darkness. Those that remain soon find that the fact that alcohol is banned during this time isn't there only problem; as the local sheriff notices a few strange crime reports, and pretty soon the town is at the mercy of a gang of bloodthirsty vampires, hell-bent on chowing down on everyone left in the town, before eradicating any trace of them being there. Only a small few stand in the vampires' way...

One of the main problems with modern horror movies is flashy photography. I don't know who decided that not letting the audience see what is going on properly is exciting, but whoever it was should be hunted down and butchered by a gang of bloodthirsty vampires, being sure to remove to his head to prevent him coming back and inventing some other rubbish. Credit where credit is due, however; this film doesn't feature too much of it. Once the vampires are introduced properly, things improve greatly and the film reaches its biggest high towards the middle with an excellent massacre sequence. From there, it's somewhat reminiscent of George Romero's classic Night of the Living Dead, as we watch the survivor's hole up and band together against the impending threat. The film stars Josh Hartnett, who is not as misplaced in the lead role as I thought he might be. He's a bit too pretty to be the town sheriff really, but he gets into his role well. Danny Huston as the head vampire is the real standout here. One big problem with the film is that it takes place over thirty days, yet it feels like it could have happened in one night. It's obvious why they chose to do it like this...but it doesn't feel right. It boils down to a disappointing and silly ending, but most of the film is entertaining and gory enough to please most viewers. Overall, this is not as great as it could have been; but it's an above average horror film, and I recommend seeing it.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Time waits for one man

Director: James Mangold
Writer: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt
Genre: Action / Drama / Western
MPAA: Rated R for violence and some language.
Country: USA
Language: English
Running Time: USA:117 min
Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0381849/

Cast:
Russell Crowe as Ben Wade
Christian Bale as Dan Evans
Logan Lerman as William Evans
Dallas Roberts as Grayson Butterfield
Ben Foster as Charlie Prince
Peter Fonda as Byron McElroy
Vinessa Shaw as Emmy Nelson
Alan Tudyk as Doc Potter
Luce Rains as Marshal Weathers
Gretchen Mol as Alice Evans
Lennie Loftin as Glen Hollander
Rio Alexander as Campos
Johnny Whitworth as Darden
Shawn Howell as Jackson
Pat Ricotti as Jorgensen

Rancher Dan Evans heads into Bisbee to clear up issues concerning the sake of his land when he witnesses the closing events of a stagecoach robbery lead by famed outlaw Ben Wade. No sooner or later, Wade is captured by the law in Bisbee and Evans finds himself one of the escorts who will take Wade to the 3:10 to Yuma train in Contention for the reward of $200. Evans quest for taking Wade to the station is not only for saving for his land but an inner battle that he can be more than just a naive rancher in the eyes of his impetuous and gunslinging son William Evans. The transport to Contention is hazardous and filled with ambushes from Indians, pursuits by Wade's vengeful gang and Wade's own conniving and surreptitious demeanor that makes the ride all more intense.

User Comment:
Nice to finally see a decent modern western bring its way to the screen. Much in the style of westerns of old, lots of action, but it doesn't move too quickly where all your seeing is shootouts and blood. The storyline is deep and powerful, all the characters are interesting and make sense, and just an overall enjoyable film.

James Mangold puts himself on the board with this film, hopefully he continues to pump out future classics such as 3:10 to Yuma.

Go out and watch this in theaters, and then buy it on DVD when it comes out. A movie well worth watching.

8.5 from me, which fortunately for 3:10 to Yuma, rounds up to a 9.