My wife and I finished this one last evening, it was a slick espionage type movie with most of the trimmings. If you enjoyed the film Eagle Eye (2008) starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan you will probably like this one as well. I do however think the film was lacking in comparison especially with the stunts in the movie, they were pretty predictable and bland. The actors also at times seemed like they were just going through the motions of each scene and not giving it their all. But, the concept was interesting, and worthy enough to give it a watch. The ending was not anything special, and didn’t seem like it meant anything, perhaps you will have a different view after seeing it. Most of all the scenes were in a few settings and it was obvious they were watching their budget while making this film.
I did like the creativity of the blackout sequence in the hallway – where actor Shane West playing the role of Max Peterson falls down after being knocked out. The main story is Max gets a phone that continuously gives him information about what is going to happen next, where he can place bets at casinos to win money. He is a computer specialist and has extensive knowledge about programming. Each of the previous people that received a phone with instructions have been killed so, this obviously puts Max in great danger.
Edward Burns the director and actor plays the role of John Reed a former CIA man working freelance at a casino in the Czech Republic where he meets up with Shane’s character Max. Ving Rhames also works for the CIA as Agent Dave Grant in this film and questions Max trying to figure out where things are going. You will also see Russian actors Yuriy Kutsenko as the Russian General and Sergey Gubanov as Yuri Malanin in this. Martin Sheen plays Raymond Burke the operating director of the CIA. Tamara Feldman is special agent Kamila who also is an operative. You will also see veteran actor Jonathan Pryce playing the role of Mueller the casino owner. The film was directed by Greg Marcks and the screenplay and writing credits go to Michael Nitsberg, Kevin Elders with the story done by Michael Nitsberg. I think you can buy or rent this one and be mildly entertained. I would have not picked to see this in the theatre however.
This is another classic fantasy film, where the expectations upon release were huge; the film did decently at the box office, and since then has endured a cult-like following. This is a magical journey of adventure, where magic does exist along with brownies and fairies. The leading hero of the story is Willow an apprentice magician played by little person Warwick Davis formerly known as the lovable character Wicket the Ewok from Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983). He has since then gone onto other things including an upcoming production titled ShortFellas (2009). You may also recognize him from the Harry Potter films playing the role of Professor Filius Flitwick.
The main story is about a small child that was born by a prisoner – that will bring the demise of the Queen played by Jean Marsh, who has taken over the lands with her wicked ways. The child must be protected at all costs and becomes Willow’s responsibility as caretaker. Along the way, he meets some unlikely friends that help him in his quest. With his charm and cocky nature the character Madmartigan is played by actor Val Kilmer who helps him. Joanne Whalley plays the character Sorsha and made her first Hollywood appearance in this film, and also fell in love with Val Kilmer while they filmed the movie in 1988. They would later divorce one another, she didn’t tell him initially he found out about it while watching CNN on television and waited for Val to begin filming The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
The late Billy Barty played the role of High Aldwin in this one, and the late Mark Northover played Burglekutt. Kevin Pollak plays the brownie Rool, and little person Phil Fondacaro plays Vohnkar. The late Patricia Haynes played the character Fin Raziel. This was a wonderfully entertaining film, that you can enjoy with friends and family. I highly recommend it especially to those who enjoy fantasy films. The screenplay was written by Bob Dolman. It was directed by Ron Howard and produced by George Lucas.
If you are looking for a suspenseful thriller this is a nice pick. I remember this one, and thought it was well done overall with the story being driven mostly by the two leading actors Hugh Grant as Dr. Guy Luthan and Gene Hackman playing Dr. Lawrence Myrick. It grabs you from the start of the story, and you will find yourself getting involved pretty easily. I thought this was one of Hugh Grant’s better performances and Gene Hackman delivers a solid performance as well. They worked well together in this one, and the style and vision of the movie was done in a great way by director Michael Apted.
This film is based upon the book written by Michael Palmer and the screenplay was done by Tony Gilroy about medical doctors who specialize in surgery. I would go into further details, but it would ruin the surprise of the story. I will mention however at this hospital everything is not what it seems to be. You will also see in this Sarah Jessica Parker, but she is nothing like her character Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City. J.K Simmons is also in this movie, you might recognize him from the Spiderman movies playing J. Jonah Jameson. Paul Guilfoyle is in this, Bill Nunn, and John Toles-Bey fill out the rest of the cast. Peter Appel appears in this as well. This movie does deliver, and that is a suspenseful thriller with an edge keeping your interest throughout the entire length of the film. I will recommend this one.
The very idea of two men still living at home with their parents in North America at 40 years of age is pretty ridiculous in many ways, and that is the initial storyline in this film. They are both crude and rude with a primitive nature. What better actors that could be chosen for this than former Saturday Night Live man Will Ferrell as Brennan Huff and veteran movie actor John C. Reilly playing Dale Doback who have both worked together previously in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (1996).
The storyline was simple in the fact they both come together after their parents get married becoming step brothers, at first they hated one another then they start getting along. Their parents give them an ultimatum that they must find a job or get kicked out of their house. These two cause quite a bit of mischief for Mary Steenburgen as Nancy Huff and Richard Jenkins as Dr. Robert Doback who marries Nancy.
The supporting cast includes Adam Scott as Derek Huff the biological brother of Brennan, Derek’s wife is played by Kathryn Hahn as Alice Huff who is quite crazy and wild. Their children are played by Lurie Poston as Tommy Huff and Elizabeth Yozamp is Tiffany Huff. Andrea Savage plays Denise who later is the psychologist that works with Will Ferrell’s character Brennan. The movie was stretched out a bit and could have ended sooner but this left room for more slapstick comedy gags to be put in. There are some scenes in this film that are pretty bazaar. But, I found a few of them to be humorous, I don’t think this movie will appeal to everyone, but I think it was good enough to watch on DVD.
I’ve seen this one over the years many times, I thought the music was creative performed by David Bowie who also plays the role of Jareth the Goblin King in this as well. This was produced by George Lucas, and the late Jim Henson was responsible for the puppets and animatronics that were used to bring these characters to life. For this reason alone it was worth watching, but this is a nice, solid, yet simple story about a girl played by a much younger Jennifer Connelly named Sarah.
Her parents go away and she is left with babysitting duty. She is jealous of her little baby brother played by Toby Froud named “Toby” and wishes him to go away and from her intentions the child is taken by the Goblin King. This sets up the story, and we see her adventure into this fantasy realm of creatures and characters with stunning backdrops throughout the film. She only has 13 hours to rescue her brother, and figure her way through the Labyrinth. She is a confused and typical teenager filled with lots of different emotions. She befriends different creatures along the way to aid her in her quest. This is another film that is worthwhile to watch with your kids and family. I highly recommend this one.
This is a classic tale of a boy whose imagination runs wild, and we get a chance to experience the adventure with him in a traditional story of good versus evil. In his personal everyday life he is picked on at school and decides to escape into the fantasy world by burying himself into the novels that he reads. He is on the run from about the start of the movie, and seeks refuge inside a bookstore after being chased by some kids from his school only then does he discover a most unusual book titled: The NeverEnding Story, intrigued by this he decides to borrow it, and runs out of the store.
His real life mother is absent from his life, and his father is doing his best to raise him. At school he crawls into the attic where there are lots of strange things around – only there is he able to seek some type of peace of mind. He then begins to read, and gets involved with his book and the line of fantasy and reality gets blurred from this moment on. After finding a quite place inside the attic of the school, he soon forgets about getting back home and decides to continue reading, he bonds with the characters in the story, and from then on the fantasy world of Fantasia becomes a reality.
Barret Oliver stars in this as Bastian, his father is played by Gerald McRaney. The rest of the cast includes: Thomas Hill as Koreander, Deep Roy is Teeny Weeny, Tilo Prückner is Night Hob, Moses Gunn as Cairon, Noah Hathaway is Atreyu and Tami Stronach is The Childlike Empress. I recommend this one; it is still one of the better children movies out there, and stands the test of time. There were two sequels made titled: The NeverEnding Story II (1990) and The NeverEnding Story III (1994), but they were not as good as the original in my opinion.
