MOVIE REVIEWS: BATTLE LOS ANGELES

IN THEATERS

BATTLE LOS ANGELES



A Marine platoon fights to prevent the city of Los Angeles from being overtaken by a race of highly advanced alien invaders in this epic sci-fi action thriller from director Jonathan Liebesman (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) and producer Neal H. Moritz (I Am Legend, Fast & Furious). After decades of speculation about life on other planets, the people of Earth discover that extraterrestrials really do exist when destruction rains down from the stars on cities all across the globe. When the alien warships descend upon Los Angeles, however, the ferocious invaders discover that humankind won't go down without a fight as a gruff Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his fearless troop of jarheads point their weapons skyward and make one last stand for the entire human race. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Ramon Rodríguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ne-Yo

Release Date: Mar 11, 2011

Rated PG-13 for sustained and intense sequences of war violence and destruction, and for language

Runtime: 1 hr. 56 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

Battle Los Angeles blast on the screen in an endless overlong barrage of explosions and firefights that seem intent on beating you into submission. Borrowing heavy doses from Black Hawk Down and War of the World, everything about this film is clichéd and unoriginal. The insane part is that Jonathan Liebesman seems to believe that if he gives you enough shakey shakey cam action you’ll forget about all that. Liebesman does his best Michael Bay impression whenever he’s not shooting near carbon copy scenes stolen from Black Hawk Down. Characters are incredibly generic and uninteresting. Aaron Eckhart’s square chin and grave voice tries his best give this story some heart and emotion but the script is so incredibly weak that there’s only so much he can do. Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan show up to remind that this is a big budget movie but aren’t asked to anything more than shoot and look concerned. These type of films can be fun but even mindless fun needs some substance.

D

[Trailer] Super 8

Full Trailer for JJ Abrams new film....

TV SHOW REVIEW: The Walking Dead: Season One Blu-ray

The Walking Dead: Season One [Blu-ray]

Police officer Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.
Cast:

Andrew Lincoln - Rick Grimes

Jon Bernthal - Shane Walsh

Sarah Wayne Callies - Lori Grimes

Laurie Holden - Andrea

Jeffrey DeMunn - Dale Horwath

Steven Yeun - Glenn

Chandler Riggs - Carl Grimes

Norman Reedus - Daryl Dixon

REVIEW:

The first season of The Walking Dead, based on the graphic novel of the same name, comes to the small screen with a palpable sense of heart and devotion to creating well rounded character that inhabit this post apocalyptic world. It succeeds from the opening episode, showing you that there so much more here than your basic zombie brain smashing, which it does still do. The characters are rich and intriguing; the acting from the cast is mostly pitch perfect. The ensemble as a whole work well together with Lincoln and Reedus being real standouts with fine performances. The overall feel of the show reminded me quite a bit of old school Stephen King, mainly The Stand (the Book), with a group of regular individuals being thrust into an insane situation. The characters are the focal point and with Frank Darabont, whose given us some of the best King big screen translations, at the helm for the first episode and as a producer overall, the show never loses its focus and quickly creates an immersive viewing experience. An impressive feat considering there are painfully few episodes in this first season, 6 in total. There are a few unavoidable faults, mainly due the genre being so well worn that it’s general tropes are 2nd hand knowledge for the most causal fan. Some situations will feel terribly familiar for most genre fans, I even noted a few musical cues, which are incredibly similar to motion pictures 28 days in particular in one sequence, that seemed to be acknowledging the fact that this isn’t new territory they are treading on. Still as a whole this show is impressively well done and should appeal to a lot of people, even those who think that the zombie genre is silly.

A-

[Trailer] Apollo 18

From Cannibal Holocaust thru Blair Witch and now Paranormal Activity, I've always been a sucker for found footage horror flicks, I like the sci-fi/history spin here....

[Trailer] Insidious

I have no idea if this film will be any good, Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are positives, but I just found the trailer extremely intriguing and well cut...

MOVIE REVIEWS: DRIVE ANGRY 3D

IN THEATERS

DRIVE ANGRY 3D



Nicolas Cage headlines this high-octane 3D thriller about a convicted felon who breaks out of hell to prevent the cult that murdered his daughter from sacrificing his infant granddaughter on the night of the full moon. With just three days to go before the ritual killing, Milton crosses paths with knockout waitress Piper, who agrees to help him by stealing her ex-boyfriend's mean, cherry-red muscle machine. Between that high-performance car and Milton's own black '71 Challenger, they may have a shot at taking down the cult and saving his granddaughter's life. But charismatic cult leader Jonah King isn't running scared, because when hell is unleashed on Earth, he will be the most powerful man alive. Unfortunately for Milton, the cops are quickly closing in, and a savage serial killer known only as "The Accountant" is looking to have some bloody fun on the open roads. With each passing minute, Milton's last shot at redemption is fading, so he teams up with Piper to defeat Jonah's legions of loyal disciples, avenge the death of his daughter, and prevent the crazed cult leader from plunging the entire world into infernal darkness. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Patrick Lussier

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke, David Morse.

Release Date: Feb 25, 2011

Rated R for Strong brutal violence throughout, grisly images, some graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language

Runtime: 1 hr. 44 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Thriller, 3D

Review:

In the opening scene of Drive Angry, Nicolas Cage takes a man’s wallet after killing him. There’s a pretty good chance you could feel like that sad dead sack by the end of this choppy barely coherent exploitation swing and a miss from director Patrick Lussier. Lussier’s direction is generally shoddy and uninspired outside of some impressive moments of 3D insanity. Sadly, outside of those few moments there’s not enough to keep the film moving, it’s a shame because the concept is fairly interesting and could have made for all kinds of high cheese fun. In the end it’s outside of Lussier’s talent level even with a cast that’s better than the film deserves. Nicolas Cage is fairly one note throughout but it’s intentional, that being said it would have been nice to have seen him do a bit more to flesh the character out. Amber Heard is one of the standouts here; she’s entirely committed and badass every time she’s one the screen. It’s a shame 3D ass kicking Heard is mostly wasted with a shoddy script and the lackluster direction. William Fichtner also does yeoman’s work here making the most of every scene he’s in which sadly isn’t enough. Tom Atkins and David Morse show up just to show up and aren’t asked to do much. Billy Burke is laughably invisible even though he’s trying his hardest to be sleazy and menacing. Drive Angry should be a lot more enjoyable as throwback schlockfest but it just misses the mark a lot more often than not.

D