MOVIE REVIEW: PRIEST

ON VIDEO

PRIEST



In a world ravaged by wars between humans and vampires, a renegade priest fights to rescue his niece from the legions of bloodsuckers who seek to transform the young girl into one of them. A battle-weary veteran of the last vampire war, warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) now resides in a heavily fortified city where the ruling Church is a greater menace than any creature of the night. When a pack of vampires abduct Priest's niece (Lily Collins), the vengeful holy man breaks his vows and promises to save the young innocent from a fate worse than death. He can't do it alone, but with a powerful warrior Priestess (Maggie Q) and his niece's boyfriend, a sharp-shooting sheriff (Cam Gigandet), on his side, Priest may have a fighting chance. Stephen Moyer, Karl Urban, and Brad Dourif co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Scott Charles Stewart

Cast: Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Lily Collins, Stephen Moyer,
Christopher Plummer, Brad Dourif

Release Date: May 13, 2011

Rated PG-13 Intense sequences of violence and action, disturbing images and brief
strong language

Runtime: 1 hr. 27 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

Priest is kind of like a dollar store Frankenstein monster of a film. It’s made up of so many sources that it’s hard to keep track of them. Occasionally, director Scott Charles Stewart hits the sweet spot with a few cool visuals or ideas that look like they could spring into something but just never do. Instead, you are left to trudge through a Blade Runner-esque world before heading into a Western-esque post apocalyptic world mixed with as many clichés as you can think of, throw it in a blender and call it a day. Paul Bettany string of truly questionable role selections, he’s really a fine actor, continues here as he looks like a holy roman Jedi while carrying the same demeanor he had in the woeful Legion, also directed by Stewart. Bettany looks like he came straight from that set and just had a quick wardrobe change and went right to work. Not that there’s much he can do given the script but he tries, in fact he’s so serious throughout that he could be passing a diamond as the movie progresses. Cam Gigandet is tasked with being his partner in their heroes quest and he distractingly bad in a bad film. Gigandet reads lines like a first year acting student, leaving you wondering if that was really the best take they could possibly get from him or if everybody was just in a rush to go home. The lovely Maggie Q looks lovely and cool in limited screen time. Karl Urban is mostly wasted as the villain here, in the sparse amount of time he’s given he looks like he’s begging to do some actual work but just isn’t ever asked. Christopher Plummer and Brad Dourif pass through on their way to other films. The strange thing and probably biggest sin Priest commits is that’s its actually fairly watch able, helped by it’s scant run time and brisk pacing, if it actually had any sort of worthwhile script it might have made for a solid B movie.

C-

[Trailer] UNDERWORLD AWAKENING 3D

I have a handful of franchises that are guilty pleasures, the Resident Evil franchise comes to mind but that seems more like sadomasochism at this point, and the Underworld series is always one that drags me in.

I wish I could say it was cinematic reason but it’s not, Beckinsale looks amazing in these movies and third prequel had one of my favorite genre hotties, Rhona Mitra.

This trailer looks like more of the same along with the terribly passé wirework action but its got Beckinsale looking hot again, vampires and werewolves and some other nonsense.

It comes out in January, studios dumping grounds for crap filmmaking, and I’ll be there opening weekend!

MOVIE REVIEW: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

IN THEATERS

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

The Escapist director Rupert Wyatt takes the helm for this Planet of the Apes prequel centering on genetically engineered chimp Caesar (Andy Serkis), who was created in a San Francisco lab by an ambitious scientist (James Franco), and who uses his powerful intellect to lead an ape uprising against all of humankind. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Cast: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox, David Oyelowo, Tom Felton

Release Date: Aug 05, 2011

Rated: Violence and intense/frightening sequences

Runtime: 1 hr. 50 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

The original Planet of the Apes is such an iconic film that it leaves a legacy that still rings through this most recent reboot. Winks and nods to the original pop up here and there throughout Rise of the Planet of the Apes, some subtle and others more obvious and forced. It’s a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things, especially when so much care and effort was put into making this more than just another money grabbing reboot. Rise has something missing from most reboots; it’s got plenty of heart and a strong sense of itself. The story feels authentic with a set up and follow through that flows nicely. Director Rupert Wyatt shoots his film with a steady hand, moving his film at a steady pace rarely lingers in any section too long. James Franco, Freida Pinto and John Lithgow all have paint by the number roles. Franco offers some heart to his character but like the rest he’s simply a tool for the plot. David Oyelowo and Tom Felton are given cheesier clichéd roles which border on goofy, Felton in particular seems like he was transported from an 80’s flick sans a Cobra Kai patch. The real star of the show though is Andy Serkis, whose become the motion capture “man behind the mask”, who’s performance capture work is even more impressive than his work in the Lord of the Rings. His role is mostly visual but he’s able to emote such a massive range of emotions that’s you can relate with Caesar’s situation throughout. The CGI work is excellent, delivering photo realistic creations that rarely scream CGI. There are a few scenes that will either work for you or not, depending on how invested you are by that point in the story. While Rise will never leave the lasting legacy of the original film it’s still an impressive effort all around.

B

First look at Anne Hathaway As Catwoman From The Dark Knight Rises

First shot of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises is out, kind of straight forward but high tech looking, would need to get a full look at the outfit to make a final decision.

From this it just looks kind of ho hum, a high tech jumpsuit. Less impressive than the Bane reveal if you ask me….




Below are some better looks at the outfit from the set while they are shooting....

First Photo of Henry Cavill As Superman from Zach Snyder's Man of Steel

First official photo of Henry Cavill as Superman in Zach Snyder’s Man of Steel is out.

Right off the bat I’ve never been a big fan of Superman in general but being a child and growing up with the Christopher Reeve’s films, it was kind of hard to escape.

I actually enjoyed the Bryan Singer reboot but that probably had more to do with it reminding me of the Donner films but I digress.

Snyder is a visual filmmaker and while I loved Watchmen and hated Sucker Punch I was still looking forward to see what he was going to do with this property.

Still am but first impressions on the new look, what’s up with the scales on the suit and I guess this Superman has super hair??

MOVIE REVIEW: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

IN THEATERS

COWBOYS AND ALIENS



Based on the graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Cowboys & Aliens starts in 1800s Arizona, where the local cowboys, headed by gunslinger Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), and the indigenous Apache tribe have been feuding fiercely for quite a while. Their skirmish is interrupted, however, by the appearance of a spaceship, commanded by an alien creature that's bent on enslaving the human race. It's time for a six-gun shoot-out between these cattle rustlers and space invaders, and there might even be a temporary peace between the cowboys and Indians as they both take aim at these extraterrestrial uninvited guests. Jon Favreau directs from a script by Star Trek scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, with help from Lost's Damon Lindelof. Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, and Sam Rockwell fill out the headlining cast. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast: Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano

Release Date: Jul 29, 2011

Rated PG-13 for Intense sequences of western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference

Runtime: 1 hr. 58 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Cowboys and Aliens is the type of film that should just reek of fun. A galloping mash up of genres that keeps you excited and thrilled throughout. Instead, Jon Favreau delivers a dour film that rarely thrills and occasionally falls into motionless boredom. As a film, it’s mostly inert moving forward only because it must. The characters are all variations of classic film characters and there’s not much of a twist brought to them here. There’s nothing interesting about any of the characters or particularly deep. This would be entirely forgivable if the spectacle of it all was rousing and exciting. The cast assembled is an impressive collection stars and stellar character actors. Daniel Craig is a sight in his full cowboy get up but he’s not asked to do much but pose and occasionally say something. Harrison Ford seems barely interested in the film or role. His lines are delivered like he’s in a hurry to get off the set. Olivia Wilde isn’t asked to do much but look out of place and then really be out of place in the latter half of the film. Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano, Adam Beach, Keith Carradine, Walton Goggins and David O’Hara would all make a hell of a film in their own right but here’s they’re mostly wasted in pointless bit parts that could have been filled by mannequins. With the assembled talent behind and in front of the camera you’d expect a somewhat passable film by default. Sadly this overlong comic adaptation is devoid of any fun or originality.

D