goingtomovies: July 2008

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army (2008)

Hellboy 2 is one of the most irritating superhero ever created beating Hancock and Iron Man by a wide margin. Do we really care if he lives or die? Not really.

If Hellboy is not drunk or behaving badly, we are subjected to some of the most unbelievable action sequences ever seen to-date - like throwing a baby high into the air without hurting it. If this is the future of superhero movies, then this genre is doomed to failure much the same way as spaghetti westerns have marginalized Western genre movies.

Oscar winning director, Guillermo Del Toro's inventive CGI creature effects and imaginative action sequences on this Hellboy sequel can't mask how devoid of good ideas this movie is.

In this movie, all hell breaks loose when a prince of an ancient race is revived and are bent on annihilating every last human being on earth. My only wish is that he sent Hellboy back to hell where he belongs and leave the rest of us humans alone.

Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Screenwriter: Guillermo Del Toro
Story: Guillermo Del Toro, Mike Mignola
Runtime: 110 minutes
Studio: Universal Pictures

Hellboy II The Golden Army is not really suitable for children

Hellboy II The Golden Army is rated PG13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

Some parts of the movie may not be suitable for young children (below 13) because of its scary creatures and frightening violent scenes. In one scene, a key character commits suicide with a knife. You also have bad language, references to inter species relationship, non-marital cohabitation, same sex marriage, scenes of a drunk Hellboy and generally bad attitudes for a hero.

">© http://goingtomovies.blogspot.com - Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army (2008)

Rails and Ties (2007)

Panned by critics, Rails and Ties deserves a more positive review for its DVD release. This weepie may come across too forced and melodramatic at times but it does deliver an interesting story about the tragedy of death and loneliness.

Strong performance by Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden manages to lift the movie above the script's limitations.

Rails and Ties is about a detached Tim (Kevin Bacon) whose train ploughed though Davey's (Miles Heizer) mother's car which was parked deliberately on the railway tracks. When Davey visits Tim's house to demand why Tim did not stop the train and avoid killing his mom, he develops an unexpected mother-son relationship with Tim's cancer ridden wife, Megan (Marcia Gay Harden).

The movie is directed by Alison Eastwood (Clint Eastwood's daughter).

Genre: Dramas
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer
Director: Alison Eastwood
Screenwriter: Micky Levy
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Rails and Ties (2007 is rated: PG-13 for mature thematic elements, an accident scene, brief nudity and momentary strong language.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Cassandra's Dream (2008)

Not one of Woody Allen's best (written and directed) movies but it is reasonably entertaining if you like Hitchcock's more quirky melodramas. Cassandra's Dream is largely saved by the talented British actors, Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor who play two working class brothers with aspirations for the high life.

Colin and Ewan have problems paying off their gambling debts until they meet a rich uncle who proposes they murder a business associate of his in return for a considerable sum of money. Cassandra's Dream turns out to be a nightmare for them and proves that committing a murder is not as easy as it seems.

Cassandra's Dream is rated: PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexual material and brief violence.

Genre: Drama
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Sally Hawkins, Hayley Atwell
Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Wieners (2007)

Another teen road trip movie with no redeeming qualities. It is no surprise Wieners has flopped in the theaters and will do likewise on video.

Kenan Thompson, Zachary Levi and Fran Kranz stars as three childhood friends who intend to take their home made wiener wagon on a cross-country road trip to seek revenge against the pompous television "doctor" who humiliated them on national television. During the trip they predictably meet an assortment of freaks, weirdos, and losers.

Comedy is limited to crude and silly jokes that won't see the light of day in any decent movie. Fortunately, this one will die at the first installment unlike the equally reviled National Lampoon and American Pie sequels.

Wieners (2007) is rated: R for crude and sexual humor, nudity and language.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

First Snow (2007)

First Snow is a slow, moody drama about a salesman who gets a prediction from a local palm reader of his own death when the first snow falls.

Guy Pierce, the smooth talking salesman who can get out of any situation, becomes more withdrawn as the prospect of the first snow fall gets dreadfully close. Is he predestined to his fate or can he change it?

First Snow is rated: R for language, some violence and sexuality.

Friday, July 4, 2008

The Signal (2007)

A zombie film about mysterious signals that are transmitted from all electronic devices which turn people to psychotic bloodthirsty killers. Because it is a low budget film, many of the horror / special effects are off screen. Still, there is enough gore to satisfy even the more demanding horror fans. If you looking for something new by way of the horror genre, this movie to check out.

The Signal is a sort of experimental film with three Atlanta filmmakers Jacob Gentry, Dan Bush, and David Bruckner write and direct one of three parts with a Re-animator influenced finale. The non-linear storytelling can be confusing at time but The Signal is never boring. It is the type of movie that will never fail to grab your attention even if you're doing something else and half watching the movie.

The Signal stars a cast of unknowns which helps lend some realism to the movie: Anessa Ramsey, Sahr, AJ Bowen, Matt Stanton and Suehyla El-Attar and is written and directed by David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry and Dan Bush.

The Signal is rated R for strong brutal bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and brief nudity

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Step Up 2 - The Streets (2008)

While Step Up was about kids wanting to study dance in a stuffy Arts School, Step Up 2 is about kids wanting to quit school and go to the streets. What a future is ahead for them!

Step Up - The Streets(2008) movie review & DVD poster

Step Up 2 - The Streets tries very hard to be all the urban dance movies that was ever made since the '70s but ended up looking like an MTV montage without any really memorable music to go with it.

It must be admitted that the dances are probably a good record of what was hip in 2008 but that is about all it has going for it. Don't expect good acting or a decent storyline. If you just go and see it for the dancing, you'll be fine though.

Step Up 2 - The Streets is rated: PG-13 for language, some suggestive material and brief violence.

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Thursday, July 3, 2008

Redline (2003)

Redline is all about flashy cars, illegal car racing down public roads and gambling. It is no surprise the movie bears some resemblance to Too Fast Too Furious as it shares the same executive producer, Daniel Sadek. That is where the similarities end. Unlike Too Fast Too Furious, Redline is full of stereotypes, stupid dialog and an unbelievable plot.

This vanity project looks like it was created to show off Daniel Sadek's fleet of million-dollar Ferraris and Lamborghinis. This movie is only for those who can't get enough of speeding cars and car wreaks. People don't get killed in car wreaks in this movie unless it is to advance the plot.

There is however some great guitarists providing fantastic licks in the movie.

Watch it highly disposable movie at your own risk.

Redline is rated: PG-13 for violence, illegal and reckless behavior, sexual content, language and drug references.

Dragon Wars (2007)

Except for the fairly good creature CGI effects, Dragon Wars (or D-War) is highly forgettable and even bad movie. The script simply atrocious with a storyline that makes no sense and dialog which looks like it had been translated literally from another language.

Dragon Wars (D-War)(2008) movie review & DVD poster

The story is about a boy who is given a medal which gives him powers to fight the Buraki monsters from ancient Korea. These time traveling Buraki monsters, who can transform themselves from serpents to dragons and back to serpents, wreak havoc on today's cities.

Dragon Wars is by Korean director Hyung Rae Shim (REPTILIAN) stars Jason Behr (Skinwalkers), Robert Forster (Firewall) and Amanda Brooks.

Dragon Wars is rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and creature action.

Untraceable (2008)

An above average thriller with a familiar plot about an FBI cybercrime specialist (Diane Lane) tracking a serial killer who does live postings of his killings over the Internet.

Don't expect Untraceable to be terribly suspenseful as the identity of the killer is revealed too early in the movie. However, a few of the terror scenes may satisfy some gore / torture fans.

Diane Lane puts up a good performance as the FBI agent desperately fighting against time to find the killer though her resemblance to Jodie Foster's Silence of the Lambs character may work against it.

Untraceable is rated: R for some prolonged sequences of strong gruesome violence, and language.

Watch the streaming video of the Untraceable (2008) movie trailer here:

Funny Games (2007)

A carbon copy of the nihilistic 1997 Austrian film of the same name and just as equally difficult to watch.

F

unny Games is about two young men who terrorize a family on vacation.

Their games are simply too excruciatingly difficult to watch. Don't expect "Hostel" type horror / gore here. Watch this movie only if you want to be tortured (read as: irritated) for 1 hour 52 minutes. If you had walked away before the movie had ended, you would have been spared of its low key anti-climatic finale. You have been warned, enter the theater at your own risk!

Naomi Watts stars as one of the victims.

Funny Games is rated: R for terror, violence and some language.

Boarding Gate (2007)

Advertised as an erotic thriller about sex, murder, betrayal and money, Boarding Gate instead turns out to be incredibly boring.

The movie is populated with characters nobody cares about. Its international backdrop fails to disguise the fact that it is more a B Movie than the "serious" Art House movie it aspires to be.

The story too is pretty trite, about of a former prostitute (Asia Argento) with complicated past sexual relationships with both men and women. She moves from London to Paris and then to Hong Kong to get away from her past misdeeds. At her final destination, she gets involved in a blotched drug deal with dire consequences.

Don't go to this movie expecting anything remotely exciting.

Boarding Gate is rated R for violence, sexual content, language and some drug material.

© http://goingtomovies.blogspot.com - Boarding Gate (2007)

Evening (2007)

To an average viewer, Evening is a dreadfully boring romantic drama with a complicated storyline that gets nowhere.

Evening (2008) movie review & DVD poster

However, fans of the much loved novel by Susan Minot and adapted for the screen by Minot and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham (The Hours), may enjoy this cinematic adaptation. Don't expect a successful recreation of the book even with the author on board.

Evening stars big names such as Claire Danes, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, and Meryl Streep.

Evening is rated: PG-13 for some thematic elements, sexual material, a brief accident scene and language

The Eye (2008)

Rather unexciting supernatural movie based on the Singapore-Hong Kong horror flick by the Pang Brothers also named "The Eye", stars Jessica Alba as the blind girl who can see dead people when her eyesight has been restored through surgery.

While the original movie is creepy and atmospheric, this remake is predictable Hollywood horror fare and therefore does deliver the necessary jolts to make it memorable. The Eye tries hard to up the ante on the "Sixth Sense" I see dead people... but here again the makers fail to understand the dynamics of what made this low key horror movie a success. Sorry, back to the drawing board....

The Eye is rated: PG-13 for violence/terror and disturbing content.

The Take (2008)

This drama is about an armored-truck driver's hunt for a corrupt security guard who gunned him down starring John Leguizamo.

Like most independent films, "The Take" is dark and bleak at times, but it does offer hope in the human spirit. If you like independent films, then you'll probably want to check out "The Take".

The Take is rated R for violence, sexual content, language and some drug use.

August Rush (2007)

It requires considerable concentration to get into this movie and some parts slows to a crawl. August Rush is mish mash of several genres like the musical, romantic drama etc but does not succeed in any of them.

August Rush (2008) movie review & DVD poster

August Rush is about a musically talented parents reconnecting with their long lost son who is also similarly musically inclined. Stars Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Meyer.

August Rush is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, mild violence and language.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

My Mom's New Boyfriend (2008)

The movie did not do well in the theaters and we can see why. My Mom's New Boyfriend is incoherent and offensive to fat people. Laughs in "My Mom's New Boyfriend' are virtually nonexistent so you're left feeling sorry for everyone involved in the movie.

The movie does have some very good actors like Antonio Banderas (as the art thief) and Meg Ryan (as the fat mom who turn into a really hot single mom). Colin Hanks (Tom Hank's son) is miscast as the hot mom's FBI son who unwittingly becomes party to covert operation to wire tap his mom's every activity so he can get enough evidence to send his mom's boyfriend (an art thief)to jail.

My Mom's New Boyfriend is rated PG-13 for sexual content, language, some violence and drug material.

© http://goingtomovies.blogspot.com - My Mom's New Boyfriend (2008)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

The Spiderwick Chronicles is as unimpressive in its story telling and special effects as that of the Golden Compass. The characters too are so detached that it is difficult relate to them. This first installment does not bode well for the future of Spiderwick movie franchise.

The story, based on the bestselling series of children's fantasy novels by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, is about a family which relocates from New York to the remote New England woods which is teeming with ugly creatures like goblins, boggarts, and ogres. It should have made an exciting tale if not for the poor scripting and bad acting.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is rated PG for scary creature action and violence, peril and some thematic elements. The scary monsters may frighten children too young to differentiate film fantasy from reality. There is one instance of very mild profanity and one other, more serious utterance that gets cut off mid-word.

© http://goingtomovies.blogspot.com - Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

Semi-Pro (2008)

Semi-Pro is another typical movie whereby Will Ferrel is given an opportunity to strut his macho wet dreams stuff. This time he is an entertainer / coach / basketball player with an afro trying to take the team's game to a higher level and not succeeding. It is only when Woody Harrelson takes over the reigns of the team, does the players see some real sports success.

Not one of Will Ferrel's best movies. But not a bad movie if you can tolerate some really crass jokes.

People who love '70s disco music will enjoy the movie purely because the music is lovingly woven into the movie much like Boogie Nights. So boogie on down and get down tonight with this DVD. If anything, just enjoy the Semi-Pro music soundtrack and reminisce the days when things were not so complicated.

Semi-Pro is rated R for language and some sexual content.

Be Kind Rewind (2008)

A low key comedy about a group of movie makers trying to save a building from demolition. Jack Black does his darn best to be funny but this low budget movie is so unfunny and looks like it is on the verge of running out of steam throughout the movie.

The characters does not gel and the audience will have great difficulty identifying with any of them. It is not likely to do well with the young crowd.

Watch Be Kind Rewind only if you don't have anything better to do.

Be Kind Rewind is rated: PG-13 for some sexual references.

Onion Movie (2008)

The Onion Movie pokes fun at the people involved in a news channel network and the nonsensical stories it generates on a daily basis.

It is funny in parts but won't rate as a hilarious movie because many of the jokes are predictable. It depicts stereotypes of Arabs, Blacks, Britney Spears, homosexuals, corporate executives, etc, so you can expect some of the jokes to be pretty disgusting. It is a pity the Onion Movie was not made after the Clinton / Obama Nomination Campaign as they would then have had a goldmine of material to manipulate.

One suspects that the Onion Movie, by its very nature, won't be fondly remembered as the jokes will feel dated after a few years. So enjoy it while the subject matter is still newsworthy.

Andromeda Strain Miniseries (2008)

Andromeda Strain Miniseries (2008)

Even the creative talents of director Mikael Salomon (BAND OF BROTHERS)and producer Ridley Scott could not beat the original 1971 Andromeda Strain movie. This Michael Crichton (JURASSIC PARK)book adaptation was too draggy at 2 hrs 57 minutes. Also this sci-fi thriller lacked the much anticipated CGI /special effects even for a TV movie.

The story about a satellite bringing to earth a extraterrestrial virus (the Andromeda Strain) has been exploited in many movies since 1971, but this 2008 production fails to bring the necessary thrills to make it a memorable miniseries.

Only to be seen for its curiosity value.

George A Romero's Dairy of the Dead (2008)

George A Romero's Diary of the Dead (2008)

George A Romero's feeble attempt at a Blair Witch concept video of the undead. Romero is not the most creative of producers / directors in Hollywood, but the Diary of the Dead has an even lower standard than his previous Dead / zombie movies.

Something went wrong in the production of Diary of the Dead, perhaps it was the lack of budget even for a low budget movie, resulting in this resulting mess. Watch it only if you are a George A Romero fan. Otherwise, give it a miss.

Diary of the Dead is rated: R for strong horror violence and gore, and pervasive language.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Monday, July 7, 2008

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Friday, July 4, 2008

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

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