By Jason Rugaard | Thursday, August 5th, 2010
2 Stars
The Third film in the ‘Step Up’ series has the distinction of being the first 3D musical. That’s about the only distinguished thing in the entire film. Second rate actor and first rate dancer Adam G. Sevani plays Moose, an NYU freshman who’s promised his parents he’d ditch the dancing to hit the books. That is until he is recruited into the ‘Pirates’ a group of dancers who apparently spend a lot of time spinning and flipping around enclosed spaces. All of this leads to complications between Moose and his longtime sweetheart Camille. It’s a good – Continue reading…
By Jason Rugaard | Friday, July 16th, 2010
3 1/2 Stars
Director Christopher Nolan’s follow up to the critically and commercially lauded ‘Dark Knight‘ is an even better and far more ambitious film. Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as a man able to invade the minds of others to rob and steal information. Until he is hired to use this technology to ‘plant’ information in a specified target’s brain. To go any further in plot details would just confuse, even though Nolan does a great job of balancing a narrative arc over separate layers of reality. The cinematography by Wally Pfister is OSCAR worthy as well as the acting – Continue reading…
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) – Review
By Jason Rugaard | Monday, June 28th, 2010
3 Stars
The third film in the ‘Twilight’ series is a marked improvement over the first two entries. Sporting a glossier look and much better special effects; this is the ‘blockbuster’ film that ‘New Moon’ purported to be. The action is fairly brief until the climactic battle sequence. Instead Director David Slade focuses on the love triangle that is the heart of the series and this installment in particular.
The three leads have never been better, with Lautner a standout. After all of the media frenzy, Lautner has finally delivered a performance that clearly shows this kid has ‘movie star’ qualities. – Continue reading…
Kings of South Beach (2007) – Review
By Jason Rugaard | Friday, May 7th, 2010
3 Stars
Donnie Whalberg and Jason Gedrick give first rate performances in the Direct-to-DVD tale of infamous Miami club owner Chris Paciello. The film is based on a true story though names have been tweaked and events reshaped, working from a screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi(Casino, Goodfellas) the two leads sink their teeth into the roles. Gedrick is the good looking impresario under investigation by the FBI and Organized Task force divisions for his connection to a mob family back in New York. Whalberg plays Burnett; the undercover cop working the case, who may be in over his head.Set – Continue reading…
By Jason Rugaard | Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
1 1/2 Stars
The life and death of enigmatic Former Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston is explored in director Robert Townsend’s heartfelt but misguided new film. Ving Rhames plays Liston as a thug with a punch and a serious dislike of authority figures. His performance comes off as one-note and dull due to the fact that the overly simplified screenplay doesn’t give the title character much dimension. The film starts in 1950 with the future champion locked away in a jail cell, until he discovers boxing from the priest who also serves as the center’s athletic director. In a paint by – Continue reading…
By Jason Rugaard | Sunday, April 18th, 2010
3 Stars
‘Training Day’ scribe David Ayer’s 2nd feature is a slick, highly entertaining and sometime preposterous police thriller. Keanu Reeves is slightly out of his element playing Det. Tom Ludlow the loose cannon on an elite squad of outlaw cops. He is surrounded by a well cast line up of supporting character actors all of whom are uniformly strong. Whatever director Ayer lacks in film making technique he makes up for through his excellent writing. The script is very strong here, taking clever turns and capturing an authenticity in the way these types of people speak. However the – Continue reading…
Prince Of Hitsville (2009/Short) – Review
By Trevor Anderson | Monday, March 29th, 2010
2 1/2 Stars
Prince of Hitsville is the story of events leading up to Marvin Gaye making one of the greatest albums ever. Being a short film (38mins) it doesn’t have time to cover all of Gaye’s life, instead it smartly opts to show a small but important part of it. Drama ensues as Gaye fights with the music studio to put out his political album. Throughout all of this he must deal with his brother coming home from Vietnam and over-dosing on drugs. But all of this only makes Marvin stronger and more diligent in getting his new album – Continue reading…
The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009) – Review
By Trevor Anderson | Saturday, March 27th, 2010
2 Stars
Although time travel is mentioned in the title, this is not a sci-fi flick. This film uses the time traveling in an attempt to create a romantic drama about the effects of a man being away from his family for long stints of time. It’s unsuccessful at that. Neither Eric Bana or Rachel McAdams turn in performances worth noting. The movie is drab and boring throughout. The other issue is obviously time loops, which plague any film about time travel. Unlike the Terminator movies or the incredible ‘Primer’, this film skips over the intricate details of how time – Continue reading…
The Blind Side (2009) – Review
By Trevor Anderson | Thursday, March 25th, 2010
3 Stars
The Blindside offers nothing new in the story of a kid from the wrong side of the tracks given a chance by a nice rich family. But why mess with a proven storyline? This is the feel good movie of 2009. Everyone that you expect to comes out on top. The dramatic parts of the film don’t necessarily impact the warm fuzzy feeling though, which is why this is such an easy movie to watch. Sandra Bullock is excellent and really seems to embody this character. Is it an Oscar winning performance? Apparently to the Academy it is. – Continue reading…
The Lovely Bones (2009) – Review
By Robin Anderson | Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
1 1/2 Stars
If you’re looking for a thrilling movie about solving the murder of a young girl then this is not the movie for you. We are told who the murderer is in the first act, and as far as I’m concerned it could have ended there. After the girl dies, the movie is transformed into some kind of seventies acid trip with a little bit of real life mixed in. She runs around aimlessly in a big field for much of the film, while her father is in the real world crying and getting angry. None of this – Continue reading…
Deadfall Trail (2009) – Review
By Trevor Anderson | Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
3 Stars
Deadfall Trail breaks the current low budget mold and brings back the good old days of 1990’s indie flicks. Director Roze has created one hell of a calling card with this film. Granted Deadfall Trail was shot on video (Red camera, if you can really count that as video), and in most instances there is a dead giveaway to that, although the picture quality and lighting are stunning. Cinematographer Tari Segal has captured the wilderness in such a way that you feel as if you’re there. This isn’t a movie filmed on a soundstage, but in the mountains – Continue reading…
By Jason Rugaard | Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
3 1/2 Stars
Jason Reitman’s third feature film is a charming audience pleaser. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham a man who travels 350,000 miles in a span of 12 months and stays on the road 320 days a year. He considers airports and hotel his residence. Ryan is sent across the nation to fire people, until his company unexpectedly grounds him. I won’t give away too much plot, but to say Oscar nominated screenwriters Reitman and Sheldon Turner have many unforeseen surprises in store. Clooney gives a career best performance as the emotionally empty professional who slowly begins to feel – Continue reading…
Rajan: i am sure a certain harrison ford will equal that record. Stallone becomes 1st Movie Star to Headline #1 Openings in last 5 Decades – News