The Air I Breathe aka Fragmentos del destino (2007) – four short stories that come together in the end. with an all star cast I’d expect better, but I found this film to be a major disappointment. It’s drab, depressing and pointless. Not worth your time.
Beauty Shop (2005) – Queen Latifah (Oscar nominee for Chicago 2002) has big dreams of opening her own beauty parlor; and snobbish high-end stylist Kevin Bacon (Death Sentence 2007) does everything in his power to stop her. Total chick-flick, but still a fun watch on a lazy afternoon. You go girl!
Charade (1963) – thugs harass a widow in search of stolen money. later remade into the flop The Truth About Charlie (2002), Cary Grant (North by Northwest 1959) and Audrey Hepburn (Oscar winner for Roman Holiday 1953) do it much better here.
Dying Breed (2008) – as part of the after dark horrorfest 2008 you know this movie won’t disappoint in making you scream. Two legends (the Tasmanian tiger and “The Pieman“) are interwoven to give us a gruesome story of cannibalism in an old forgotten backwoods town.
Elizabethtown (2005) – Cameron Crowe (Oscar winner for Almost Famous 2000), yet again, does an excellent job of capturing a certain mood on film. Here a disillusioned and suicidal man (Orlando Bloom – Pirates of the Caribbean 2003) finds redemption in a girl (Kirsten Dunst – Spider-Man 2002) and the open road.
Fatal Desire aka Fatal Error (2006) – another cautionary tell about the psychopaths you can meet on the internet. Anne Heche (Six Days Seven Nights 1998) cons ex-cop Eric Roberts (The Pope of Greenwich Village 1984) into killing her husband. Based on a true story this would have been better 20 years ago. These days we should all know better.
Ghost in the Machine aka Deadly Terror (1993) – the spirit of a serial killer is almost unstoppable when it gets sucked into the electrical void. None of your appliances are to be trust. Quite cheesy as expected.
He’s Just Not That Into You aka Er steht einfach nicht auf Dich! (2009) – “Are you the exception…or the rule?” A group of singles navigate the rocky seas of dating. Writers Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein seem to be quite familiar with the topic, following up with Date School and How to Be Single. Hopefully those will have the same fresh wit as this movie.
The Incredibles (2004) – all super heroes are forced into early retirement rather than face lawsuits from sue-happy civilians. But when a neglected boy turned evil villain starts picking them off one by one the spandex comes outta the closet. All I can say is its cute.
Jin ping mei aka The Forbidden Legend: Sex & Chopsticks (2008) – a young man follows in the footsteps of his father and becomes a master in the art of sex. Chauvinistic and extremely farfetched, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
The Killing Room (2009) – secret government experiments not only test the limits of its subjects, but also its employees. How far are you willing to go? Surprisingly this film has gone largely unnoticed, but maybe that’s just part of another conspiracy? It really makes you wonder what’s going on behind closed doors.
The Last King of Scotland (2006) – this is the movie that earned Forest Whitaker his long deserved Academy Award. It’s based on the fictional memoirs of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan and his experiences while being the private doctor to Uganda President Idi Amin. When trying to describe this film so many thoughts go running through my mind, but the common thread is “amazing”. The writing, the directing, the acting were all amazing. (Just be warned of a few disturbing scenes towards the end that were even a little too graphic for me to handle.)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (2008) – a doctor hides the birth of his Down syndrome daughter; telling his wife and son that she was stillborn. Meanwhile, the nurse on duty takes the baby home to raise as her own. The father overcome with grief and regret becomes obsessed with photography. Typical made for TV movie.
Nightmare Man (2006) – another after dark horrorfest 2008 film. You’ll find a few in today’s reviews. A woman haunted by nightmares is convinced a demon is after her. Her cheating husband uses this to his advantage to get rid of her. But when she stumbles onto two couples vacationing at a secluded cabin the bodies start piling up. Not quite up to the standards I expect from this series.
Our Man Flint (1966) – 60’s spoof on the Bond series; and obvious inspiration for Austin Powers. James Coburn (Oscar winner for Affliction 1997) plays “The ORIGINAL man of mystery!” suave secret agent Derek Flint. Like any other lady I’m a sucker for his smooth charm.
Perkins’ 14 (2009) – (after dark horrorfest 2008) more than 10 years after they’ve gone missing a group of kidnapped children are rescued; then all hell breaks loose. Interesting twist on an old theme.
*Didn’t have any “q” titled movies available at the time*
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) – an excellent documentary on the Academy Award winning director focusing largely on his scandalous 1977 trial for sex with a minor and why he fled the U.S. Film maker Marina Zenovich was very thorough; using articles, court records and interviews with all involved to give a detailed account of the events.
Smart People (2008) – a widowed professor (Dennis Quaid – In Good Company 2004) stumbles awkwardly back into the dating world; while his homeless/jobless adopted brother (Thomas Haden Church – Sideways 2004) seems to have all the right answers to life. Ellen Page (Oscar nominee for Juno 2007) rounds the cast out nicely as the too-smart-for-her-own-good daughter who’s having a few dating problems of her own.
The Tripper (2006) – David Arquette wrote, produced, directed and stars in this silly hippy horror film that was originally going to be part of the after dark horrorfest. But Arquette insisting on a 4/20 release date axed that deal. It’s just campy enough for me to like. As to whether you’ll like it depends on your own tastes.
Unearthed (2007) – (after dark horrorfest 2008) an enemy alien buried for 900 years is dug up; blah blah blah. I vaguely remember watching this, and as we know that’s a bad sign for a movie. Not to say it’s actually bad itself, just that it didn’t leave much of an impression at all.
Valkyrie aka Walküre (2008) – I have to give Tom Cruise praise for his performance here. It didn’t feel like I was watching Cruise play a German soldier; rather his persona was lost within the role. And I have to thank him for bringing this little known hero to the forefront. Claus von Stauffenberg’s story is truly inspiring.
Watchmen (2009) – read my preview write-up. Other then the surprising appearance of giant blue smurf dick, this movie was absolutely stunning. I don’t think anyone was disappointed.
*Didn’t have any “x” titled movies available at the time*
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008) – the plot: “An Israeli Special Forces Soldier fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist.” It has its moments, but in general this really isn’t my type of comedy. I will say that Charlotte Rae (Edna Garrett from “The Facts of Life”) is looking great for 83.
Zabriskie Point (1970) – Michelangelo Antonioni (Oscar nominee for Blowup 1966) took a gamble on two non-actors to play the leads in his film on 60’s Americana, and it paid off. Daria Halprin made one more movie then went on to marry Dennis Hopper. Mark Frechette, who suffered from mental illness, died in prison after robbing a bank. But for a moment they were the perfect embodiments for all that was right and wrong with American youth at the time.
.45 (2006) – I’m cursed with liking anything Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil series) does. Here she teams up with, another favorite of mine, Scottish actor Angus Macfadyen (Braveheart 1995) to play a severely dysfunctional gun-running couple.