Review Archive: 10,000 BC - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

10,000 B.C.
10,000 B.C. really did nothing for me. Generally, I'm not a fan of this type of movie and this one did nothing to change my opinion. I found it to be slow-going and fairly dull. Camilla Belle was out of her element being cast in this and every time she appeared on screen, her mere presence annoyed me. Overall, I wasn't expecting much from 10,000 B.C. and I didn't get much from it.

Skip it.


187
187 stars Samuel L Jackson as teacher Trevor Garfield. After being viciously attacked by a student, he moves from New York to Los Angeles where he quickly finds that sometimes problems arise no matter where you are.

187 is a solid flick. You've got good performances from Jackson, as always, and Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez. Kind of frightening that his parents had 9 months to come up with a name and all they could come up with was Gonzalez Gonzalez. But I digress. Gonzalez is really good as a crazed gang member who is the source of Garfield's troubles. He comes across as very real in the role. The story here isn't really anything new but the execution makes it worth watching. Also, the climax is pretty powerful stuff.

187 is worth a watch.


2 Days in the Valley
2 Days in the Valley was tied down with comparisons to Pulp Fiction when it first came out. Sure, there are hitmen in both movies but I think that's about the only thing they have in common.

This flick is helped by having a very solid ensemble cast. You've got Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels as vice cops, Danny Aiello and James Spader as hitmen on different career paths and Charlize Theron in one of her first roles. The story is interesting as everyone's path eventually comes together to shape the climax.

Two Days in the Valley would make for a good rental.

21
21 is a very entertaining movie. Based on the book Bringing Down the House, 21 tells the story of a group of college kids taught the art of card counting in order to win some serious bucks in Vegas.

The cast are pretty solid. Jim Sturgess is good. Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne are solid as always. Kate Bosworth is exceptionally attractive, especially in her little black dress near the end of the flick. The story zips along, never feeling stretched out or padded. It's interesting and draws you in.

21 is recommended.

27 Dresses
I'm a guy. A movie like 27 Dresses really shouldn't interest me. Chick flicks generally don't. This one came as a surprise to me. Sure, the plot was full of cliches and it would be fairly obvious to anyone as to how it's going to end. That being said, I just really enjoyed this flick. Katherine Heigl is quite good in this movie. I really think that had it been anyone else, the movie would have lost a little something. A good cast and a pretty funny story make this one worth a watch.

Ali
Ali tells the story of legendary boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Hence the name.

This is a great movie. It's the type of movie that I'd always heard good things about but could just never bring myself to watch due to the length. I finally had the chance to watch it the other day and am quite pleased that I did so. Will Smith gives one of his best performances here, making Ali pop off the screen. Ali had a ton of swagger in reality and Smith brought that across extremely well. The rest of the cast is solid, especially Jon Voight as Howard Cosell. The story of Ali is an interesting one and the filmmakers do an excellent job here in translating it to the screen.

Ali is recommended.

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is an excellent throwback to the slasher flicks of the 80s. You've got sex, drugs and a maniac running around killing teenagers. It really doesn't get much better than that.

This is a solid horror movie. Probably one of the better slasher flicks to come down the pike in quite some time. The cast is good with the beautiful Amber Heard playing the titular character that all the boys love. I can see why. The story doesn't seem like much upon first viewing but it goes a bit deeper than you might think and may actually require a second viewing. This one actually makes you think a bit. I was quite pleased with this one.

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is highly recommended.

American Gangster
American Gangster is a hell of a movie. From start to end, it sinks its claws into you and refuses to let go. It's one of those rare movies that runs nearly three hours, yet doesn't feel like it at all. Washington is superb as Frank Lucas. He manages to turn a character that shouldn't be likable by using his natural charisma and charm to make Lucas come across as the villain you hate to love. Crowe is also excellent in this flick and the supporting cast excels as well.

American Gangster is highly recommended.

Amok Train
Amok Train (or Beyond the Door III) tells the story of a group of American high school students on a trip to Yugoslavia to study local culture and history. Of course, things aren't quite as they seem to be.

This is really not a very good movie. The acting is pretty bad. The story's pretty weak. You've got the standard occult cliches...Satanic rituals and virgins. The deaths are on the gory side so that's a plus. There are a few instances of the local folks banging rocks together as part of their rituals that were good for a laugh or two.

Amok Train is a bad movie. Make no mistake about it. If you're in the mood for an occult flick, there are a lot better choices. Skip it.


April Fool's Day (2008)
April Fool's Day is a loose remake of the 1986 horror flick. The first terrible thing about it are the characters. They make no connection with the audience whatsoever. They don't even attempt to, in my opinion. There is nothing remotely likable about any of them. The acting is pretty rough too. I've seen better performances in the bedroom. The plot twist at the end is one that was fairly obvious throughout. And the acting takes an even more annoying turn at the end when things take a bad turn. Watching the characters go from feeling hatred and vindication to weeping and being sad is actually pretty comical.

One of the only things this flick had going for it was that the story moved along fairly quickly. It went from Point A to Point B enough to maintain interest in spite of its flaws. And the other positive was the eye candy. Taylor Cole and Scout Taylor-Compton are both extremely easy on the eyeballs.

April Fool's Day isn't worth purchasing but it may be worth a rental for curiosity's sake.

The Bank Job
The Bank Job is a blast. It starts off as a caper flick, spending an hour or so setting up the whos, whys and whats and getting in a few laughs before taking a turn into a fairly violent and serious action flick. Statham is great as always and any movie that he gets to kick some ass in is alright in my book.

The Bank Job is highly recommended.

Be Kind Rewind
Be Kind Rewind is a quirky flick. Jack Black and Mos Def are solid as the leads. Black is funny without overdoing it like he tends to do. The funniest parts of this movie are the movies that Mos and Black have "Sweded". Watching them reshoot flicks like Ghostbusters and Rush Hour 2 had me in hysterics.

Be Kind Rewind is recommended.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is an excellent little film. It's one that really slipped under the radar of a lot of people. Too bad, because it's well worth checking out. The cast in this one is superb. I've never particularly been a big fan of any of them individually but here, they all shine. Hoffman and Hawke are great as the brothers whose scheme to rob their parents' jewelry store goes terribly wrong and causes the family to crumble. The story is great and really draws you in right from the start.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is highly recommended.