1.29.2010

52. Whip It

Movie #52 of the young year was 2009's Whip It. This is actress/producer Drew Barrymore's directorial debut. It stars Ellen Page as a high school student who falls in with a women's roller derby team.

Whip It is your typical sports movie about a fairly atypical sport. You've got your standard rivalries, David vs Goliath battle at the end, etc. Women's roller derby is not exactly your run of the mill, mainstream product. I remember seeing it on tv when I was a kid and being fascinated by it. This isn't a bad movie but ultimately, it's not one that's really going to stick with you for any time to come. It's good for a viewing and then you're more or less done with it.

Ellen Page leads the way here and is decent as Bliss. It's almost as if she's playing a slightly toned down version of Juno. Support comes from Marcia Gay Harden, Drew Barrymore, Eve, Daniel Stern, Alia Shawkat, Juliette Lewis and Kristen Wiig. Barrymore is good in a pretty comedic role. Her character is likable and has some pretty funny lines. Wiig is the standout though. She really shines as Maggie Mayhem, a badass roller girl by night and devoted mother by day.

Overall, Whip It is a fairly enjoyable movie but it's not going to be a movie you re-watch dozens of times. Give it a rent.

1.28.2010

51. The Keeper

Going back to work today put a damper on the festivities as I was only able to sneak in one movie before heading out the door. Anyway, onwards and upwards...


Today's movie was The Keeper starring Steven Seagal. This 2009 flick is his latest direct-to-video effort. Yes, I still watch Seagal's movies. Not for nothing but I was 11 years old when Above the Law came out. Nico Toscani was practically a deity to me back then. At any rate, since 2002's Half Past Dead, everything he has done has bypassed theaters and headed straight to video. Some have been pretty horrible. Some have been decent. This was the rarest breed of all...this one was actually pretty good.

Seagal stars as Rolland Sallinger, a member of the LAPD. At a drug bust, his partner turns on him and shoots him, leaving him for dead. After quite some time of recovery and rehabilitation, he is forced off the LAPD. Coincidentally, an old friend of his from Texas happens to need some help as his daughter has nearly been kidnapped. Basically, this is a cross between Taken and Man On Fire.

There's not much to say about the acting and story here, honestly. Seagal is the only name you'll recognize in the cast. The rest of the cast is hit or miss. Leizl Carstens as Nikita is easy on the eyes but not much of an actress. The story really has no originality. It's really a mindless action flick and it does that pretty well. You've got some car chases, lots of gunplay, even some knife throwing.

Of all Seagal's recent efforts, this probably comes closest in tone to the flicks of his heyday. If you're not a fan, you can skip it. But if you've ever liked his stuff, it's worth a rental.

1.27.2010

48. Paper Heart
49. Case 39
50. Pandorum

Yesterday was the last day of my vacation so I wanted to squeeze in a few more before heading back to work and having my numbers level out some. I wish I didn't have to work but I need money to keep on buying these movies. As a bit of warning, the reviews may not appear right away in the future. They probably still will, given how anal I am. But you never know.


Started off with Paper Heart. This 2009 flick was dubbed a "hybrid documentary" by the filmmakers. Star Charlyne Yi is filming a documentary on love. She doesn't really understand love so she figures that discussing it with others might help her get a grasp on the subject. Along the way, she meets Michael Cera. A relationship develops rather quickly. Tensions quickly flare up though since every move they make is being filmed for the documentary.

I didn't really care for this one. Yi and Cera are essentially playing themselves in a fictionalized version of their true-life romance. They dated for 3 years, eventually going their separate ways shortly before this movie was released. The biggest problem with this one is that you never quite know what is real and what is not. Supposedly the love story between Cera and Yi is staged. What about the interviews with people? Are they legitimate or are they staged as well? I couldn't get these thoughts of my head during the movie and for that, I found myself distracted and kind of annoyed with the whole thing. You can skip this one.


Later in the day, we went with Case 39. This one stars Renee Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, Ian McShane and Jodelle Ferland. Zellweger is a child services case worker who gets Ferland's case dropped in her lap. To her it's an obvious case of parental abuse. However, sometimes things aren't always as they seem.

This is a pretty good flick. It's one of those movies that takes a bit of a turn from where you're expecting it to go. Zellweger, Cooper and McShane are all solid here. The star of this one though is young Jodelle Ferland. She's great in her role as Lillith. The story is interesting. My chief complaint about the movie is the pacing. It's a bit slow to really get started. It would have been alright if they were developing the characters but it felt more like aimless wandering. Clocking in at 109 minutes, I feel that they could have excised about 10-15 minutes and made for a better movie. Overall, I still liked it and would recommend it.

Bit of trivia on this one...this movie was actually filmed back in 2006 before Cooper hit it big with The Hangover. Its original release date was February 2008. Then, it was bumped to August 2008. From there, it was bumped back to April 10,2009. And again, it was pushed back to January 1,2010. However, it was bumped again and now no longer appears on Paramount's release schedule. You'd figure that they would try to capitalize on Cooper's popularity but I guess they've got different ideas.


After Case 39, we went with Pandorum. Odd coincidence of the night...both films were directed by Christian Alvart. Anywho...

This one stars Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid as crew members aboard a spaceship. Their destination was Tanis, a planet intended to be used as a suitable alternative to an overpopulated Earth. Upon waking from their "hyper-sleep", Foster and Quaid are dismayed to find no other crew members and have little memory of what has happened. Ultimately, they discover that they are not alone.

I'm not typically a big fan of the sci-fi/horror stuff but this was a pretty good movie. Quaid and Foster are both solid here. Good story. The effects are cool and the monsters have a look that I like. I'd recommend this one.

1.26.2010

47. The Road

Yesterday was a complete waste. Between going out early to do a small bit of grocery shopping and waiting for Verizon to come and check out my phone, we just didn't get much done. And in the evening, we wound up having to evacuate the house due to idiotic neighbors setting off the smoke detectors for the whole building. Because of that nonsense, we only managed to get in one movie....

We started and ended with a screener copy of The Road. This movie is based on the 2006 novel by Cormac McCarthy. It stars Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Charlize Theron. It is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that used to be Earth. Some unexplained disaster has destroyed pretty much everything. Mankind, plant life and animals are all pretty much wiped out. The sun is obscured by a thick layer of ash, making the world a cold, gray place.

This is an excellent movie. It's dark, depressing and bleak. But goddamn, is it ever well done. The story follows Mortensen and Smit-McPhee as they head towards the coast. No character names are given. They are simply "Man" and "Boy". Along the way, they encounter thieves and cannibals, people just desperate enough to do whatever it takes to let them survive another day. The story is engaging but it's the cast that works magic. Mortensen and Smit-McPhee are great. Mortensen's performance as Man deserves an Academy Award nomination. As the film progresses, you see his struggle to keep positive while attempting to prepare the boy for the inevitable. Support is lent by Charlize Theron. Robert Duvall, Michael K Williams and Guy Pearce. I'm not going to lie, it took me a while to realize that Duvall was in the movie. The makeup rendered him virtually unrecognizable. And I had no idea that Guy Pearce was in it until viewing the movie poster earlier this morning. Again, just a tremendous job on the makeup.

The Road gets my highest possible recommendation. It is well worth the time spent. See it.

1.25.2010

44. Blood Creek
45. The Lovely Bones
46. Palmetto

Yesterday was a terribly gloomy day. We had torrential rains with wind gusts of 60 mph. In short, it was the perfect day to just stay in the house. Of course, that means I had to go out on more than one occasion. Here's what I managed to watch when I was actually doing what I felt like doing...


Blood Creek was the opening flick for the day. This is the 2009/Joel Schumacher Blood Creek. Not the 2006 version or any of the other movies with the same name. This one deals with the Nazi obsession with the occult. It starts off in 1936 with a family being contacted by the Third Reich to host a visiting scholar. They agree to do so not knowing that they will wind up sucked into matters of the occult. Flash forward 70-odd years later and the experiments are still going on.

This flick was fairly interesting. The occult and things of that nature tend to fascinate me. The movie had enough of that to keep me engaged for the entire runtime. The movie was pretty fast paced too with the 90 minutes going by pretty quickly. The stars here were Dominic Purcell and Henry Cavill. Both were solid in their roles. For a movie that was more or less dumped straight to video, it was much better than I was anticipating. Check it out.


We followed up Blood Creek with Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. Yes, another screener. This is the film adaptation of the novel by Alice Sebold. It tells the story of 14 year old murder victim Susie Salmon. She serves as the narrator of the movie.

I hate to say it but this movie was just fucking terrible. I wanted to like it but I just couldn't bring myself to do so. It was overly long and boring. Clocking in at around two hours, it just kind of wandered aimlessly. A solid 30 minutes could have been trimmed and made for a better picture. However, director Jackson seems to have this thing for epics. He needs to either stick with the Lord of the Rings stuff or go back to his earlier days directing cheesy gore flicks. Because what he did here just isn't working. If he wanted to turn this into an epic, he could have stuck with some of the subplots from the novel rather than going the route he went. He overloads the movie with CGI shots of the "in-between", Susie's personal heaven. The shots are terrible, looking like something straight out of a calendar. It's overbearing and just poorly done. The performances aren't much better. The only two good things to come of this are Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci's performances. Mark Wahlberg was simply Mark Wahlberg. I know he's capable of doing better so he was another disappointment. Rachel Weisz' character isn't given much to do at all before disappearing for a good percentage of the movie. And Susan Sarandon as the grandmother was horrid. There was a comedy scene midway through that had me rolling my eyes and talking to the screen like I was in a ghetto theater.

These were two of the longest hours I've ever spent in my life. Skip this stinker. It's just not worth it.


We wrapped up the evening fairly early with Palmetto, a 1998 neo-noir starring Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue and Gina Gershon.

Much better! This was a pretty good movie. I'd imagine most of the folks reading have never even heard of this one. I vaguely remember seeing trailers when it came out but that was about all I could remember. Harrelson plays a reporter who uncovered a huge corruption scandal in the small town of Palmetto. For his trouble, he winds up being framed for accepting a bribe and is forced to serve two years in prison. Upon his return to society, he quickly finds himself wrapped up in a fake kidnapping scheme hatched by Shue. Things do not quite go as they're supposed to. There are double crosses and all types of shenanigans.

The story is good. There are enough twists and turns to keep you engaged throughout. Harrelson is solid, as usual. Shue and Gershon are two of my favorites. Shue shines here, oozing sex appeal. Chloe Sevigny and Michael Rapaport are also excellent. I found this one for $3 at Big Lots. It was well worth it...I'd have paid more. Check it out.

1.24.2010

40. I Could Never Be Your Woman
41. What A Girl Wants
42. Nightbreed
43. Big Fan

I wasn't feeling all that great yesterday so I figured a day of lethargy on the couch would be the perfect cure for what was ailing me. It turned out to be another pretty big movie day. It would have been even bigger if I didn't have to keep hitting the pause button to take care of things. 90 minute movies quickly turn into 190 minute movies that way. Anywho...

Started the day with 2007's I Could Never Be Your Woman. Directed by Amy Heckerling, this flick was shelved for quite some time due to troubles with the production company. It wound up bypassing theaters in the US completely and heading straight to video.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. In retrospect, I have really liked a lot of Heckerling's other movies so it shouldn't have come as such a surprise. This one stars Michelle Pfeiffer as a television writer/producer who winds up falling for a much younger actor cast on her show. Paul Rudd is the love interest. The cast is great. Pfeiffer is solid and is still beautiful, given her age. Paul Rudd is just funny as hell. The supporting cast is really good too with turns from Tracey Ullman, Jon Lovitz, Fred Willard and Saoirse Ronan being highlights. Particularly Ronan...she's just great. The story ventures into typical romantic comedy stuff but the cast more than makes it work. This one gets recommended.


Another chick flick came next, in the form of 2003's What A Girl Wants. This one stars Amanda Bynes as a teenager who finds out that her absentee father is a British politician. She decides to fly across the pond to meet him. She struggles to fit in and not cause any waves in her father's impending political race.

This one's a decent enough movie. The story tends to veer towards the typical "fish out of water" deal where Bynes has to adjust to living with her father in a whole new country with a whole new set of rules. The cast does the best they can with what they're given. Colin Firth, Kelly Preston and Jonathan Pryce add to the cast in a good way. Aside from that, this one is pretty much hit or miss. If you're a fan of Bynes or the romantic comedies in general, go for it. If not, you can skip this one.

Following the estrogen festival, I moved onto Clive Barker's Nightbreed. This is a movie that I'd tried watching many times in the past but just couldn't get into. I'm not sure if it was the mythology behind it throwing me off or what. I watched it yesterday with an open mind and really liked it. A lot. Basically, it's the age old story of good versus evil but with a twist. The monsters are the good guys and mankind is the antagonist.

It's kind of hard to sum up Nightbreed in a couple of paragraphs. Originally, writer/director Clive Barker intended to film a trilogy. However, the studio releasing this movie had no idea of how to market it. Viewing the trailer, they made it seem like a standard slasher flick when in reality, this is about as far removed from that as possible. The movie poster was pretty bad as well, showing a collection of the monsters in the film. Due to these factors, the movie bombed at the box office and the remaining films were scratched. Rumor has it that there is a 145 minute director's cut out there but only time will tell if it ever gets released or not. While I'd love to see it, I'd be surprised if it ever sees the light of day. Overall, even though this version is kind of hacked to pieces, it's still well worth seeing. The creature makeup and effects are pretty cool and the story is interesting.


We wrapped up the evening with Big Fan. This 2009 flick stars Patton Oswalt as Paul, an obsessed New York Giants fan. His life consists of working as a parking garage attendant, watching football and calling in to a local sports radio show. One evening he and his friend stumble upon Paul's favorite player Quantrell Bishop. They want to introduce themselves but aren't sure how so they wind up following them to a Manhattan strip club. It's there that things take a turn that affects everyone's lives.

First off, IMDB lists this as a comedy but to me, it'd fall into the drama category. This is a really good movie. It's not exactly action packed so anyone looking for that can go elsewhere. It's a slow paced flick that shows hos obsessed some sports fans can be. How far would you go to protect your favorite team? That question is answered here and honestly, it's kind of scary. The lengths that Paul goes to to ensure his beloved Giants succeed go far beyond obsessive. And in doing so, he winds up completely alienating his family and loved ones.

This flick is dark as hell. Patton Oswalt shows his acting chops here in a great performance. I'd never had guessed he would be capable of it honestly. First time director Robert D. Siegel does a solid job here as well. I'd definitely recommend checking this one out.

1.23.2010

36. WWE: Taboo Tuesday 2004
37. Wieners
38. Armored
39. Whiteout

I wasn't sure if the wife was going to be joining me for movies today. She's spent the better part of the week recuperating in bed. So, I decided to start off with another WWE pay-per-view. Something simple enough that I don't have to really focus on while also being something that isn't terribly inappropriate for the boy. Today's event was Taboo Tuesday 2004. This was the first in what became a series of pay-per-view events in which the fans were allowed to vote on matches. It wound up being done away with after the 2008 event. At any rate, the 2004 event was really nothing special. Highlights were the opening match between Chris Jericho and Shelton Benjamin and the main event featuring Randy Orton battling Ric Flair in a steel cage.

From here, my wife joined me in the living room where we re-watched Sherlock Holmes since she'd fallen asleep during it the night before. After that, it was on to Wieners. It's a road trip comedy about 3 friends on a cross country trip. One is out to get revenge on Dr. Duane, a Dr. Phil knockoff who ruined his relationship. Another is out to allow the public to sample his brand of wieners out of his brand new Wienermobile. All in all, it's a pretty silly movie. I commented to my wife that we were probably 2 of 30 people who've actually seen it.

At any rate, Wieners stars Kenan Thompson, Zachary Levi and Fran Kranz. They're all pretty decent in their roles. They're supported by an odd backing cast featuring Darrell Hammond, Jenny McCarthy, Mindy Sterling, Andy Milonakis and Kyle Gass. Story is that of a typical road flick so there's nothing new there. Wieners was fairly amusing at times but is nothing to go out of your way to see.

Armored was the surprise of the night. I'd seen the trailers but didn't think much of it. I acquired a screener of it recently so I figured it was time to check it out. I'm glad I did.

Armored tells the story of 6 armored truck workers who hatch a foolproof scheme to stage a heist, robbing a truck of $42 million. This is a guy's flick, first off. There is literally one female in the entire movie. It stars manly men such as Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Fred Ward and Jean Reno. It also features an appearance by Skeet Ulrich, whom seems to have fallen right off the face of the planet. The story is typical heist material with a bit of a modern bent. The biggest reason is one of the guys is having problems with his mortgage and might get foreclosed. Doesn't get much more 2009 than that. And as with most heist flicks, something gets in the way of the ultimate goal and things don't go quite according to plan. The action scenes are few but they're well done with an armored truck chase scene being a highlight. The movie is 88 minutes that just zip right by. Sure, there are some plot holes large enough to drive one of the trucks through but for me, the suspension of disbelief was part of the fun. I recommend this one highly.


We wrapped the night up with Whiteout. This 2009 thriller stars Kate Beckinsale as a US Deputy Marshall stationed in Antarctica. She's getting ready to go back home when a dead body pops up. She discovers this to be a murder victim so it's up to her and a UN operative to try and crack the case.

This one wasn't all that special really. It was a thriller that lacked a lot of thrills. They had the opportunity to do a lot what with the setting but they just didn't pull it off. Beckinsale did fairly well with what she had to work with. Decent supporting cast with Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt and Alex O'Loughlin, also making the best out of it. Overall, this one's really just pretty average. Big disappointment for me.

1.22.2010

33. Money Talks
34. WWE: Backlash 2004
35. Sherlock Holmes (2009)


Today started with Money Talks starring Charlie Sheen and the elusive Chris Tucker. It's a "buddy" movie in the vein of 48 Hours. Sheen and Tucker are both solid here. Seeing them together reminded me that we don't see very much of them in movies these days. It's too bad because they've both done a lot of things I enjoy. Good supporting cast here with Heather Locklear, Paul Sorvino, Elise Neal and the late Paul Gleason. A word of caution about this one...if you don't care for director Brett Ratner's other stuff, you won't care for this one. Personally, I like the action/comedy stuff quite a bit.

From there, I moved onto WWE: Backlash 2004. This event happened during the brief time where they were spotlighting the eventual madman, Chris Benoit. Throughout the course of the event, they showed highlights of his winning the championship and celebrating with his family. Chilling stuff, given what happened a few years later. Regardless of what he did outside the ring, he was still great in it. His match here versus Triple H and Shawn Michaels was a great one. I knew the eventual outcome and still found myself holding my breath during a near fall. That's some solid storytelling right there. Other big highlight here was Randy Orton taking on Mick Foley in a no disqualification, falls count anywhere match. Seeing a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire always brings a smile to my face.

Wrapped up the night with 2009's Sherlock Holmes. Yet another screener title that I've acquired. I came across this one a few days ago and had been chomping at the bit to finally sit and watch it.

I liked it quite a bit. In fact, I can see myself watching it again in the near future. The story was good, combining action, mystery, some laughs and elements of the occult. The cast was great. Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong were all highlights. The chemistry between Downey and Law was spectacular. I'm genuinely hoping they do wind up making a sequel, as there has been a bit of talk about it. I loved the ending...damn good stuff. I highly recommend this one.

1.21.2010

31. Zapped!
32. D.O.A: Dead or Alive

Yesterday was a fairly slow day for me, movie-wise. I spent much of the day in a rage fueled by cabin fever and the seeming inability to find someone to come over and keep the wife company so I could go out. Ultimately, the wife's aunt came over and agreed to stay with her for as long as I needed to go and take care of my errands. God bless her for that. All told, she was here for 3 hours and did so without a complaint. Her doing that allowed me to get out and get some air while picking up our W2s, some soda and getting the kid his H1N1 vaccine. Worked out well. Anywho...


Started the day with Zapped! This 1982 comedy stars Scott Baio and Willie Aames. Baio is a high school student with a serious love of science. One day, an accident in the lab grants him telekinetic powers. Aames, as his best friend, tries to use the powers to his advantage.

First off, this isn't a very good movie. I'd always wanted to see it because of the VHS cover. I'd always see it in the video store but wouldn't be allowed to rent it. This is a case of the box art being better than the movie. The acting really isn't all that great. Baio and Aames aren't exactly Oscar material. The story is basically a parody of Carrie, even playing out as such with a big finale at the prom. The laughs really weren't too frequent either. I got the biggest laughs from the late Scatman Crothers. He was pretty good.

I guess this one had a bit of a cult following as it managed to spawn a sequel: 1990's Zapped Again! I believe it was direct-to-video. Anyway, it's safe to say that you can skip this one.


I followed up Zapped! with 2006's DOA: Dead or Alive. It's based on a series fighting video games. Basically, the world's best fighters get selected to participate in the DOA tournament.

I wasn't expecting very much from this one honestly. I was quite surprised to find myself enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, it's really not a good movie. But it was definitely an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes. The eye candy in this one is off the charts. You've got Jaime Pressly, Devon Aoki, Holly Valance, Sarah Carter and Natassia Malthe as 5 seriously attractive fighters. The story isn't all that much but the fight scenes are shot well and are choreographed really nicely. All in all, it's a decent mindless action flick. As I've said before, sometimes you just can't go wrong with that.

1.20.2010

28. WWE: Armageddon 2007
29. Triangle
30. Stay Tuned

WWE: Armageddon 2007 was your standard non Big 4 WWE pay-per-view. Some title matches but nothing really exciting or spectacular happening. Highlights included Mr. Kennedy taking on Shawn Michaels and HHH taking on Jeff Hardy in a #1 Contender's Match. The main event was a triple threat match with Batista defending the title versus The Undertaker and Edge. This was notable for the debut of the "Edge-Heads", a fairly short lived team associated with Edge.


Triangle is a 2009 British horror flick directed by Christopher Smith. This was his third full-length flick following 2004's Creep and 2006's Severance. Had I realized that going in, I'd have been a bit more excited about this one since those were both pretty solid movies. This one tells the story of 6 people going out for a sail on the Triangle. They encounter a freak storm and wind up capsizing. They end up being rescued by a passing ocean liner, the Aeolus. Once on board, things take a turn for the worst.

This is a solid movie. To me, it played out like a cross between The Shining, Groundhog Day and an episode of The Twilight Zone. Melissa George, of the Amityville Horror remake, is good here as the lead. The rest of the cast, while fairly unknown, are also pretty good. The story here can get a bit tricky to follow at times but paying attention is well worth it. Like Home Movie the other day, there are some callbacks to earlier in the flick. I love stuff like that. This one makes you think about it after the fact. I recommend checking this one out. It hits dvd and Blu-ray on February 2nd.


Stay Tuned is a 1992 comedy starring John Ritter and Pam Dawber as the Knables. Ritter is obsessed with television, paying no attention to his wife or two kids. He winds up getting more than he bargained for when he gets a killer new satellite system from the mysterious Spike.

Surprisingly enough, this one held up really well with me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it after so many years but it's still pretty funny. Ritter is really good. The highlight for me were the parodies of television shows of the time. Titles like Golden Ghouls and Fresh Prince of Darkness had me laughing like a little kid.

1.19.2010

26. Excess Baggage
27. Home Movie

Excess Baggage tells the story of an heiress who is always looking for attention. When staging her own kidnapping, she gets more than she bargained for when the car she's stashed in gets stolen.

Excess Baggage is listed as a comedy at IMDB. Personally, I think the funniest aspect of it was that executives actually thought a film starring Benicio Del Toro and Alicia Silverstone would be anything less than a bomb. This is my third Silverstone flick of the month and definitely the worst of them. Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible. It's just...nothing. It tries to be an action movie. It tries to be a comedy. It winds up being less than successful at everything it tries. It's the type of movie that you won't remember just days after watching. The only pluses were Del Toro and Christopher Walken who are both always good, regardless of the movie around them. Silverstone is just annoying and unlikeable. You've got a decent supporting cast with Harry Connick Jr, Leland Orser and Sally Kirkland but they're given nothing to do. It's safe to say that you can skip this one.


Home Movie is a low budget flick that is shot on video. It stars Aidan Pasdar and Cady McClain as a married couple with twin children who live out in the woods of upstate New York. They also document everything with their camcorder.
That's how this one plays out...as their "found" camcorder footage.

This is a great movie. Honestly, I was shocked at how good it was. For a movie that very few people have probably even heard of, it was a very pleasant surprise. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll try to be a bit vague. The flick is not a fast paced "bang bang" kind of movie. Instead, it's slow build packed with tension and a deep feeling of dread as you begin to find out what's happening. This is one of those movies that I'm going to need to watch again to see all of the callbacks to things that happened earlier in the movie. I love stuff like that.

Bit of trivia regarding this one is that it's directed by Christopher Denham. He's actually an actor. He'll be seen in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island and will be appearing in Camp Hope with Zomebieland's Jesse Eisenberg.

Up in the Air

25. Up in the Air

Up in the Air landed in my possession the same way that It's Complicated did...in the form of an Academy screener. Never being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I decided to give it a shot last night. I'd heard lots of good things about it so my expectations were up a bit. I'm extremely pleased to say that it met and exceeded all of my expectations and then some.

I was only vaguely familiar with the plot going in. Basically, George Clooney stars as a man whose job is to fly from company to company telling people that they're being fired. He lives on the road and is quite good at what he does. However, things take a turn when his company takes the idea of a fresh faced college graduate, played by Anna Kendrick, and decide to run with it, effectively phasing out Clooney's job. Clooney gets one last effort on the road, taking Kendrick with him to show her what his job really entails.

I'm a big George Clooney fan. There's something about him that I just really like. He's very charismatic and just gives off an easygoing charm that comes right off of the screen. Also, he's just really cool as hell. He's great here in a performance that has garnered a lot of buzz about a possible Academy Award nomination. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he did get one. Anna Kendrick is good here. I hadn't really seen much of her previous work but I'd give them a shot, based on this one. Her character starts off pretty unlikeable but by the end of the movie, I was pretty smitten with her. She's extremely cute too. Vera Farmiga, Danny McBride and Jason Bateman are solid here, as always. There's a really cool cameo at the end by a real man's man but I won't spoil who it is for those who haven't seen it. Let's just say that seeing him appear on the screen made me smile as he's not seen nearly often enough these days.

The story is interesting as you know that folks like this do really exist. There are a few subplots that work really well and don't feel out of place at all. Some movies have these subplots that meander aimlessly and don't ultimately make any sense. Not here. I guess my only complaint about this one is the ending seems rather abrupt. Not really a big deal but I felt it.

Overall, I give Up in the Air my highest possible recommendation. It's well worth seeing.

1.17.2010

22. The Money Pit
23. Speed 2
24. The Object of My Affection

Today was a shitty day. First off, I found out that my mother is spending some time in the hospital with a buildup of fluid around her heart. Secondly, the weather has turned to shit yet again with a wintry mix forecasted for tonight and tomorrow with lingering snow showers through the week. Thirdly, the wife is going in for her surgery in just a couple of days. The stress is hitting me and it's hitting me fucking hard. So, in order to try and relax some today, I watched some movies. Wrote a blog about it. Like to read it? Here it go...

Started off with 1986's The Money Pit. I'd tried watching this on Saturday but kept getting sidetracked and wound up just giving up. This is one of those movies that I saw dozens of times as a kid thanks to the powers of HBO. I've never been a huge fan of it. Certainly not to justify all the viewings anyway. However, it's a fairly amusing way to spend 90 minutes. During the mid to late 80s, Tom Hanks had a stretch of comedies that I just can't tire of. Ever. Bachelor Party, Dragnet, Big and Turner & Hooch are all movies that are just great. This one doesn't quite fall into that category but it's still not bad. He sure as hell takes a beating in this one, proving himself to be pretty adept at physical comedy.

After that one, I jumped onto Speed 2. This is the much less successful follow-up to 1994's Speed. This flick gets a really bad rap but I don't think it's worthy of all the venom. Essentially, it's Die Hard on a cruise liner. Which makes sense since the original was Die Hard on a bus. The script for this was originally intended for use in the Die Hard series. If it wasn't called Speed 2, I think it would be a bit more respected. All in all, it's really not that bad of an action flick. It allows you to sit there and turn your brain off for a couple of hours. Sometimes, that's all you really need.

Final movie of the night was The Object of My Affection starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. Rudd and Aniston meet at a party. Through some unfortunate circumstances, Rudd comes to live in Aniston's apartment. Eventually, they become best friends but Aniston wants more. However, it might not go the way she wants since Rudd is gay. This is a decent movie. It works because Rudd and Aniston make it work. They have a very natural chemistry and play off each other really well. Supporting cast is solid with turns from Steve Zahn, Alan Alda, Allison Janney and Tim Daly.

1.16.2010

Managed to watch absolutely nothing tonight. Sleepiness plus being sidetracked by internet stuff lead to a goose egg. Still ahead of my pace so no big loss. I imagine I'll make up for it some over the course of the next week and a half.

1.15.2010

20. River's Edge
21. Ransom

Friday night at the movies saw a couple of random choices. Again. After Thursday's numeric theme, I decided to go with 'R' movies this time out. Here's the scoop...

Started off with 1986's River's Edge. This flick tells the story of a high school student who kills his girlfriend and brags about it to all of his friends. Their reactions, and lack of in some cases, make up the central plot. You've got a solid cast here. Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover and Ione Skye are the 3 leads. Dennis Hopper and the perpetually creepy Joshua Miller provide solid support. The story is interesting in that it examines the lives of people who genuinely seem to not care that one of their friends is dead. When you factor in that it was inspired by a series of true events, it makes you think even more. All in all, it's a really good movie but a tad bit depressing.

I followed River's Edge with 1996's Ransom. This Ron Howard movie stars Mel Gibson as a multi-millionaire owner of an airline whose son gets kidnapped and held for...ransom. Hence, the title. Anywho, great cast here. Gibson, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Rene Russo, Liev Schreiber and even Donnie Wahlberg are all really good here. This flick came out well before Gibson went batshit crazy and when he was one of the biggest names in Hollywood. The story is pretty standard stuff but it's done well here. Lots of action and tension keep the flick going by at a solid pace. I didn't start watching this until it was already past my bedtime figuring I could finish the next day but I just got sucked right in. Overall, Ransom is a solid thriller and is worth a watch just for some of the performances.

1.14.2010

18. 7 Mummies
19. 100 Girls

On Thursdays, I work 12:30pm-9pm. I've pretty much worked Thursday nights for as long as I can remember. And for as long as I can remember, having to work that night has fucked up my favorite pastime. Back in the day, it interfered with Seinfeld and Friends. Now, it interferes with The Office. Since I can't watch anything in the evening since I'm completely fried after leaving work, I've been sneaking in some stuff in the a.m. hours instead. I don't sleep late so I can get started by 8am. The following are the movies I watched before work this Thursday.

I started off with 7 Mummies. I didn't remember ever getting the dvd. Not a good sign. I decided to refresh my memory and check out the IMDB page for it. Upon doing so, I discovered it had a score of 2.1 out of 10. Yikes. I read through the cast list and saw names like Billy Wirth, Billy Drago, Martin Kove, Danny Trejo, Andrew Bryniarski and Max Perlich. Hell, I even saw rapper Noreaga and modern scream queen Cerina Vincent listed. Now, to the average joe, these names really aren't a big deal. However, to a real movie fan like myself, this was practically an all-star cast. Upon actually starting the movie, I quickly started to understand the low score. First of all, it starts off in a manner similar to From Dusk Till Dawn. First 25 minutes or so are giving the viewer the impression that it's an action flick. All of a sudden, it takes a left turn into a horror flick. However, instead of being good like From Dusk Till Dawn, it's exceptionally bad. For a movie called 7 Mummies, I don't recall seeing a single one. Unless I managed to doze off. From the research I've been doing, it doesn't appear that I missed anything though. Ugh. I knew I'd pick some stinkers doing this but I didn't think my luck would run out that quickly.

For my next movie, I went with 100 Girls. I figured the numerical title would make a cute pairing with the previous shitbomb. I'd heard of this movie but didn't really know much about it. I just remember obtaining a copy in a trade with a friend. I started the movie and was pleasantly surprised to see some recognizable names. The lead was Jonathan Tucker, whom I'd seen in quite a few flicks. Some of the titular 100 Girls were played by Katherine Heigl, Jaime Pressly, Marissa Ribisi, Larisa Oleynik and Emmanuelle Chriqui. So far, so good. As the movie progressed, I found myself laughing quite a bit. I'm a big fan of teen sex comedies so this material was right up my alley. Basically, one night a guy and girl get stuck on an elevator during a blackout. One thing leads to another and they wind up having sex and passing out. Morning comes, power comes back on, guy wakes up, girl is gone. Now, he's on a quest to find her. The story is pretty solid with a lot of laughs along the way. It's also really engaging as you actually start to learn about the girls along the way and start to really like them. And the girls are beautiful. There is no shortage of eye candy here. Emmanuelle Chriqui, in particular, is a favorite of mine and she is just gorgeous here.

In closing, for a movie I'd never really given any thought to, I was very surprised. I recommend it.

It's Complicated

17. It's Complicated

Although it's only been in theaters for a few weeks as of this writing, It's Complicated manages to check in at number 17 for the year. This time of year, motion picture studios tend to send out dvd screeners to academy members to try and garner nominations for their movies. This is one such instance. For a screener, the quality here was perfect, just like a store bought disc. I wish I could say the movie itself was perfect, but alas, I cannot.

My biggest complaint is simply that the movie runs a bit long. Clocking in at just shy of two hours, they could have excised 10-15 minutes and helped the pacing a bit. It seems like it takes the better part of an hour to actually get to the "complicated" stuff. The leads are solid with Alec Baldwin being my favorite performance of the 3. Meryl Streep and Steve Martin are good though, no doubt. The highlight of the whole movie for me was John Krasinski. I might be a bit biased due to being a big fan of The Office but his scenes here were consistently the funniest. I haven't liked many of his film roles but he was good here.

Overall, It's Complicated is alright. I'd heard that it was extremely funny but I'd disagree. I found it more amusing than consistently funny. The cast makes it worth a watch.

1.13.2010

16. The Crush

The Crush is Alicia Silverstone's first movie role. She stars as Adrienne, a 14 year old who becomes obsessed with Nick, a magazine writer renting her parents' guest house.

It's pretty standard thriller fare really. It's more or less Fatal Attraction for the teen set. Silverstone is surprisingly good here considering that she was only 15 when filming took place. Cary Elwes is the object of Silverstone's increasingly serious infatuation. He's alright here. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of his and this performance doesn't change my mind any. The movie hits is low points near the end where some of it just gets silly. Look up "Crush super punch" on YouTube for the perfect example. Proceed to laugh yourself silly at it like I did.

One bit of interesting trivia here is the name of Silverstone's character. Originally, her name was Darian. The theatrical, VHS and laserdisc releases all kept this intact. For future cable, television and DVD releases, the name was dubbed over to Adrienne. Apparently, the film's writer/director Alan Shapiro had an incident like this happen to him so he based the character on his real life antagonist. She sued to have her name removed and was successful. I'm not going to lie, it affects the dvd release quite a bit as you can see that the voiceovers were absolutely terrible and it wound up taking me out of the movie somewhat.

1.12.2010

Last night was an early night for me so I wound up getting nothing in. I'm still ahead of schedule so it's not a concern. Also, I'm on vacation from January 19th-January 28th so I'll be able to watch quite a few then, I'd imagine.

Also, I've gone back and added reviews for a couple of the flicks that I'd glossed over. I need to get in one more review and then I'm caught up. That will be forthcoming later this evening.

1.11.2010

15. Blast from the Past

Tonight's random movie pick was Blast from the Past starring Alicia Silverstone and Brendan Fraser. Fraser is Adam Webber, a man who has spent the first 35 years of his life living with his parents in an underground nuclear fallout shelter. After a disastrous attempt by his father to go back out into civilization, he is sent out to pick up supplies to keep them stocked for the foreseeable future. On the surface, he meets Silverstone's Eve. I think you can figure out the rest from there.

This was a decent little movie. Fraser is good along with Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek as his parents. Watching this reminded me of how big a crush I had on Alicia Silverstone back in the day. I'm not sure how she looks now but damn, she was hot in my eyes. She could do no wrong. Dave Foley is amusing here as Eve's gay roommate who looks a lot like my Aunt Louise. Strange. The story is a typical "fish out of water" deal with some laughs coming from Adam's inexperience with the ways of the outside world. Fairly predictable, as are most romantic comedies.

1.10.2010

13. Brick
14. The Firm

To start with, Brick is a great movie. Of the movies I've watched so far, this would rank in the Top 3. This wasn't my first time seeing it, but it was my first time where I actually managed to focus and not be distracted by anything.

Basically, it's the story of a high school student trying to find out who killed his ex-girlfriend. In order to do so, he has to involve himself in the local drug scene where he meets all sorts of interesting characters. When this first came out, there was a lot of hype surrounding it. A lot was made of the fact that the characters speak in something of a film noir-ish dialogue. Personally, I found that it worked well here. The story is interesting. As the lead character unravels the mystery, you're sucked in with him. The cast is great with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the lead. He's just excellent here. Solid support comes from the gorgeous Norah Zehetner, Matt O'Leary and Lukas Haas.

Now, onto The Firm. First off, I have an aversion towards long movies. I have a fairly tough time watching the standard 90 minute stuff without falling asleep. So, whenever I read that a movie is well over two hours, I tend to put it on the back burner until I can find a day where I'm ready for it. When I watched The Firm, I knew it was pretty long but I felt confident that I'd be able to pull it off.

I was familiar with this movie and had wanted to see it for quite a while. I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan, nor am I a big fan of John Grisham, the original novelist. I don't think I've ever seen a movie specifically because Cruise was going to be in it. That being said, I also don't think I've ever been really disappointed with any of the movies I've seen him in. This was no different. The story is fairly simple. It finds a hotshot young attorney fresh out of law school being drafted by a lot of law firms. He winds up accepting a deal with a firm out of Memphis that offers him pretty much everything up to and including the kitchen sink. It seems to good to be true. Of course, this is a pretty accurate statement. He eventually discovers that the firm is up to no good and it's up to him to try and put a stop to their nefarious tactics and reclaim his life. The cast here is what really makes this movie work so well. It's pretty much an all-star cast with Cruise, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Ed Harris, Wilford "Diabeetus" Brimley and Holly Hunter. Also, you've got folks like David Strathairn, Gary Busey and Tobin Bell in smaller supporting roles. Everyone here is just great with Hunter actually receiving an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Good stuff, all around here.

1.9.2010

12. Murder By Numbers

Murder By Numbers is a 2002 thriller starring Sandra Bullock as homicide detective Cassie Mayweather. When a woman's body is found in the woods, it's up to her to find the killer. Turns out the killers are a pair of high school students who have planned what they feel to be the perfect murder.

This is a decent movie. It's nothing that hasn't been done before and for that, it suffers from being strictly okay. The cast is good with Bullock leading the way. She manages to give the character a bit of depth in what is a pretty good performance. Her partner, newly transferred from vice, is played by Ben Chaplin. Ironic since earlier in the month, I'd wondered what had happened to him. That makes two movies I've seen him in in less than two weeks. Odd. Our teenage murderers are portrayed by Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt. Gosling is really good here. Very charismatic and cocky...you feel like he just knows he's going to get away with it. Pitt, as the brilliant forensic mind behind the murder, is solid. There's something about his appearance that makes me want to punch him in the face, but that's neither here nor there.

1.8.2010

11. Lucky Number Slevin

Lucky Number Slevin is one of those movies that I'd wanted to see when it came out theatrically. Back in 2006. I'd heard a lot of good things about it but didn't get around to it. Then I figured I'd see it when it hit video. Again, never managed to actually pop the dvd in the player. For some reason or another, it always got put on the back burner. Now, some 4 years later, I finally managed to watch the fucking thing. I'm currently kicking myself in the ass for not having watched it all those years ago. This was just a great movie. It's got a killer cast too with Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley. It's a story of a guy who gets sucked into a world of gambling debts, bookies and genuinely bad guys thanks to a case of mistaken identity. Along the way, there are plot twists and enough action to keep you engaged. Some said that this was slow paced but I disagree. For a movie that was 105 minutes, it seemed to fly right by. Some good stuff here. It's definitely worth seeing if you haven't done so already.

1.7.2010

9. Kissing A Fool
10. Sorority Row (2009)

I had some issues getting connected to the internet this morning so I figured I'd squeeze in some movies while waiting for Verizon to get their shit together and fix my connection. Here's what I watched...

Kissing A Fool stars Jason Lee, David Scwhimmer and Mili Avital as the inhabitants of a love triangle. Schwimmer and Lee have been best friends since childhood. Schwimmer is a sportscaster and Lee is a writer. Avital is Lee's editor. Lee decides to set Schwimmer and Avital up despite the fact that he is already developing feelings for her himself. This is a decent enough flick. It's nothing spectacular. It's the type of movie that you can see once and be all set with. Once you know how it ends, it's really not worth re-watching honestly. This came out in 1998 at the height of Friends-mania so it is interesting to watch Schwimmer playing a character that is essentially the complete opposite of his character on the show. I'm a pretty big Jason Lee fan thanks to his work in the Kevin Smith movies. He's pretty solid here, as always.

Sorority Row (2009) is a remake of the 1983 film The House on Sorority Row. Lots of eye candy here with Briana Evigan, Rumer Willis, Leah Pipes, Margo Harshman and Audrina Partridge starring. The story here has been done countless times in the past. What starts off as a harmless prank winds up leading to a death and a terrible decision to try and cover it up. This movie would have fared a lot better at the box office back in the late 90s when everyone who was on a WB or UPN show was popping up in horror flicks and making big money doing so. This one hit about 10 years too late for that trend. I wanted to catch it at the theater and it was in and out in the blink of an eye with a total domestic gross of under $12 million. Overall, the movie was just alright. I'm a huge fan of the slasher sub-genre and this one is just your typical slasher flick consisting of good looking people getting undressed and good looking people dying in fairly gruesome ways. Nothing worth screaming about.
If you're interested in seeing it, Sorority Row hits Blu-ray and dvd on February 23rd.

1.6.2010

7. Lost and Found
8. House of the Devil

Lost and Found is one of my guilty pleasures. It's the type of movie that I'd stumble upon on cable and just be drawn to it. It's not great or anything but it's entertaining and has enough laughs to make you keep watching. David Spade stars in it along with French actress Sophie Marceau. Artie Lange is here as well as someone who idolizes Spade just a bit too much. Here's the basic story...Marceau is Spade's new neighbor. She owns a dog. Dog keeps escaping from her and getting loose. Spade manages to continually find the dog. Eventually, Spade decides to just keep the dog and use its disappearance as a means to get closer to Marceau so she can see what a swell fella he really is. It doesn't sound like much (and it's really not). But the cast manages to make it work.

House of the Devil is set in the 1980s. It's a time when talk of satanic cults was running rampant. There were lots of stories in the news back then of folks being abducted and sexually abused by these cults. It's referred to now as the "Satanic Panic". I remember hearing stories of cult members in long robes performing rituals in the woods on stretches of dark and lonely roads. The stories used to freak me out because, as a kid, I didn't really know any better. But I digress. House of the Devil is a 1980s movie, through and through. It looks, feels and sounds like the 80s. It's set in the 80s. Check out the huge Walkman and the rotary phone!
Director/writer Ti West seems to be pretty heavily inspired by those days as it plays as something of a love letter to the films of the decade. The biggest knock on this flick that I'd heard prior to seeing it is that it's fairly slow going. It is. It definitely takes a bit of time to really get rolling. However, I thought it worked. The fact that it took some time really allowed for the feeling of tension and dread to rise. You know something bad is going to befall our protagonist. Watching and waiting for it to finally arrive makes it that much more effective.

1.4.2010 and 1.5.2010

Two days in a row with nothing to show for it. Last night, I was transported back to 1998 with an evening chock full of pro wrestling. I've been a wrestling fan since I was 8. There have been good times and bad times for the product. The late 90s were a great time. There were two big companies, the WWF and WCW. Both aired live programs on Monday nights. There was typically a lot of excitement, as anything could happen. My roommate at the time, John, was a WCW fan and I was a WWF guy. We'd usually just compromise by flipping channels during both shows so we could have the best of both worlds. That ended in March of 2001 when WCW was essentially put out of business and then purchased by WWF. Since that day, there has only been one big Monday night show. Until last night. TNA, a new-ish promotion based out of Orlando, Florida signed wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and decided to host a live 3 hour special. When I first heard about it, I was giddy with excitement. The days passed and rumors were spreading about what was going to happen, who was going to be making surprise appearances, etc. Well, last night was the night. I spent the hours from 8pm-11pm on the couch with the tv remote in my hand flipping back and forth as though the very fabric of my being depended on it. Instead of having John in the folding chair next to my dilapidated recliner, I had the wife on the couch next to me. She's not a wrestling fan at all but last night she temporarily became one to humor me.

As for tonight's goose egg, I've got nothing. I tried to start one but I wound up falling asleep. I guess we can chalk it up to an insanely long 8 day stretch of work finally catching up to me. It's killed me mentally and now it's knocked my dick in the dirt physically. As it stands right now, I'm more than likely going to post this blog and head straight to bed. I should be back to the movie watching tomorrow.

1.3.2010

5. Most Wanted

6. Missing in Action


Day 3 of the new year is another random pick night. I'm a bit disappointed in myself for only getting in two. I got out of work at 10am so by my normal standards, I should have squeezed in a couple more. Serves me right for a)falling asleep on the couch and b)getting restless enough to constantly keep checking the internet. Anyway, let's get on with it.

Most Wanted is a late 90's action flick starring Keenen Ivory Wayans. This was around the time that he was seemingly trying to become an action hero. This was the last attempt at it and pretty much his last leading role. It's too bad because I think he pulls it off pretty well. The plot in this one is nothing new. It had been seen prior to this and has been seen countless times since. A convict gets a second chance only to be double crossed and set up by shady folks.
*yawn*
The cast is engaging enough to make it work though. Alongside Wayans, you've got Jill Hennessy and Simon Baker in some pretty early roles, Jon Voight, Robert Culp, Paul Sorvino and Eric Roberts. Not all big names but certainly recognizable enough. There is a fairly cool scene here where Wayans is on the run with a huge bounty on his head. He's walking down the street, attempting to keep a low profile when suddenly he's spotted by someone. This turns into a big foot chase scene with dozens of folks chasing after him in an attempt to get some of that reward money. This actually leads to a large action set piece with crashing cars and people being struck by vehicles. Actually a pretty good scene.

Missing in Action is one of Chuck Norris' (seemingly)18,000 1980s action flicks. It's a solid one, as were most of them. It's tough to go wrong with the bearded one in an ass-kicking role. Here he plays Colonel James Braddock, a retired Army vet and a former prisoner of war. He knows that Vietnam is still holding Americans prisoner years after the war and decides to go in and set them free. Basically, he kills people with grenades, knives, guns and his hands. It's pretty much one of the quintessential action movies of the 80s and a concrete evidence of Norris' star power back during this time frame.

1.2.2010

3. Birthday Girl

4. Spring Breakdown


Tonight was completely random movie night. I've got literally a ton of dvds in binders that have no rhyme or reason to them whatsoever. I always say that I'm going to alphabetize them and catalog them but then apathy catches on and the idea falls by the wayside. Occasionally, I'll sort through them and choose stuff to watch but typically, I have movies in mind before watching. Not tonight. Basically, I just popped a binder open and grabbed the first title that caught my eye. I suspect that random movie nights will happen fairly often during the course of this event. Those binders are kind of the main inspiration for this whole thing actually but I digress...

Birthday Girl is a 2001 film starring Ben Chaplin and Nicole Kidman. Chaplin is a lonely British bank teller who decides to order himself up a Russian mail order bride. Enter Kidman. Of course, not all is as it seems. If it were, the movie would have lasted about 10 minutes and we'd have been done with it. But, noooooo. Eventually, a couple of Kidman's male friends from Russia show up at their doorstep and that's when things take an interesting turn. This is kind of a tough flick to categorize. IMDB lists it as "crime/romance/thriller". It's actually kind of a bit on the dark comedy side, I'd say. There are a few scenes that made me chuckle that others might not have gotten amusement from. My biggest complaint about this one is the ending. It really just doesn't make a ton of sense in the grand scheme of things. Biggest highlight is Kidman. I'm not really a fan but she looks damn good here. Not sure what it is but playing a skeezy Russian chick suits her quite well. Chaplin is also pretty solid in his role as a banker who might have a little something going on under the surface. I remember that he was supposedly the "next big thing" back in the mid to late 90s. Not really sure what happened in the years following but he's a decent enough actor.

Spring Breakdown. This was a direct-to-video flick from Warner Premiere. It's about 3 older gals who head down to South Padre Island to spend spring break keeping a watchful eye on the daughter of a senator. This one had a really solid cast with lots of familiar faces. Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Sophie Monk, Amber Tamblyn, Jane Lynch and even Kristin Cavallari from MTV's The Hills all appear. Also, Poehler's real-life husband Will Arnett turns up for a cameo. All in all, you've got a good cast but with everything else landing on the poor side. The story is pretty silly and the laughs are practically non-existent. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this one and somehow, it managed to give me even less than I was expecting it to. Odd. Oh well...can't win them all.