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Director: James Wan

Starring: Kevein Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Jordan Garrett, Stuart Lafferty, Aisha Taylor, John Goodman, Edi Gathegi

James Wan, who is best known as part of the crew that brought us the Saw series, tries an revenge/action flick, this time out. Death Sentence is in the spirit of the Death Wish series from a couple decades ago. This makes sense, however, since Death Sentence is based on a novel by Brian Garfield, who also wrote Death Wish (got any new ideas, Brian?) and not much has changed since Charles Bronson set out to make the urban jungle safe for decent folk with a sock full of quarters in the original Death Wish. The story is emotionally manipulative and all of the characters are one dimensional. Credibility is badly strained here by the keystone cops who seem helpless to solve crimes that Homer Simpson could figure out. Okay, maybe not Homer, but Lisa could do it in a second! Suffice to say, that these are not CSI-proof crime scenes we are talking about, here. The acting is adequate, but the dialogue and story just don’t work. Luckily, there is plenty of action and enough righteous self-indignation opportunities to keep your mind off all of that boring plot and detail stuff.

Kevin Bacon is Nick Hume, a stable, loving (perfect and boring – haven’t I see this guy in about 3,000 movies before?) family man, whose oldest, and favorite son, Brendan (Lafferty) is senselessly murdered and the broken down justice system is unable to offer more than to put his worthless killer away for a few years. This isn’t good enough for Hume, who sets out for a little eye-for-an-eye justice, but in doing so, brings danger to himself and the rest of his little family. Hedlund plays the requisite stereotypical leader of a gang of non-thinking street toughs, while John Goodman’s acid tongued hard ass, ‘Bones’, is the only interesting character in the whole movie.

It’s not great, but then again neither were most of the Death Wish movies (though number one was better than this). Wan keeps the action up, but you will need to turn your brain down to enjoy this one, which has some kind of muddled message about violence not being the answer. If you are looking for a really enjoyable film for Friday night viewing, this one isn’t the answer either. Let’s hope that Jodie Foster and director Neil Jordan have a better answer when their revenge/action effort comes out in a couple weeks.

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Cliff Curtis, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Mark Strong

Danny Boyle, the director of 28 Days Later, and producer of 28 Weeks Later returns to the director’s chair for this small scale, story-driven science fiction thriller. The effects are modest, but well done and the performances are quite good. The story starts out as quite engaging, though a little far-fetched, but comes apart at the end to reduce what had been a pretty solid sci-fi effort to a mediocre attempt.

The setting is a space ship, the Icarus II, in the not-so-distant future. A crew of 8 is on their way to the sun, which is dying. Humans have come with a plan to plant a giant bomb on the surface on the sun. The theory is that this giant explosion will re-ignite the dying star and, thus save all of humankind. How come Hollywood’s scientific plans always include a bomb? Anyway, that doesn’t matter. This crew is piloting their ship, the second to attempt at this risky plan to get as close to the sun’s surface as possible, before sending the bomb. This sounds like Armageddon, but it is nothing like it. The small crew, as you might expect, soon find themselves faced with difficult decisions and, since they are out of radio contact with Earth, they have to come up with their own answers.

The Sci-fi crowd will welcome this movie with open arms since it beats re-runs of Deep Space Nine and how many times can you watch Revenge of The Sith? This isn’t a bad movie and will be enjoyed by the genre fans and others will likely find it decent, well-acted entertainment. The ending gets really far-fetched (well, impossible, I think, actually) and hard to follow, but I enjoyed the movie anyway, though I probably won’t be adding it to my home video collection.

Director: Russell Mulcahy

Starring: Milla Jovich, Oded Fehr, Iain Glen, Jason O’Mara, Mike Epps, Ali Larter

Movies based on video games suck. From the Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat junk to the overrated Tomb Raider series, they all suck. So, I settled into my seat, with my face locked in a steely, determined grimace to watch my first Resident Evil movie, fully expecting it to suck. Since I was not a reviewer when the others came out, they somehow stayed off my my viewing list. Anyway, as I said, I was settled into my seat and had my pencil out, ready to give this latest piece of video game crap a scathing review, filled with clever insults and insightful observations. So, I watched and waited for the bullets to fire out of my pen (ok, keyboard, but a pen is a better image). I waited. And I waited. About halfway through I noticed something strange. This movie didn’t suck. When everything else is boiled away, this is a zombie movie. The most common problem with zombie movies is that they become monotonous and repetitive. This movie uses a variety of innovative action scenes and some quality direction to keep the feature fresh. The story is simple, but effective enough for an action feature, and for the same reason I managed to overlook characters struggling for survival who apparently take time every morning to apply perfect make-up, and I overlooked hordes of zombies with super-human strength who can set up ambushes but are stymied indefinitely by a chain link fence. The action is good and the story and characters stop just short of eye-rolling.

Milla Jovich is gorgeous (and damn nimble), as she recreates the supernaturally-powered fighting machine, Alice. The movie shifts between her story and that of an advanced research compound run by Dr. Issacs (Iain Glen), as well as a convoy of well-organized survivors, led by Claire (Ali Larter), helped by soldiers L.J (Mike Epps) and Carlos (Oded Fehr). All of these characters are trying to survive in world where massive hordes of zombies hunt for flesh (and somehow stay alive, when there is virtually none to eat, it seems)and the few remaining humans hunt for resources and an answer to their dilemma. There is a great scene with some pretty unusual crows and some beautiful desert camera work, as well as a stunning set of a buried Las Vegas. I didn’t like the obsession with cigarettes that many of the characters seem to share, which I thought was overdone and out of place. Did they pick up a few bucks by doing this? I wonder.

The action crowd and the video game fans will love this one, and it is a decent action movie. Sure, there are huge gaps in logic, and overblown characters and scenes, but fans of this genre don’t mind overlooking a few of these if they are rewarded with original and exciting action sequences. Don’t expect Shakespeare or Die Hard, but this a decent action effort.

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Voight, Ed Harris, Justin Bartham Diane Kruger, Helen Mirren

The Holiday season is fully upon us with all of its lights, music, food, drink and abundant commercialism. Coming along with our tradition of over consumption during the holidays is a deluge of blockbuster releases, surpassed only by the onslaught of movies in June and July. With a full slate of family friendly holiday offerings and Oscar auditions comes the usual suspects of sequels and long shots. In that last category falls the latest Nicolas Cage effort, National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Those who know me, know my hesitation with sequels. I am well aware of the ever-growing trend to make a second installment of a movie if the first one made a boatload of money. Whether the original story lends itself to a sequel is inconsequential, as is the presence of a compelling story, or script, or even a good idea. As long as the actors are inked and the machine is moving…it will be made, oh yes it will be made. This is the exact reason that so few movies ever have decent sequels, because most movies should not have sequels. All that being said, this one was not bad.

Nicolas Cage is back as the historian, conspiracy nut and treasure hunter extraordinaire, Benjamin Franklin Gates. This time Ben’s family name, which was momentarily redeemed in the first film, is sullied once again when Ed Harris springs into the picture as Mitch Wilkinson, a southerner who drops evidence on the public that Ben’s great grandfather was the architect of the Lincoln assassination, not the Union army hero as he had been told his whole life. In order to clear his family’s semi good name, Ben and his rag tag band of history teachers must find the fabled “President’s Book of Secrets” which is said to contain all of the country’s great mysteries including, the path to the lost city of gold, the Kennedy assassination and Area 51. If team Gates can find the lost city of gold before they are all arrested for kidnapping the president (long story) the family name will be saved ( how, I am still not sure and somewhat confused). Add to this compelling plot, a rival treasure hunting crew (obviously! whenever someone finds a clue that leads to treasure that has been undiscovered for hundreds of years someone else always discovers the same clue at exactly the same time…or at least decides to start looking) some personal problems, a couple of car chases and some international travel and you have, The Amazing Race. Oops, I mean Tomb Raider. My mistake, It’s the Da Vinci Code. nope, it’s National Treasure 2.

I am poking some fun at the seemingly endless list of these lost-treasure, globe-trotting, quest projects recently dumped on the viewing public, but this is actually pretty entertaining. Justin Bartha is fun as the wise cracking geek sidekick. John Voight is believable as the “head in the clouds” eccentric father. Nicolas Cage is, of course, Nick Cage. The jury is still out on what that really means. Except that he is as up, and down, as a prepubescent romance and talks weird. (he kind of creeps me out – sorry Nic). Harvey Keitel is in this movie, as well, but you would never know it. If you aren’t looking for an intellectual challenge, or historical accuracy, you won’t regret that 7 bucks, or the time spent. It is just corny enough to fit in at Christmas time, just fast enough so that you do not fall asleep and just short enough that you will not need a pee break. Combine Tomb Raider, (without Angelina in a body suit) with Indiana Jones (without the great performances) and anything else with Nick Cage and you will get an idea of what you’re in for.

Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan

Director Francis Lawrence, and the rest of the production team for ‘I Am Legend’, have pulled off quite an incredible coupe by setting their film in a deserted New York City that is being slowly reclaimed by nature. The work they have done with this is truly impressive. Equal to this feat of determination and logistics, is Will Smith’s stand out performance as a lonely survivor in a deserted city landscape. The story is well-written, with loads of suspense and action, but doesn’t quite manage to transcend its weak zombie movie genre. If you stop and think, at all, you will quickly find yourself saying, ‘Wait a minute’. Without giving away any plot twists, let me ask you this. Who has been feeding those fish for three years?

Will Smith is a military doctor/researcher named Robert Neville, who finds himself, apparently, as the sole survivor in New York City, where he wanders about, with his dog, Sam, entertaining himself by day, before locking himself down in a fortress home by night. The genesis of this situation, which sprung from a cancer cure, is revealed slowly through flashbacks. The reason for his cautious behavior after dark, however, is revealed much sooner, and it is the familiar movie world problem of infected humans, who are reduced to snarling, single-minded predators with absolutely no instinct for self preservation. I could go on with other issues in that same vein, but I’ll leave it to you to pick out your own favorite plot holes.

Imagine Castaway, set in a deserted NYC and then cross it with 28 Days, and you will have a pretty good idea of what to expect here. If the whole thing seems familiar, that’s because it’s based on the same book (I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson) as the 1971 Charleton Heston film, Omega Man. Once you get past the logic flaws, Will Smith’s acting and the cool, deserted New York City setting combine with taut tension and explosive action, to make this one worth seeing.

Director: Frank Darabont

Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Alexa Davalos, Nathan Gamble,

Frank who? Frank Darabont’s first two directorial efforts (The Shawshank Redemption & The Green Mile) were both nominated for Best Picture, but since his third film, The Majestic, he has been a rare sight indeed. He is back as writer/director of yet another Stephen King work, in The Mist. This impressive film slipped into theatres as quietly as the weather phenomenon it is named for, and will surprise viewers with great characters, played by an experienced cast of back up performers who are really given their chance to shine here. The effects are good enough, but its real strength is its taut and moving story.

Thomas Jayne is David Drayton, a steady and likable commercial artist, living in a summer town in Maine with his wife and son. Following a damaging wind storm, David, his son, Billy (Nathan Gamble), and irritable neighbor, Brent (Andre Braugher) head to the store for supplies. While in the store, a mysterious mist rolls into town, which might have been ominous enough, even if a bloodied townsperson hadn’t staggered in exclaiming that there is something in the mist. It isn’t long before this is confirmed and the group has some hard choices to make. Soon the group is slintering into three different factions, lead by David, whose ideas of what to do don’t jive with Brent (whose character doesn’t really make any sense) and Mrs. Carmody, who is magnificently played by Oscar winner, Marcia Gay Harden. I don’t know what happened to her in The Invisible. I can only guess that she, like I, did not want to be there (if this comment makes no sense to you, read my review of The Invisible and try to keep up in the future, ok? He he). At any rate, the tension is as thick as the mist and the unyielding story builds to an unforgettable ending

The buzz on this one is that this is the best ending since Sixth Sense. I’m not sure about that, but it is damn good. The tension builds on our natural fearof the unknown and the unseen, while the characters are strong, even down to the shorter roles. For fans of the “there’s something out there” kind of suspense films, its worth seeing. This is a very good thriller and may be the surprise hit of the year, but don’t tell anyone how it ends.

Director: Ethan and Joel Coen

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly MacDonald

Hollywood’s strongest writer/director sibling team, Ethan and Joel Coen, is back with more masterful dialog, and well-crafted characters used to tell a simple, quiet story set this time, in 1980 west Texas. The Coen brothers shun any soundtrack music which gives this film a more haunting, serious feel than most of their previous projects. The acting is flawless from even the shortest roles. I say shortest rather than smallest, because the Coen brothers don’t write any small roles. Even a character with one scene is fleshed out and feels real to the viewer. This is one of the secrets to their impact. It’s only weakness is an unsatisfying ending that seems incomplete (unless they are setting the stage for a sequel called “No Rock for Old Men, either).

Josh Brolin is Llewelyn Moss, a hard, man of few words, who stumbles across the bloody result of a drug deal gone awry. When the dust has settled he has laid his hands on 2 million dollars. Now all he has to do is figure out how to keep it. Tommy Lee Jones is an aging small-town sheriff, Ed Bell, who is finding crime to be more and more shocking as time goes on, when this pile of dead bodies, and a mysterious killer, show up in his little tiny corner of the world. The killer is played by Spanish actor Javier Bardem and appears, to my simple little brain at least, to represent death itself as he moves throughout the film killing without emotion while relentlessly pursuing his goal. Woody Harrelson gives a short, but impressive performance, as do many lesser-known actors.

This is classic Coen brothers, and is most reminiscent of their first feature, Blood Simple with its quiet dark mood and Texas setting. There should be enough tension and gunplay to keep the action crowd happy and the dialog and performances should please the art house crowd, as will the fact that the most savage scenes are implied rather than depicted. As with other Coen brothers efforts, this one is a must-see.

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Ray Winstone, Robin Wright Penn, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson

Director Robert Zemeckis has taken one of western culture’s oldest tales, Beowulf (dating back to before 1000 AD), and applied one of the newest and most technologically advanced film making techniques to this classical epic poem. “Enhanced motion capture” is supposed to be halfway between animation and live action. Zemeckis first employed this system in 2004 with Polar Express, but the technology has improved since that feature. The result, this time out, is a visually stunning epic with some very impressive CGI scenes of monsters and landscapes. The system is still less impressive when it tries to digitize the actors, however. Though, wonderfully detailed, the animation in the human action scenes is often pretty obvious. The strange end product closely resembles a very good cut scene from a video game. Today, when video games are trying to look as close to movies as they can, here we have a movie that seems to be trying to look like a video game. Why? I know, I know. It’s cheaper. I still had to pay full price to see it, though. Anyway, despite the fact that I haven’t been won over by this style, this is a good movie. It is a simple heroic tale with some good action scenes, including one of the best dragons ever put on film.

Little-known Ray Winstone landed the title role here as the legendary hero, Beowulf (though his appearance has been replaced thrugh CGI), who comes to rid a kingdom of its troublesome monster (and undoubtedly one of the worst party crashers ever!), Grendel. Beowulf is a little more shaken when he confronts the creature’s mother, however. She is played by Angelina Jolie (looking amazing, but they gave her character some crazy-looking built-in high heels) and this encounter requires a different approach. Most importantly, he keeps his clothes on (or does he?), which he didn’t when fighting her son – hmmm, that seems a little mixed up. However, he does bring peace to the region, and so when the area’s ruler (Anthony Hopkins) dies, soon after, Beowulf becomes King. However it seems that in lifting the darkness from the land, he placed it upon himself. There is a price to be paid….

Imagine 300 meeting The 13th Warrior (also loosely based on Beowulf) and you will have some idea of what to expect here. There’s lots for action fans to enjoy, and techno junkies will love this new frontier of CGI film work. If you disliked both of the features mentioned above, then this one is probably not for you.

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Elliot Gould, Ellen Barkin, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle, Scott Caan

Well, the 13-part formula is mixed here, once again, and I have to say I’m getting a little tired of the taste. Most of the group is back for an even more outrageous scam that really stretches credibility past the breaking point. Soderbergh seems to know this and plows full speed ahead, whizzing the viewer through with a dizzying pace, and a script that has so much going on that most viewers don’t have time to give any one part too much thought. The movie is better if you don’t.

Al Pacino is an unscrupulous casino owner named Willie Bank (come on! Bank???) who ruthlessly rips off Reuben, causing him to have a medical crisis. This affront brings the cavalry, led by Danny Ocean (Clooney) to get revenge by wrecking Bank’s spectacular new casino. The plan to do this involves giving a travel writer a nightmare stay (it really seemed pretty silly to put in all this effort put in just to ruin somebody’s meal). As well, they plan to rig a bunch of casino games to lose, so that Bank’s baby drops a fortune on its first day. The third part of this ridiculous scheme is to steal Bank’s precious diamond collection. Doesn’t sound all that hard. What are you guys going to do after lunch? Ellen Barkin’s character is ridiculous and offensive and is the weakest part of an already weak script. The scams are wildly far-fetched and even Clooney and Pitt’s banter seems plastic and forced which is hard to accept from actors of this caliber. Despite the many shortcomings, the movie is still really slick with some clever ideas, wonderful visuals and a pace that keeps the viewer engaged.

If you don’t expect too much, or think too much, this could be a good movie. It follows the formula of the first two, so if you liked those films, without reservations, then this one will probably suit you just fine. There are weak points, though, and they are not difficult to spot, affecting the enjoyment of even slightly discriminating viewers. The first two features had the same plot holes as, well, but they are more prominent here and the premise is getting tired. These Oceans are getting tougher to cross, let’s just hope they stop before they sink in a crossing attempt. I did like the Sinatra ending, though.

Director: David Slade

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Mark Rendall

After a couple of small-scale character films, novice director, David Slade had a bit of a budget to make this blood-soaked, but still weak vampire film. The story, based on a graphic novel series, has an interesting premise, but an execution that requires all logic levers to be put into the off position. The script is ok, but the dialog lacks any snap and the action, what little there is, is often filmed in the jerky hand-held style. The characters lack development, which makes it hard to care much about them. The acting is ok, but can only do so much with a mediocre script.

Josh Hartnett is Eben Olsen. a small-town sheriff for the Alaskan town of Barrow, which is suffering from a strange string of property crimes and is also watching many of its residents getting ready to leave for a month because the town is about to be plunged into a month of mid-winter darkness. Among those preparing to leave on the last plane is Olsen’s estragned wife, Stella (Melissa George). Logic gets on that plane and leaves, but when circumstances keep Stella in town. Almost immediately, the town’s remaining residents are forced into a month long fight for survival against a band of bloodthirsty vampires. There is some nice tension and a little suspense, but you can’t think too much.

The bad guys are sometimes cunning vampires (apparently with impressive technical knowledge) and sometimes growling zombie-like creatures. The survivors seem to get supplies from nowhere and the action scenes could have been more impressive. Still, it is acceptable Friday night horror movie fare for those who remembered and enjoyed movies like Near Dark (far better) and John Carpenter’s Vampires (about on an even level)