Nature’s Grave

Jim Caviezel is not very Jesus-like in Nature's Grave

Natures Grave (a.k.a. Long Weekend) stars Jim Caviezel and Claudia Karvan as a married couple with a strained relationship. In an attempt to try and mend their wounded marriage, Peter and Carla embark on a camping vacation over a holiday weekend to make use of the expensive equipment Peter purchased, against his wife’s wishes. Heading off into the Australian wilderness, the couple begins to argue and their animosity toward one another begins to grow. The campsite is difficult to find, but the pair finally arrive and attempt to make the most out of the situation by enjoying the nearby ocean, sunbathing, and outdoor cooking. Peter and Carla’s careless behavior toward their surroundings begins to stir up and anger the local wildlife. Soon the couple begins to experience strange occurrences and vicious attacks. As the reality of their hostile surroundings sets in, the couple desperately attempts to abandon the campsite, but nature has other plans in mind.

What can I say about Nature’s Grave? This was not a film that I found to be very easy to watch. This movie was absolutely absurd. The concept of nature fighting back against humans who have been destroying the environment is a decent concept. Knowing the premise, I thought this film had some potential. Unfortunately, the film makers were not able to take this idea and make it work. What really made this movie so difficult to watch was the fact that I really didn’t like the characters. I suppose this is what they were going for in that these people were harming the environment, but it wasn’t their inconsiderate treatment of their surroundings that made them unlikable but their constant bickering with one another. Both characters were really annoying. On top of this, the acting was poor. I’ve generally regarded Caviezel as a pretty good actor too, but he doesn’t show that ability here.

The entire movie is just a mess. It’s hard to figure out what the point of this film really is. We get the idea that the film is a sort of commentary on how people are treating the world we live in as the couple carelessly liter, start fires, and run over wildlife while traveling in their gas guzzling SUV. The majority of the movie revolves around the couple’s contempt for one another. I’m not sure if nature is striking back against those who harm it or maybe just against unhappy couples. It seems like there are far bigger culprits for damaging nature than a couple on a camping trip.

A commentary about our environment is much more effective in a big budget disaster movie like The Day After Tomorrow. While movies like these are certainly more “Hollywood”, at least the scenario is a bit more plausible than the ridiculousness in Natures Grave. Natures Grave was painful to watch and I do not recommend the rental. There are certainly better ways to waste two hours than having to listen to a married couple argue.

I give Nature’s Grave 1 out of 5.

Feel free to leave your comments.

Obsessed

Beyonce calls the producers of Obsessed to make sure her music will saturate the soundtrack.

Derek Charles (Idris Elba) is a successful asset manager who has recently earned a big promotion. He’s worked hard to get to the top, and when his workday is finished, Derek has the luxury of returning home to his beautiful wife, Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles), and their child Kyle. But Derek’s perfect life begins to erode when sexy new temp, Lisa (Ali Larter) begins working at the office and starts to flirt with her new boss. Lisa’s flirting soon turns to obsession and she begins to stalk Derek’s every move while attempting to break up his marriage. Derek and Sharon will do whatever it takes to protect themselves and their child from her deadly obsession.

Obsessed has been done before and done much better. This movie tries to do the Fatal Attraction routine but doesn’t do the genre justice at all. All of the things that make movies like Fatal Attraction successful were missing from this film. The script is awful. The story is predictable. There’s no originality here. Where was the suspense? Suspense is what makes these types of movies great and Obsessed really lacked in this area. The characters were awful. Ali Larter plays the obsessed temp but we never really get an understanding of what motivates her to be the way that she is. Plus, she’s not very intimidating at all. You never have the feeling that Elba or Knowles’ characters would have any problem handling themselves against her. Speaking of Elba and Knowles – their characters are predictable and their acting was very unconvincing. Beyonce plays a controlling wife with an attitude and serious jealousy issues but we never know why. She’s certainly not a very sympathetic character. Elba’s character of the hard working husband is performed with mediocrity. Elba’s a pretty good actor too and maybe he’s just here for the paycheck.

Obsessed lacked originality and most importantly suspense. I’ve seen bad horror movies that had more suspense than this piece of garbage. The director really missed the mark here although there was plenty of suspenseful music that just really didn’t seem to fit. It went well with the rest of the music in the film that was performed by Beyonce. Clearly Obsessed was just a vehicle to sell a few more records for the pop star.

Overall, Obsessed was not a good movie. Even though films of this nature have been done before, it would have been nice to see someone put a new twist on it. Unfortunately there was no new twist and nothing that kept you on the edge of your seat or even closely resembled a thriller. Interested in renting this one? Don’t bother. Check out fatal attraction or a million other films of this genre instead.

I give Obsessed 1 out of 5.

Feel free to leave your comments.

Fast & Furious

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker try again in Fast & Furious

Fugitive Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) returns to Los Angeles seeking out the truth surrounding a high-profile crime and reignites his feud with FBI agent Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker). However, as the two rivals are forced to confront a common enemy, Dom and Brian must once again learn to trust one another if they hope to exact revenge on the men responsible for the murder of Toretto’s main squeeze, Letty (Michaell Rodriguez). The two men will need to drive as fast and furious as it takes in their quest for justice.

When The Fast & The Furious originally came out back in 2001, I somehow got roped into watching it. Needless to say, it wasn’t my cup of tea. It was a movie filled with fast cars and pretty good chases and stunts but the story and acting was just way too much for me. So, I skipped on viewing sequels 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift. You may be asking yourself, why would you decide to watch Fast & Furious? Honestly, I’m not sure what I was thinking.

Fast & Furious starts out with a big action scene that I must say was awesome. As I’m watching this opening scene, I’m thinking to my self, ‘wow, this might actually be a good movie’. Unfortunately, Fast & Furious is all downhill after the first five minutes. The dialogue and acting are bad, real bad – just like the original. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker clearly have not gained any valuable experience as actors since the first installment and deliver their cheesy lines worse than kids in an elementary school play. The plot is equally terrible. A big time drug lord decides to hire race car drivers to transport product over the Mexican border. Really? This is the best way to transport illegal drugs? Let’s get a few supped up Hondas and fill the trunks with coke and drive them across the desert. That makes perfect sense. On top of all this, the major driving scenes took place in caves. That’s right, these street cars designed with low bodies are expected to navigate through the rough terrain of caves. There aren’t better vehicles for this? Maybe something with 4 wheel drive? Ridiculous.

Fast & Furious was poorly written and really difficult to take seriously. For a movie about cars, the action and chase scenes were really lacking after the opening scene. A movie with such a horrible script and acting should at least have great action to make up for its shortcomings however, Fast & Furious failed to deliver in this aspect as well. To sum things up, this movie couldn’t have ended fast enough and it left me furious for wasting nearly two hours of my life. Don’t make the same mistake I did and avoid Fast & Furious at all costs.

I give Fast & Furious 1 out of 5.

Leave me a comment about this silly film.

Push

Superpowers are cool.

Push stars Chris Evans as Nick Gant, a telekinetic or “mover,” who is able to move objects with his mind and has been in hiding since the underground agency known as Division murdered his father ten years ago. He has found refuge in Hong Kong but is soon forced out of hiding when Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a 13-year-old clairvoyant or “watcher,” seeks his help. “Watchers” have the ability to see the future and Cassie knows that the two of them must set out to find Kira, (Camilla Belle), an escaped “pusher” who may hold the key to ending the Division’s program designed to genetically transform citizens into an army of psychic soldiers. Pushers possess the ability to influence others’ actions by implanting thoughts in their minds – an extremely powerful and dangerous ability highly coveted by Division. Soon, Cassie’s presence attracts the attention of Division’s agents, forcing Nick and Cassie to flee for their lives. With the help of a team of rogue psychics, the improbable duo try to stay one step ahead of their stalkers as they search for Kira. Unfortunatly, they are not the only one’s searching for the girl. Kira is a Division escapee and the powerful pusher and Division leader, Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou) will stop at nothing to get her back in the program and keep Nick and Cassie from saving her.

Push is one of those movies that you just sit back, watch and enjoy without having to look for any message or hidden meaning. It certainly wasn’t the best movie in the world but in no way was it the worst either. The concept and story were good enough to keep me interested and it ran at good pace. The acting was good enough. Chris Evans seems like a good fit for this type of role and should continue to do films of this nature. He’s definitely got a lot of on screen charisma. Fanning is okay in her role but doesn’t necessarily live up to her hype as an actress. It seems they could have just about any young teenage actress in this role. I really liked Hounsou in this role however I would have liked to see more of his character in this movie. The action and special effects were decent. I would have liked to see a bit more action. It seemed as if the movie slowed a bit in the middle and this time was used effectively to develop the characters and story line but I think a bit more action would have really put this movie over the top for me.

Overall, Push was something different and kept me entertained. I liked the concept of the film however if it had been executed a little better it could have easily gone from average to blockbuster. I’m not exactly sure what was missing, but there was certainly something missing that would have taken Push to the next level. But, it is what it is and I’d recommend it as a rental. Push is a solid entertaining film, but probably not a movie I’d watch again and again.

I give Push 3 out of 5.

Let me know what you thought of Push. Leave a comment.

Knowing

Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have watched this movie.

In 1958, a teacher asks her students to draw pictures of what the future may be like in 50 years. These pictures of the future are to be stored in a time capsule as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school. However, there is one girl in the class who instead of drawing, fills her sheet of paper with seemingly random numbers. Fifty years later, the time capsule is opened for a new generation of students to examine and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Koestler. Caleb’s father, professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), begins to examine the page of numbers and soon discovers that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and location of every major disaster during the past 50 years. Upon further examination, John discovers the numbers predict three additional events that have yet to occur–the last of which seems to indicate impending doom for the entire planet. With the reluctant help of Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne) and Abby Wayland, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies, John does all he can to try to prevent more destruction from taking place. Will his efforts be enough to change a future that looks as if it’s already been decided?

I didn’t know what to expect from Knowing when I sat down to watch it. Movies with Nicolas Cage are really hit or miss with me. Sometimes he seems to put forth a great performance and other times he seems to mail it in. Knowing pulled me right in from the very beginning and it had nothing to do with Cage’s acting. I really liked the premise of a message being found in a time capsule that seems to predict future events. I’ve seen plenty of disaster and doomsday movies before, but Knowing seemed to bring something new to the table for this genre. The movie was moving along really well and I was really interested in finding out how Cage would decode this message when out of nowhere, space aliens show up and ruin the entire plot. That’s right, somehow space aliens were responsible for this message in the time capsule from 50 years ago and are now back. Are you kidding me? Look, I have no problem with a girl having some sort of supernatural ability to predict future events that includes the complete destruction of the planet but why on Earth do extra-terrestrial beings need to be involved in the plot. Knowing was like The Day After Tomorrow meets Close Encounters of the Third Kind except it was a lot worse than both of those films. I just didn’t know what kind of movie this was trying to be and it just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. The special effects didn’t even seem to be all that impressive and the acting was just okay. Cage gives us a performance that’s average at best.

I really felt like I was set up after watching Knowing. They roped me in at the beginning and continued to peak my interest and then punched me right in the face out of nowhere. This movie could have been so much better but as it turned out was just a waste of time. Rent this DVD at your own risk. I wish I had uncovered a time capsule with a message telling me “Do not wacth the movie Knowing”.

I give Knowing 1 out of 5.

Did you like this movie? Leave your comments and let me know.

Watchmen

Who watches the Watchmen?

Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985 America in which the era of costumed superheroes has been brought to a close by a government edict. The USA’s tension with the Soviet Union is at an all time high and on the brink of nuclear war. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and disparage all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting colleagues – a group of retired superheroes, The Watchmen resurface to discover an expansive and disturbing conspiracy that could have catastrophic consequences for the future. Can The Watchmen save humanity before time runs out?

I’ll start out by saying that I have not read the graphic novel for which this movie is based so I was not all that familiar with the story or characters heading into it. That being said, I was very impressed with how Watchmen was constructed. The film grabbed my attention from the opening credits and had me glued until the very end. It’s close to three hours long but it moves at such a great pace that it kept my attention with outstanding visuals, action and a gripping story.

I absolutely loved the story presented in Watchmen. What a great concept for a superhero movie. It was a really unique take on what the world would be like if there were men and women running around in tights and capes and how their presence among us could change history. While the story and plot hooked me in, the actors really were able to help bring it all to life. Jackie Earle Haley puts forth an amazing performance as Rorschach. In my opinion, this performance is right up there with Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. I was also very impressed with the performances of Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian. Patrick Wilson was perfect in the role of the aging Night Owl II. I had only seen Malin Ackerman in her previous roles in comedy films like The Heartbreak Kid and Brothers Solomon but her personality fits great with the rest of the cast in her portrayal of Silk Spectre. Matthew Goode emotes arrogance and a sense of cunning flawlessly as Ozymandias. There are not really any big name actors in Watchmen, but after watching this film, I can’t imagine anyone else in any of the roles. The casting was absolutely perfect.

As if the story and acting weren’t good enough, director Zack Snyder amazes with brilliant set design, visual effects, action sequences and a moving soundtrack. Visually, Watchmen is an amazing movie much like Snyder’s previous film, 300. What makes this movie great is how the visuals, the acting and the story all interact with one another to make a really enjoyable film.

Watchmen is certainly not your average superhero movie. This film is not for kids. The subject matter is dark and adult oriented with a good deal of violence and gore. In this regard, Watchmen makes The Dark Knight look more like the Adam West version of Batman. This aspect however, helps in making the Watchmen a truly unique movie in the superhero genre and I hope there might be more movies like this in the future.

I did have a few issues with Watchmen and they were minimal. I’m not sure if I liked how the movie ended. Even though this was nearly a three hour film, I still felt like there could have been more. An aspect of the film I really enjoyed was the use of flashbacks used to give the viewer some back-stories for the various characters. This was done very well, however we did not get these back-stories for all of the characters. Maybe this would have made a long movie even longer but I still felt like I would have liked to have known more about the origins of a couple of the characters whose stories were not divulged in this film. Who knows, maybe there will someday be a sequel and these questions will be answered.

All in all, Watchmen is a near flawless movie. I definitely recommend you take the time to sit down and watch this one just don’t include the kids. Watchmen is easily one of the best films I have seen in 2009.

I give Watchmen 4 out of 5.

What did you think about Watchmen? Leave your comments.

Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man

Today, I thought I would take a look at another 2008 summer blockbuster. There weren’t many bigger movies than Marvel’s Iron Man. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who heads up Stark Industries, a leading manufacturer of advanced weapon and defense technologies. While in Afghanistan to display the new Jericho Missile to U.S. military, Stark is kidnapped in by a group of rebels who demand he build one of his devastating weapons for their use. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes his captors. Upon his return to America, Tony begins to take measures to correct his past mistakes. When he uncovers a deadly conspiracy with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

This movie absolutely rocked. It’s everything you’d imagine a big summer movie to be. Iron Man is the first film from Marvel Studios and they certainly seem to know what they are doing. The script is great. They writers and director Jon Favreau do a fantastic job of bringing this comic book to life and making it seem so real. Their ability to take the concept of Iron Man which seems far-fetched and give it that sense of plausibility is what really makes this film stand out from other superhero flicks. Iron Man is filled with great action and special effects, but it also has a great plot that’s carried out with excellent acting. Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark. He plays the part flawlessly. He’s brilliant, cocky and often comical and captures Stark’s personality as the comics intended. The rest of the cast does a fine job in complimenting Downey Jr. Jeff Bridges is great as Obadiah Stane, Stark Industries second in command. Terrance Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow put in fine performances in supporting roles as well.

Iron Man is fun and exciting from beginning to end. It has everything you could possibly want in a comic book movie or any movie for that matter. This film has great action, drama and acting and is easily one of the best films of 2008. It’s films like Iron Man that are the reason people go to the theatre. If you somehow missed it the first time around, go out and rent Iron Man on DVD and enjoy the ride.

I give Iron Man 4 out of 5.

What did you think of Iron Man?

The Unborn

Scared of small children? Check out The Unborn.

Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) was just a little girl when her mother disappeared from her life. She has never forgiven her mother for abandoning her family however she begins to understand why when an evil young boy begins to haunt her in her dreams and soon starts stalking her by day. Searching for answers, Casey begins to uncover information that leads her to discover a family curse that stretches all the way back to Nazi Germany. This curse comes in the form of an evil entity with the ability to possess anyone or anything that it comes into contact with and is now stalking Casey. Casey soon realizes that her only chance for survival is to close a door that was opened by someone who was never born, and prevent the evil force from crossing over into her world. Casey enlists the aid of Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman), hopeful that he may have the ability to make these horrifying visions stop. Though the Rabbi along with her boyfriend Mark (Cam Gigandet) and best friend Romy (Meagan Good) do everything they can to help, Casey must ultimately face this dreadful curse on her own.

The Unborn was written and directed by David Goyer so I had pretty high expectations heading into it. Goyer worked as a writer on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (see my reviews for both of these films on this website), so I imagined that The Unborn would certainly be a horror movie with some originality and substance. Clearly, horror is not Goyer’s forte. He has made the majority of his living writing adaptations of comic books for major motion pictures and animated series’. He needs to stick to the comics and stay away from horror.

First of all, The Unborn was not scary. Everything in this movie has seemingly been done before. Maybe this is why it’s not scary. There are no longer any original horror films to come out of Hollywood. With each horror movie I watch the more I feel like I’ve seen it before. It all started with these Japanese remakes like The Ring and The Grudge with these creepy ghost kids. Sure, maybe it was a bit creepy and scary when these films were first introduced, but now it seems every horror movie made revolves around some creepy, demonic ghost child. Enough with the kids already! They’re not scary. Not only was The Unborn not scary and unoriginal, but the acting wasn’t all that great either. Maybe this was due to an uninspiring script or just a lack of experience from the young group of actors but they certainly didn’t help in making this movie anymore watchable. Somehow Goyer was able to coax Gary Oldman into doing this film whom was the only bright spot although in a very small part. Gary may think twice next time he does a friend a favor.

Just when I thought someone like Goyer could rescue the supernatural horror genre, I was once again let down. Hollywood continues to fail in bringing any sort of originality to these films. Hopefully there is someone out there that can reverse this trend and start making great horror movies again. It’s happening over seas right now. Countries like Japan and France have been making new, original horror films that are downright frightening. Where has the creativity gone here in the U.S.? I thought The Unborn would be it – I was wrong. Instead of being on the edge of my seat, The Unborn had me falling asleep with boredom. Don’t waste your time with this one.

I give The Unborn 1 out of 5

Feel free to leave a comment.

12 Rounds

Wrestler John Cena tries hard with a vengeance to do his best Bruce Willis impression in 12 Rounds.

12 Rounds stars WWE superstar John Cena as Danny Fisher, a New Orleans police detective who is about to have the worst day of his life. Just one year prior, Fisher was a beat cop who got in the way of a heist by internationally-known terrorist, Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen). Upon catching the criminal, Jackson’s girlfriend is struck and killed by a vehicle while attempting to flee. Miles would swear revenge on Danny and returns to kidnap Detective Fisher’s girlfriend, Molly (Ashley Scott) and engage the detective in “12 Rounds” of dangerous games carefully plotted throughout the streets of New Orleans. Danny must try to keep focused while completing the various deadly tasks before time runs out to save the woman he loves.

I really didn’t have high expectations for this one. It’s really hard to have high expectation for any movie that’s “In Association with WWE Films”. But I figured I’d give this one a chance as it seemed to be the first WWE Film that wasn’t a direct-to-DVD production. Plus, Cena and I are both graduates of Cushing Academy in Ashburnham Mass so I thought I’d check it out. As I watched 12 Rounds, I realized that this was not the most original of action films. The plot was very similar to Die Hard With a Vengeance. Unlike Die Hard With a Vengeance, the acting wasn’t very good. I understand that this is an action movie and acting may not be the most important aspect in a film of this genre, but it was bad enough for me to notice and to take away from some of the action. Cena was actually better than I thought he’d be, and maybe with more work in films like this, he could become an action star. As of now, he’s more Van Damme than Willis when it comes to delivering lines, but there’s some potential.

The plot lacked originality, was at times predictable and the acting was sub-par. Was there anything positive about 12 Rounds? Actually, yes. 12 Rounds is an action movie and the action was really good. Director Renny Harlan still knows what it takes to make a good action movie. He’s directed films such as Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight. The action sequences are thrilling and entertaining and this is what action fans come to see. Harlan hits the mark here. Unfortunately, the acting, plot and script really take away from what would have otherwise been a great action movie. 12 Rounds was certainly far better than I expected but is not nearly on the level of the movies like Die Hard that it tries to mimic.

I give 12 Rounds a strong 2 out of 5 based on action alone.

What did you think of this movie? Leave a comment and let me know.

The Haunting In Connecticut

Nothing like a story based on true events getting the Hollywood treatment.

The Haunting in Connecticut is inspired by true-life events. Sara (Virginia Madsen) and Peter Campbell (Martin Donovan) have just moved their family to Connecticut in order to be closer to their son Matt’s (Kyle Gallner) cancer treatment facility. Shortly after they move in, the boy begins to experience a series of disturbing paranormal events that lead him to believe a dark force is attempting to harm his family. Initially, the family suspects their son’s treatment to be the cause for his visions. However, the family soon discovers that their new home was once a funeral parlor and as the supernatural activity grows more frequent and intense, Sara enlists the aid of occult priest Popescu (Elias Koteas) to drive the evil out before it consumes her son’s body and soul.

I had been looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I heard it was going to be released. I watched and enjoyed the documentary, A Haunting in Connecticut when it aired on the Discovery Channel. I thought they certainly had great material to work with to make a major motion picture. I didn’t quite get what I was hoping for. The movie starts out well. You get a good feeling for what the family is going through and get an understanding of why the move into the new home is necessary. The character development and the acting in the film are fine. The problem I have with the movie is that it’s way too over the top. They try to make this into your typical Hollywood horror film with lots of suspenseful music and plenty of scares intended to make the audience jump out of their seats. This stuff is great for your average horror film, but it seems like this story could have been treated differently. It’s based on true events and has been re-told by the family in the documentary so why not bring more of a sense of realism to the production rather than turning it into something that resembles the poor Japanese horror re-makes. The story, imagery, and effects were far too over the top for what this should have been. The people responsible for this film really missed their mark on re-creating such an amazing story.

The Haunting in Connecticut was a total let-down for me. If you are interested in this story, don’t bother with this movie. Take a look at the documentary, A haunting in Connecticut from the Discovery Channel. It’s very well done and certainly worth checking out if you’re into the paranormal. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the big screen adaptation.

I give The Haunting in Connecticut 2 out of 5