Last Weekend in October 2008

The frenzy of summer blockbusters releases has slowed to a trickle now that summer is gone.
The weather has changed for the better giving us cooler nights and less humid days.
Soon the flurry of Academy Award nominated films being released in December will be upon us and we will be right there to bring you the up to date reports on all of the nominated films.
In the mean time, let us share with you the films that we have recently seen.

At the Movies -

Body of Lies - This movie brings us Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe as CIA agents involved in international intrigue and mayhem. Explore what is done in the name of love and war. It is a good movie but the ending was weak.
We give Body of Lies ............................................................................3-Stars.

Max Payne - This action, crime-drama thriller starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges and Chris O'Donnell is action packed and very well done for its genre. The story is interesting and the movie keeps you engaged until the end. Mark Wahlberg plays a DEA agent who has recently lost his family in a conspiracy and is now assigned to the Cold Files Unit, that unwittingly teams up with a professional assassin to who is looking to avenge the death of a sibling. Together they fight the police, the mob and a a ruthless corporation who have done them wrong.
We liked Max Payne and we give it...................................................3.5-Stars


On DVD -

Street Kings - Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie and Forest Whitacher become entangled in the battle between right and wrong in the LAPD cop culture. A very interesting film about trying to do the right thing. We give Street Kings....................................................3.5-Stars

Don't Mess with the Zohan - See review dated June 9th in our Blog..............2.5-Stars

Rails and Ties - A deadly collision between a train and car lead to an unlikely bond between the train engineer and a young boy who escapes the carnage. Starring Kevin Bacon, and Marcia Gay Harden, this movie deals with lives falling apart and about love putting lives back together.
Well done. We give Rails and Ties.................................................................3-Stars.

San Pietro (St. Peter) - Omar Sharif stars as the passionate but reluctant leader of the apostles after the Crucifixion of Christ, in this Italian adaptation. Cast of thousands. Very well done. We give San Pietro..............................................................................3.75-Stars.

Otis - Starring Bostin Christopher, this comedic horror thriller falls short and does not satisfy. Poor acting and an apparent low budget doomed this film from the start.Suburban America gone haywire. In the midst of a serial abductor/killer's rampage, a beautiful young teen, Riley Lawson, goes missing. When her desperate parents, Will and Kate, are contacted by her kidnapper, an insufferable FBI Special Agent takes charge of the case.But, from deep within the psychopathic subterranean world created by Otis, Riley turns the tables on her tormentor, manages to escape and to contact her parents. And, fed up with the tragi-comic inability of the FBI to find their girl, Will, Kate, and Riley's brother, Reed decide to take matters - and justice - into their own hands
We give Otis...................................................................................................1-Star.

Leatherheads - George Clooney and Renee Zellweger star in this romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancee. The movie is cute. We give Leatherheads................................................................................................2.5-Stars.

Sunshine - Humanity faces a glacial period as the Sun begins to expire on our solar system.
After the first team of astronauts fails in their mission to restart the sun, a second team is sent 7 years later and their actions could be Earth's last hope. Starring a cast of unknowns, the movie is mildly interesting. We give Sunshine.................................................................2-Stars.

88 Minutes - A thriller about a college professor who, while moonlighting as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI, receives a death threat telling him that he has only 88 minutes to live. In narrowing down possible suspects, he frantically seeks to communicate with a problem student, an ex-girlfriend, and a serial killer on death row. The movie is well acted by Al Pacino, Alicia Witt and Leelee Sobieski. We give 88 Minutes.................................3-Stars.

Made of Honor - Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan star in this romantic comedy about a guy in love with an engaged woman and how he tries to win her over aster she has asked him to become her Maid of Honor. Humorous high jinks. We give Made of Honor.............2.5-Stars.

Tracey Fragments - Tracey Berkowitz, 15, a self-described normal girl, loses her 9-year old brother, Sonny. In flashbacks and fragments, we meet her overbearing parents and the sweet, clueless Sonny. We watch Tracey navigate high school, friendless, picked on and teased. She develops a thing for Billy Zero, a new student, imagining he's her boyfriend. We see the day she loses Sonny and we watch her try to find him. In bits and pieces, we see what leads up to her riding in the back of a city bus wrapped in a shower curtain. Coming of age, or just surviving?
Interesting style of film making having multiple frames on screen at the same time.
Ellen Page however is a good actress. The movie is a little slow to get going and a bit dark.
We give The Tracey Fragments..........2.5-Stars.