Contraband

To protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) a former smuggler heads to Panama to score millions in counterfeit bills, leaving his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and children with his best friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) for safe keeping.

Of course things go wrong both in Panama and back home. If nothing else this film makes it perfectly clear to never trust anyone.

The acting is superb as expected with this cast. The story line is so so, but I was let down by the lack of action. Don’t get me wrong, the action scenes a good, just far and few, which slows the movie down a little too much for my tastes. It is a good film, and worth watching… But I will not be adding it to my movie library

Darkest Hour

When it comes to the Darkest Hour film I am going to keep it short and sweet. The film met it problems even before it’s completion, the 2010 wildfires in Russia held the production up, as well as filming conflicts, but the film was finished and hit the big screen by Dec. 25 2011 in the US. The box office wasn’t what it should have been, and I really don’t understand why. The film has plenty of action and will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The storyline is strong, and the cast was exceptionable. And the special effects were spectacular to say the least. The premise of the movie may be that of so many other science fiction flicks, alien invasion, but the movie itself is original. I have to give Darkest Hour 4 ½ stars and put it on my must see DVD list.

Creature (2011)

This 201 horror film is set in the Louisiana Bayou, where a group of friends discover that a local legend is true and they must fight for their lives. The film stars: Serinda Swan (Emily), Mehead Brooks (Niles), Dillon Casey (Oscar), Amanda Fuller (Beth), Lauren Schneider (Karen), Wayne Pere (Bud), and Sid Haig (Chopper).

Even though the film was a box office flop, earning a mere $327,000 from 1507 venues during its first week, don’t let it fool you. This was actually a well written and performed movie. The story is solid, although on the taboo side of society. The is far too much nudity and sexual content for younger viewers, but I recommend renting this DVD for your late-night-after the kiddies go to bed-classic horror pleasure fix.

Creature (2011) gets a 3 ¾ stars from me.

The Pack

This 2010 French may not be a horror classic in the making, but it is worth your time to watch. It is a fresh and some times humorous take on some very old monster tales of the Golems. While these creatures have found homes in literature for centuries, they very seldom make it into films. A shame really.

Emilie Dequenne

Emilie Dequenne does a wonderful job as the tough and loveable Charlotte, who finds herself alone, caged, and the future meal of a pack of Golems. Don’t count this girl out; she’s a fighter, and fight she does. Sorry, no spoilers for this movie, you have to watch it.

The gore is kept brief, and the pace can be a bit slow at times, but over all I give “The Pack” a solid 3 ½ stars.

Resurrection County

Low budget film? Yes. Old, overused story-line? Yes again. Bad movie? Definitely not.

It’s the age old horror film concept, two couples go into the woods, wrong some local nut cases, and the body count starts to rise. I am a huge fan of old school horror, and Resurrection County fits that image, brought into this century. The film is shot well, moody and creepy, just as it should be. Matt Zettell does a wonderful job directing, and the cast is full of talent. Dayton Knoll (Sam), Cassie Self (Katherine), Adam Hass (Tommy), Kathryn Michelle (Lucy), all do a great and believable job as the tourist with no sense. I mean come on. When the last town you drove through looked like something out of deliverance with a naked man in his front yard with only a machine-gun covering his junk, you should pay attention to the signs telling you to stay out. But of course Sam and Tommy don’t, and cruise on through with their ATVs, leaving Katherine and Lucy back at the camp site.

Lost they pull up to Stag’s (Rus Blackwell) home. All hell breaks loose, Stag’s brother is killed, and the hunt begins. Rounding out the Bible thumbing nut bags are Robert Miano (The Parson), and Jason Davis (Cody).

What I like best about this film is that it leaves a lot to the viewer’s imagination, not depending on the gore or nudity to sell the movie. There is torture, there is rape, there is mutilation, but none of it is viewed directly, leaving us to fill in the blanks, and that makes for a good movie. Would I say that Resurrection County is a must see movie? Probably not, but I would advise every classic horror fan to rent it, it is well worth the rental fee, or even the DVD price of purchase.

Over all I give Resurrection County 4 stars out of five.

Footloose (2011)

I know… this is not my normal movie review. But there are exceptions to every rule. Isn’t that what this movie is all about. And since I am of the male persuasion I’m sure you are expecting a bad review. Well that is not completely true. 2011 was most definitely the year of remakes, what with films like “The Thing”, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, “Star Trek”, and that is just to name a few. Now, what else do these films have in common with the remake of “Footloose”? Nothing, that’s what. These three films did what a remake is suppose to do, improve on the original. Why else remake them, right? Now don’t get me wrong here. “Footloose (2011)” as a stand alone film is worth your time to watch. The story is a timeless one, and the film is entertaining.

 However… it is lacking in comparison to the original film. What do I mean by lacking? Well where do I start? Oh, I know… Lets start with talent; specifically the main character, Ren McCormack, originally portrayed by Kevin Beacon. The new version has Kenny Wormald as Ren. Now Kenny does have some good moves, and is a decent actor. But… when it came to the two critical scenes of the film, the aggression dance in the warehouse and the stand off with the town council, where he had to be on top of his game, Kenny, cut the cheese instead of the mustard. His performance was weak at best, and unbelievable. There was no emotion in his eyes or body language, and the words came out of his mouth as dry as the Sahara. The next down-fall in the cast was, Ziah Colon as Rusty, originally played by Sarah Jessica Parker. Her performance as Ariel’s best friend was dry and lifeless. Now on a positive side, Julianne Hough did no harm in her role as Ariel Moore, the rebellious preacher’s daughter, nor did she bring anything extra special to the role either. Hough’s performance was good and solid, just not spectacular.

Julianne Hough ( Ariel Moore)

Now lets take a look at a couple actors that did bring something to the film. First I’ll go with Dennis Quaid taking on John Lithgow’s role of Rev. Shaw Moore. Although the part was changed very little, Quaid made the role his own and refining the character just enough to upgrade the Rev. to Rev 2.0, but then again… it is Dennis Quaid after all. Now on to everyone’s favorite farm-boy Willard, now played by Miles Teller. As for Teller’s acting ability, I would have to say he did his mentor, Christopher Penn, justice. But, he did out perform Penn by a mile in the dance category.

There was two main changes that altered the tone of the film. One of them being that Ren’s mother had died from Leukemia, the reason that he moves to town, although it is now from Boston instead of Chicago (why I have no idea). This gave Ren even more reason to be angry and strong willed, since he was the only one that to care of her until her death. The second is the character change of Ren’s uncle, Wes Warnicker, played by Ray McKinnon. No longer is he the bible-thumping, overly trained puppy following Rev. Moore’s every step as if he were God himself. Uncle Wes is now Ren’s greatest ally, ready to stand and defend his nephew against anyone in town. This to me was a great switch to the film. Another change I liked was the replacement of the game of tractor chicken with a bus race on a figure eight dirt track, it was twice the thrills and ends with a bang.

So over all, as a remake I give “Footloose (2011)” 2 stars… However as a stand alone film I can bump it up to 3 ½ stars. This is a good film for the new generation and those that have not seen the original, but don’t let them revel in this film alone. After they have watched it, pull out the original and have them watch it next. Lets see what they think shall we.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I have been a fan of the Apes movies since a child and was so glad to see this 2011 film made. It was originally titled "Rise of the Apes", glad they made that change. This film is a reincarnation of the original "Planet of the Apes" film series, primarily based off the fourth film "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" which was released in 1972. It is not a direct remake in any way, though there are many references to the original films through out the movie. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is intended to act as the foundation for a new series of films, with it's own origin story line.

The film was released in the United States, Canada, and India on August 5, 2011 and will be released on Blue-ray and DVD on December 13, 2011. Just in time to give it to that Scifi fan you love for Christmas. The film received positive reviews and became a box office success bringing in over $480 million, off of a $93 million budget. Money well spent in my opinion. The effects are clean and realistic, all most too much so. The story itself is well written with plenty of action and a good dose of heart. Casting was perfect with James Franco as the lead human Will Rodman, the man that starts it all trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, of which his father Charles (John Lithgow) is suffering from. Applause to Lithgow for a superb performance in a very difficult role. I also have to give a hand to Tyler Labine for his role as chimp handler Robert Franklin, he does the role almost too well. And lets not forget Caesar's favorite primatologist Caroline Aranha, portrayed by Freida Pinto, whom brought the character to life in vivid color, and most likely increased admissions into the zoos all over the United States.

I'm not going to give any spoilers, everything ties together far too well, and I don't want to ruin the film for those that have not yet seen it. So on that note, if you are one of the unlucky and have not seen "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"... I say run, don't walk, or even jog out to the store of your choice on December 13, 2011 and buy your copy. You can rent it if you want, but you will most likely end up purchasing it anyway, so why waste the extra cash.

I am going to end this post by saying that Rupert Wyatt did a wonderful job directing the film, and Andrew Lesnie hit the nail on the head when it came to the cinematography. I also want to give Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver big pats on the backs for their writing expertise. I for one (and I know many others) am going to be waiting on pins and needles for the next installment of the new and improved Planet of the Apes franchise. So with out any doubt I have to give "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" a solid and well deserved 5 stars.