Prom review

            Prom begins with the line “High School. It happens to everyone.” I have no doubt that this is actually fairly accurate to the kind of intelligence which can be expected from the age group the film is about and directed at, but I have little interest in dialogue like this. The entire film is filled with predictable moments and cookie-cutter high school clichés. There is nothing edgy or questionable about Prom, not even an inkling of a suggestion that some of the guys may be drinking or the girls may drop their dress for those boys at the end of the night. This is a film which might as well be made for 13-year-old girls to start planning their future proms. It is a high school film which seems to be made for a younger age group, so there can’t be much expected as far as content is concerned.

            There are many characters in Prom, all dealing with…well, prom. Some are in a relationship and worried that the evening will be ruined because of future college plans, others are still trying desperately to find a date. Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden) is in need of a date and a miracle when all of her prom decorations are ruined by accident. When a bad boy (Thomas McDonell), complete with motorcycle, happens to be nearby after the accident, he is given the task of helping Nova fix everything in time for prom. We know where this relationship is going long before they do, as it all seems a bit too reminiscent of 10 Things I Hate About You and dozens of other more memorable high school comedies.

Wrecked review

            The premise of Wrecked seems better suited for a short film, even after the success of Danny Boyle’s similar but more inspired 127 Hours. Despite Adrien Brody’s competent acting, there is simply too little happing in Wrecked to make it feel like a complete film. There is too little emotional connection to the characters because of the reliance on a twist ending, and the actual premise brings far less enjoyment than expected. All in all it feels more like a disappointment than anything.

            The premise is simple to the point of dull. A man (Brody) wakes up in a crashed car deep in a forest ravine. He has no memory of who he is or how he got in the car, but several of his fellow passengers did not survive the crash. If anyone did survive, they have long since left the car, and the amnesia-affected man is left trapped in the wreckage. Realizing that his survival depends on escape, the man searches for a way out and clues to who he is, discovering that there is a gun and stacks of cash in the vehicle.

            Much of the film is simply Brody crawling through a forest. There are many obstacles and dangers thrown at him, but it all just seems to be delaying the one question that makes the film somewhat engaging: how did this man get in the car? Director Michael Greenspan has made an average film which somehow seems less in the shadow of Boyle’s last film.

Cold Fish review

            Cold Fish is a nightmarish trip into insanity, and this means that each moment brings unexpected reaction from the insane characters. There is no guessing what may happen next, making the suspense horrifying in the same fashion as Takashi Miike’s Audition. There is some violence and plenty of blood, but this film is horrifying for other reasons. It is the pleasant nature of the disturbed characters which makes their violence stand apart from other horror movies.

            Co-written and directed by Sion Sono (Suicide Club), Cold Fish is an epic horror film which begins ominously even in a simple scene of dinner preparation. Each moment of this 145 minute domestic horror drama is unnerving and unexpected, so that the violence almost comes as a release from the tension preceding it. And the final resolution of violence is even more freeing, because at a certain point we are glad simply to see the cycle of brutality finished.

            The story follows Shamoto, a man who owns a humble fish shop that is suddenly turned around when he is befriended by the owner of a much more successful fish store. This luxury shop is run by a friendly man and his wife, who offer the Shamoto’s daughter a job after she is caught shoplifting one evening. This small favor puts Shamoto in debt to the man he known nothing about, and soon finds himself caught in a web of murder and madness.

In a Better World review

            The difference between foreign films (specifically European ones) and Hollywood movies is often the manipulation of the script. All films have some type of message within them, but the good ones don’t force the audience to think or feel one way or another. Instead they allow the audience to come to that point on their own, making it their discovery, rather than the filmmaker’s agenda.          There are no answers in Susanne Bier’s remarkable In a Better World, and there are no perfect characters. We see the outcome of tragic events, and reactions which we are meant to judge for ourselves, just as the characters must also do.

            Following two Danish families from different backgrounds, as specific events bring them closer together, In a Better World often feels disjointed and unrelated. By the end, however, it all seems to naturally come together. One of the families is wealthy and new in town, whereas the other family is immigrant Swedes, and continually berated for this fact. The two different worlds are brought together by the boys in each family. Christian arrives in town with his father after the death of his mother, and has since become rebellious and angry. This anger is quickly used against a bully terrorizing the Swedish boy, Elias.

            Soon Christian develops a sense of righteousness in his own ability to right the unjust world around him, scheming bigger and bigger each time. Elias follows along like a lost puppy, just grateful to have a friend. Meanwhile Elias’ father is often off on business as a doctor in impoverished areas of Africa. In his own storyline, this doctor is forced to face the dilemma of offering medical assistance to a man who has caused many of the injuries coming into the makeshift hospital as well. The stories of forgiveness and revenge are powerful without telling us what we must think.

United 93 Blu-ray review

Although high definition is not necessarily the point of the film, it is understandable that United 93 is being released on Blu-ray the same week as the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. United 93 does its best to downplay many of the elements which would usually be played up. In the preparation for a day of flights we join the air traffic control as well as the airline staff of flight 93, but their daily functions are not sensationalized. Instead we are brought into their world, which is as ordinary and routine as one day to the next. It is in these mundane details of an ordinary day that the true power of anticipation begins to build significance, making daily actions such as shutting the plane’s door or having a conversation about future vacation plans truly poignant.

            Filmed in a near documentary style, United 93 appropriately never goes into details about the specific lives of any individual passenger. Instead we are allowed admittance onto the fourth plane to be hijacked on September 11, 2001. We enter the plane, the same as all of the passengers, only we have the knowledge that it will be the last trip any of these people will take. We also enter into a days work at flight control, with knowledge that it will not be an ordinary day. Perhaps the most difficult reaction to United 93 will come from the distant witnessing of the planes hitting the World Trade Center. The way the characters find out in the film may remind many people of the way that they witnessed the tragedy, through a television, from a family member or even through a window.

            The distance we witness the disaster through is counter to the way we witness the events on the plane. We are allowed to hear all of the whispered conversations at the back of the plane, often all at once so that we can only pick up pieces of each conversation. Although we are allowed to witness these last private moments, the script always stays respectfully on target, never allowing a heart-warming speech into a telephone while the music swells. Instead the lives of those on the plane are kept private, and only the collective effort of the brave Americans is what stands.

            The Blu-ray has a fifty-minute documentary that has interviews with the families of those who died on the flight, which is often more difficult to view than the film itself. There are also memorial pages, which contain 40 written biographies, as written about the passengers by family and friends. A bit more traditional is the feature commentary with director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy). There is also a two-disc limited edition available as well, which contains “Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11”, an extra 48-minute documentary.

           

Assassination Games review

            When action stars go over their prime, it helps when the roles they take are supporting rather than leading. The reason Assassination Games is one of the more promising Jean-Claude Van Damme action films to be made in the last decade is simply because of the inclusion of a second action star to take some of the pressure off of an aging action hero. Scott Adkins is not remarkable but he certainly brings some youth to this buddy action film, which may have been even better with a sense of humor.

            The action may be improved, but the supporting acting and the dialogue still screams of straight-to-video nonsense which has been the mainstay for Van Damme since his falling out of blockbusters. There are still some great moments in this film, but there is also a lot to sit through which is less than impressive. The script meanders along without purpose and most of the film’s faults seem to be traced back to a sloppy screenplay to begin with. This is disappointing, because the premise is actually quite promising, albeit unoriginal.

            Van Damme plays an assassin named Brazil, who is hired to kill a drug dealer unaware that another killer is also hunting the same prey. Flint (Adkins) doesn’t want the criminal dead for the money, but instead wants revenge for his comatose wife. These two eventually find that teaming up against the crooked cops and deadly drug dealers is much wiser than attempting the job on their own.

Secret Sunshine Blu-ray release

            Secret Sunshine is a film which begs for repeat viewings. The process of sitting through this 142 minute emotionally complex Korean human drama once is daunting enough to make a second viewing seem unlikely, but Secret Sunshine is a film which begs this. With a storyline that follows no clear formula or structure, the first viewing is filled with unexpected surprises and sudden inexplicable changes. Second views allow for some of these large moments to become easier to understand. The storyline is simple to follow, but the emotions within the film are so multi-layered and real that it feels as though we are trying to understand a person. Suddenly 142 minutes doesn’t seem so long.

            The film begins and takes place in a town called Miryang, translated as “secret sunshine.” We join Shin-ae (Jeon So-yeon) and her small son, Jun (Seon Jung-yeob), as they have car troubles just outside of Miryang. The city was Shin-ae’s recently deceased husband’s hometown. For unexplained reasons Shin-ae has cut ties with family and moved her son away from Seoul. Unfortunately, the car breaking down is only the beginning of bad luck upon arriving to town.

            A pleasant and attentive mechanic (Song Kang-ho) passively seeks Shin-ae’s attention, helping her with much more than her broken car despite the poor manner in which she treats him. When tragedy strikes the widow and single mother, the storyline does not take the expected healing route. Rather than the attention and love of the mechanic, our heroine suddenly finds herself a born-again Christian. To say any more would spoil the film’s many surprises, but I found myself unable to guess what might occur next in this particular drama.

            This Blu-ray release includes a spectacular high definition presentation of this visually rich drama, subtle as it may be in comparison to Lee Chang-dong’s previous work. The new digital transfer was supervised by the director, along with cinematographer Cho Yong-kyu, and the film has improved English subtitles. The special features include a new interview with Lee, a behind-the-scenes video on-set, and the U.S. theatrical trailer. The booklet inside the case includes an essay by film critic Dennis Lim, along with great production photography.

Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold review

            Despite the fact that Morgan Spurlock built his reputation on a documentary which exposed the extreme health risks of a McDonald’s diet, it is his good nature which sets him apart from other famous documentary filmmakers. Even when exposing some hidden truth about American culture, Spurlock still manages to do so with a good natured attitude. His intention never seems the same as a filmmaker like Michael Moore, and politics has nothing to do with it. Spurlock simply seems to be a happy person, and his curiosity and intelligence allows for a fair consideration of whatever subject he takes on. This time around it is the advertising world, and in order to expose the truth he does not make the industry look stupid. Instead he employs the techniques in his own film, so that we can better understand the process.

            Pom Wonderful Presents the Greatest Movie Ever Sold makes a film about the process of making a film. The sole goal is to create a film about advertising which is funded entirely by product placement and transparent pushing of products. The difficulty is keeping the film honest while also appeasing all of the investors making the film a possibility. Even the title of the film is sponsored by a Pomegranate juice company.

            In between the documentary style exposing of the workings of advertising in the entertainment industry, we follow Spurlock as he visits boardrooms to pitch his idea to several companies. In a mind-bending twist, the film that he is pitching to the companies is actually the film being made in the process. It is a film filled with advertising, while also investigating the manner in which the industry works. Not all is flattering, but all is fair in consideration to the business. There is some eschewing of opinions, but we know that because of the fact that we see the companies making demands about their products in allowing the use in Spurlock’s film. The result is a circular result, one which is surprisingly entertaining despite having no real villain to sort out. Even McDonald’s is safe this time around.

Win Win review

            Win Win is a likeable film which takes unlikely paths to get to an unexpected conclusion. It has flawed characters, but somehow we are able to appreciate them despite their mistakes. At the center of the film is a father and husband who feels he is failing his family when his business doesn’t make enough money to support them. Timely and touching, Win Win is a winning independent comedy from Oscar nominated filmmaker Tom McCarthy (for a co-writing credit on the screenplay for Pixar’s Up).

            The story follows the repercussions of one bad decision made by Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti), a struggling lawyer whose practice is threatening to go under. Deciding to be a caretaker for one of his aging clients simply to collect a large payment each month, Mike turns around and puts his client in a nursing home. This decision comes back to haunt him when the grandson (Alex Shaffer) comes to visit. It turns out the boy is also a champion wrestler, and since Mike also coaches a high school wrestling team, this seems to be kismet.

            Soon the wrestling team is winning matches for the first time and Mike feels more competent raising his family. This is all threatened when the boy’s mother (Melanie Lynskey) suddenly arrives, and the truth about Mike’s deception comes out. It is a film about winning, but there are no guarantees that anyone will win what they want within this film.

Blitz review

            Serial killer cop procedural meets Jason Statham action spectacle in Blitz, a film which tries to do too many things and ends up doing all of the in a mildly mediocre manner. Most of the material in this film has been done better elsewhere, in a variety of different films and genres. This is not to say that Blitz is bad, simply overall forgettable. This is unfortunate, because the moments that do work are spectacularly enjoyable and slightly more intelligent than the average Statham vehicle.

            Statham stars as a cop named Brant, whose attitude is as tough as his name. Dismissing procedure, Brant is the type of cop to senselessly beat any random thug he comes across, even during his off-hours. Despite many complaints, Brant is also particularly good at his job. He is good enough to recognize a good cop in Officer DC Porter Nash (Paddy Considine), a thorough cop often ridiculed by his peers for being a homosexual. During a drunken rant, Brant tells Nash that this doesn’t matter to him, and the pair proceeds to join forces in stopping a serial cop killer.

            Aidan Gillen stars as an intelligent and mad killer, taking revenge on all of the police officers he has deemed responsible for the pitfalls of his life. Brutally killing the officers in the street, this killer is a top priority to catch for the cops; so much a priority that somebody willing to break all of the rules to get the job done is considered an asset. Brant and Nash join forces and methods in hunting down the killer, making this film a buddy cop picture at its best.

Little Big Soldier review

            It is nice to see Jackie Chan making good movies again, embracing the fact that he is no longer always the leading man. Many action stars get lost as soon as they are past peak, mostly because their egos don’t permit them from stepping out of the spotlight. I would like to see a lot more like Little Big Soldier or Karate Kid and a lot less Spy Next Door.

Little Big Soldier earns even more points for me, because Chan is so much more engaging when permitted to speak in his first language. He is a true genius of martial arts, and more importantly, of physical comedy. The combination of these two have always made him a pleasure to watch, assuming the film is not reliant on CGI, which seems to have been Hollywood’s approach to an aging Chan. Little Big Soldier is a simple and somewhat realistic period action comedy, allowing us to see Chan doing what he does best. He may have started with large stunts that earned him injuries for the B-roll during credits, but it was Chan’s ability to combine humor with his martial arts which truly made him stand out.

            Little Big Soldier also has drama, which takes a forefront over Chan’s comedic performance at times. Chan is a soldier who simply happens upon a wounded general (Wang Leehom) after a battle has decimated both sides. Although the aging soldier simply played dead in order to survive, he takes full advantage of the situation and decides to take the general home for a reward. Along the way they are forced to rely on each other in order to survive several elements, and a deeper plot unfolds before the aging soldier simply wanting the life of a farmer.

The Beaver review

            Watching The Beaver made me nervous. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and mostly in the exact ways that I expected that I would, but it was in all of the rest that I was always fearing the film might suddenly take a wrong turn. There are a few moments within the screenplay by Kyle Killen in which could be classified as such, and part of the reason seems simply to help move the plot along to a satisfactory ending. The forceful hand of the screenwriter should not be so obviously present in the way a film is able to wrap up neatly by the ending. It just feels lazy.

            The shame is that there is so much to be enjoyed amidst a somewhat emotionally manipulative close. The performance by Mel Gibson is well balanced, staying subtle even in the absurd scenario. Similar to Ryan Gosling’s performance in Lars and the Real Girl as a man so lonely he falls in love with a sex doll, Gibson plays a man so depressed that he starts speaking to everyone through a beaver puppet which he finds in the garbage. Walter (Gibson) is a successful business man heading up a toy company; he is married to a successful wife (Jodie Foster) and has two kids. Walter should be happy, but instead he is depressed. So depressed that his wife resents him after time, and his eldest son (Anton Yelchin) longs to erase all traces of his father from his behavior, hoping he won’t grow to be like him.

            There are many moments which are humorous, and how can this not be the case when dealing with a grown man who talks in a cockney British accent through an old puppet. But much of the film is actually much more serious. This is a film which deals head-on with depression, and even suggests it to be a hereditary disease which should be observed. In this sense, The Beaver is a bold and exceptional film.

Sympathy for Delicious

            There is a lot happening in Sympathy for Delicious, a film about a handicapped homeless former DJ who discovers he has the ability to heal people. At times the movie is all over the map, but it comes around and ends up being quite a winning little fantasy, untraditional as it is. It may not be a perfect film, but an admirable effort by actor/director Mark Ruffalo.

            Christopher Thornton stars as Dean O’Dwyer, a DJ who gives up on his dreams temporarily when an accident paralyzes him from the waist down. Homeless and living out of his car, Dean is befriended by a compassionate priest (Ruffalo). Simply by chance, Dean heals a homeless man, and soon others are coming to him. When the priest sees this gift, he immediately finds potential to help the neighborhood and the impoverished.

            On the other end of the spectrum is a rock band, that includes Orlando Bloom as the front man, Juliette Lewis as the bass player and Laura Linney as their manager. At first want nothing to do with Dean until they see his gift, suddenly convinced they can use it as a gimmick to sell tickets to their show and make them famous. Bloom is as awful as ever, but thankfully his vain little rock star role is limited. Thornton is the one who carries the film. Making the gift of healing seem both normal and a nuisance is not an easy task.

A Fistful of Dollars

            Based on Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, A Fistful of Dollars also marks the first collaboration between Clint Eastwood and Italian director Sergio Leone, who will forever be associated with spaghetti westerns after this film and the others which followed. These include For a Few Dollars More, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, and the lesser known Duck, You Sucker. These films are all fantastic, but few are more enjoyable than A Fistful of Dollars. It is a violent western about a man who enters a town and plays his abilities with a gun between two rivaling gangs.

            Eastwood created a poncho-wearing character to be known as “The Man With No Name,” a skilled gunfighter who makes a living in a variety of ways. In A Fistful of Dollars he enters a border town and finds it over-run by competing smugglers, and sets out to make money off of each. Eventually he grows sentimental about the poor villagers being terrorized by the feud, and sets out to end the battle once and for all.

            The high definition presentation of this spectacular western action film makes all of the difference. There are tons of special features, but all of these have been taken from a previous DVD release, and although it is nice to have them compactly on one disc, it is the high definition of the Blu-ray which makes this film worth owning in the best possible quality. The sound and picture is pristine, making this Blu-ray disc the best quality available.

For a Few Dollars More Blu-ray review

            The second in Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western films together was For a Few Dollars More, which brought back “The Man With No Name,” although technically he has a name in this film. Regardless, this is yet another spectacular western from Leone, this time also co-starring Lee Van Cleef. At just over two hours, this film also begins to show the epic nature that Leone’s filmmaking was beginning to take.        

            This time around “The Man with No Name” (Eastwood) is a bounty hunter who has ambitions with his job. When he finds himself competing with another bounty hunter (Van Cleef) for the same murderous bandit planning a bank robbery, they join forces to infiltrate the gang and take their prize. Reluctant as they might be in their partnership, each brings something unique, which will be necessary with the number of surprises likely to come their way.

The high definition presentation of this spectacular western action film makes all of the difference. There are tons of special features, but all of these have been taken from a previous DVD release, and although it is nice to have them compactly on one disc, it is the high definition of the Blu-ray which makes this film worth owning in the best possible quality. The sound and picture is pristine, making this Blu-ray disc the best quality available.

The Magnificent Seven Blu-ray review

            Based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven easily adapts from samurai film to western, just as Yojimbo would easily be made into A Fistful of Dollars a few short years later. In celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of this beloved western, The Magnificent Seven is available on Blu-ray for the first time. The epic film can now be enjoyed in perfect picture and sound.

            This landmark western was responsible for launching the careers of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn, all of which are among the seven gunfighters who join forces to protect a small Mexican village from an army of bandits. They are led by Yul Brynner, who is responsible for rounding up the seven men willing to go up against 50 in a gunfight.

            The high definition presentation of this spectacular western action film makes all of the difference. There are tons of special features, but all of these have been taken from a previous DVD release, and although it is nice to have them compactly on one disc, it is the high definition of the Blu-ray which makes this film worth owning in the best possible quality. The sound and picture is pristine, making this Blu-ray disc the best quality available.

The Battle of Algiers Blu-ray review

            This past weekend the Los Angeles Times ran an article on the emotional risks of 9/11 themed entertainment ten years after the tragedy. In truth, these themes began appears shortly after 2001, but it was controversial. This was despite the fact that few seemed to doubt who was truly at fault in the scenario. Taking this into consideration, then consider Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, which arrived a mere four years after the resolution of the Algerian revolution against French occupants. Even to this day The Battle of Algiers is groundbreaking and technically perfect film in nearly every aspect. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see it in 1966.

            Although the liberation of the Algerian people didn’t come until 1962, the film takes place during a crucial year much earlier on in the revolution. We see the end of many members of the FLN, the underground Algerian force, as they are hunted by the French army, headed up by Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin). What sets The Battle of Algiers aside in many ways is its refusal to give the audience a protagonist to latch onto. There are no stars of the film, nor are there any heroes or villains. Both sides are seen to do some horrendous things, and although it is quite clear that sympathies lie with the Algerian people, we probably grow to understand Colonel Mathieu just as well.

            The focus instead of on a protagonist, instead lies with the people. There are faces we see repeated times, some more significant than others, but it is more important what is happening in the revolution than any one individual’s contribution or experience. They are a collective people, united in the protest. This protest seems entirely just, and yet the violence of it is hardly easy to watch. Teenage boys shoot French police officers, bombs are set off to kill French civilians, and even the Algerian people turn against each other. The FLN declares smoking and drinking inappropriate during the revolution, and we watch as a group of children drag an intoxicated man down a flight of stairs to an unknown fate.

            This is all much more effective because of the style in which Pontecorvo approached the subject. With no leading protagonists, and violence seen from both sides, the film feels unbiased. This paired with Marcello Gatti’s unbridled photography and Ennio Morricone’s understated score makes The Battle of Algiers feel more like a documentary than a narrative film. Its brilliance is only matched by the treatment on this two-disc Blu-ray collector’s edition.

            Disc one includes high definition digital transfer of the film, which was supervised by Gatti himself. This disc also includes the documentaries Gillo Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth, and Marxist Poetry: The Making of “The Battle of Algiers.” Also included are interviews with many directors who have been influenced by this remarkable masterpiece, as well as a production and trailer gallery. The second disc includes Remembering History, which is a documentary on the actual Algerian experience in battling for freedom. There are also excerpts from another documentary about the use of torture during against the Algerian people in order to end the revolution, and another documentary in which Pontecorvo returns to Algeria three decades later. The set also has a 55-page booklet with essays, script excerpts and photos, making this a must-have collection.

The Big Lebowski Blu-ray review

The ultimate slacker tale from the strange and hilarious minds of the Coen brothers is finally available in a new limited edition Blu-ray book. The underachievement of the previously released special edition DVD are now in the past, with all new bonus content and 28 pages of collectible artwork and bios. The film is as good as ever in high definition, and the package is now worthy of the movie.

            Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, but he would much prefer everyone just call him “The Dude”. When he is mistaken for another Jeff Lebowski and threatened, The Dude’s main concern is that the perpetrator’s urinated on his rug, so he sets out to get a replacement. Suddenly a number of events are set into motion, throwing an extreme slacker into action, with the help of his bowling friends, Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buscemi). This unlikely trio find themselves in the middle of a bizarre comedy of errors and mistaken identity. When the wife of the real Lebowski is kidnapped, things progress even further.

            After the dark (yet still humorous) tone of Fargo, the Coen brothers returned to lighter and stranger once again. The Big Lebowski always seemed to be the style that they settled into after Raising Arizona was mixed with the realistic style of Miller’s Crossing or Fargo. On first viewing I was not extremely fond of The Big Lebowski, but it is the kind of film which grows on you.

            Along with the limited edition book packaging, there is also a great making of featurette with the Coen brothers, despite the fact that they hate doing interviews. This feature is just under thirty minutes and it really does cover a lot of great territory, but there are new additions to the package which were not on previous DVD releases. There is a ten-year retrospective, a featurette on the dream sequences in the film, and a few other additions. Not to mention the fact that the disc has Universal’s U-Control feature, which allows for some fantastic features during playback. One lists the music in the film as it comes on, while another keeps track of the number of times the F-word is used. There is also picture-in-picture interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.

Meet Monica Velour review

            There are a lot of different directions that Meet Monica Velour could have gone in. It could have been satirical, raunchy, melodramatic or romantic, but instead filmmaker Keith Bearden wisely goes for quirky while sweet and sentimental. This is skillfully accomplished, making the scenario seem much more natural than it is.

            The film follows awkward teenager Tobe (Dustin Ingram), who resembles a more self aware Napoleon Dynamite type. Ridiculed by most of his peers and unable to muster the courage to speak to a new crush, Tobe sets off on a solo road trip to meet his favorite 1980s porn star, Monica Velour. While most might be disappointed to find that their favorite sex symbol of days past have aged, Tobe somehow sees past the changes and still admires her in a way the former porn star needs.

            49-year-old Monica Velour (Kim Cattrall) is a single mom with ex issues and money trouble, but all that Tobe sees is the woman he has spent his entire adolescence fantasizing about. Despite meager means, Tobe naively and kindly offers all that he can to help the aging porn star, even though everyone else seems to have turned their back on her. Their friendship, quirky and unexpected as it is, remains the heart of the film.

Priest

     

       Priest is quite possibly the most unoriginal film made in the last decade. It even beats out Jonah Hex in the over-blending of too many genres and past successful ideas, all crammed into a terrible new film. If I were to attempt labeling Priest, I suppose I would say that it is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi western horror film. The biggest problem is that there is nothing new to be added to any of these genres, and this just makes Priest a big dull mess.

            The back-story for Priest is a good example of how ridiculous this film is. A war is fought against vampires, and man is almost unable to win until they somehow find warriors who are priests. This makes them especially good fighters or something, although they don’t tend to use guns. Once the war has ended the priests are integrated into society, leaving one warrior (Paul Bettany) with no battles to fight until he has word that some of his relatives have been killed by vampires. Going against the church on a rogue mission, this priest hunts down the hive that killed his family and may still have his niece.

            There are plenty of special effects in this film, which was shown in 3-D in theaters. The action is not all that interesting to watch, but it all looks pretty enough, if that can be said about a violent sci-fi vampire western. There is nothing technically wrong with Priest, but there is just nothing fun about the screenplay. The elements of horror are not frightening and there is not enough brevity to save the film from Bettany’s performance.