Reviews

Up in the Air is a hard movie to classify. I think the best I can do is say that this it is a drama with comedic elements, but not what we would call these days a "dramedy." Be careful calling this a romance of any kind. George Clooney (Batman: The Worst One) brings his charismatic A-Game to Jason Reitman's film and gets help with brilliant supporting turns from Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga (whom I raved about in Orphan).

Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, an elite business-class frequent flier who also dabbles in motivational speaking. Bingham's full-time employment is as a for-hire executioner that companies come to to do their dirty work during these hard economic times. Bingham travels away from "home" 300 days a year due to this job and logs over a quarter of a million frequent flier miles annually.

Due his on-the-go lifestyle, Bingham has developed a personal philosophy about life, relationships, etc. that is something like a mash-up between Buddhist non-attachment and the juvenile Ayn Rand superman. Bingham's life is a stop-over of one night stands; carry-on luggage; hotel and airline executive privileges; and avoiding everyone that is not himself — including his family. Probably only George Clooney could pull off playing such a jerk and still come across as likable. This approach to life is also the one that Bingham pimps during his side job of motivational speaking.

Ann Kendrick is fresh from college upstart Natalie Keener who is hired by Bingham's company to revolutionize the axe-for-hire business. In short she wants to take the terminators out of the air and put them in a seat to do the deed by video conferencing. Bingham disagrees with the change and brings up enough points that his boss (Jason Bateman) decides to send Keener to the skies with Bingham to learn how to tweak her program pursuant to real life experience.

The last ingredient in this would-be-Oscar recipe is Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran. I have only seen Farmiga previously in the sleeper hit horror movie, Orphan, this past summer. I was stunned by how excellent she was in that movie playing the distressed and maligned mother. I made a note to myself to keep an eye out for her in this film. I did and she did not disappoint. Alex is Bingham's foil. What he does – she does; from non-attachment selfishness and one night stands to valuing airline and hotel rewards as priceless commodities. The two engage in amusing banter the first time they share the screen and the potent chemistry never lets up from that point on.

The movie is built around several layers of character interactions: Bingham and Natalie as he shows her the ropes and, as unlikely as it would initially appear, the human side to what he does; Bingham and Alex as they explore a completely casual relationship amidst constant plane-hopping that may be growing, against Bingham's will, into something else; Natalie and her growth from young gun for hire to an actual human; each of the character's respective relationships with their family; and the lives of all three against the back drop of the corporate world in times of fiscal turmoil.

There is more to Up in the Air than just that, but I would be ruining some of the nice work with character arcs and the subtly of some of the allegorical moments if I went into it much deeper. I will say that scenes at Bingham's sister's wedding and when Clooney, Farmiga, and Kendrick share the screen are sublime*.

*This includes an awesome cameo and performance by (not so) Young MC. Bust a move.

I personally delighted in the complete deconstructing of the third act of the film and its opposition to derivative formula. The end result is what makes Up in the Air such a hard movie to label. It's not what you think.

I also found it interesting that Clooney's Ryan Bingham is not the biggest jerk in the film. The fact that he is not — and who actually is — is a stunner.

Up in the Air is a meticulously crafted film with few or no flaws. However, though it reaches to a slightly deeper level than one may expect, it still lacks resounding profundity. That simply means that Up in the Air is the best film it can be, but it is not the best film of the year. Each of the main three performances, however, do merit some discussion come awards time.

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net This German language film was a nice surprise as a piece of tense and entertaining film-making. I'm a little surprised at some of the reviews that I read after viewing the movie. I agree with the almost universal acclaim that the film receives, but I don't understand the level of sincerity and claimed psychological satorie attributed to "Das Experiment" as a dramatized documentary. It's not. The movie is based off a novel which is loosely inspired by a real life experiment.

The rough premise of the film is The Stanford University Prison Experiment which took place in the United States in 1971. Information available regarding the experiment is patchy, but it is suggested that the reactions escalated to the hypothesized extremity in a matters of days instead of weeks and caused the experiment to be abruptly halted. That general outline is the basis of this film, but it otherwise never pretends realism.

The peak of the humiliation and brutality of the real experiment is represented in the film early on, but from that point the film sheds all viewer expectations of being realistic cinema and instead opts for stylish and amped up tension. It is in this dramatization that the movie works very well as, if not exactly thought provoking, then entertaining cinema.

Moritz Bleibereu, who appears to be Germany's answer to a young Billy Zane, is Tarek Fahd, aka Prisoner #77. Tempted beyond resistance by the $4000 payout for volunteering for the experiment, the smart ass Fahd signs up and through psychological evaluation is placed as a "prisoner." There is some psychological mumbo-jumbo used by the generic (but mostly well acted) scientists in charge of the experiment regarding the reasons some volunteers were placed as prisoners and some as guards. A quick cheat is: Fat or Aryan = guards; skinny, old, or ethnic = prisoners. As in many German films, there is a subtle subtext of apology that attempts to assure the viewer that Germans still hate Hitler (it's so common that seeing a modern German movie without the subtext is surprising).

#77 doesn't take the role of "prisoner" seriously. He cracks jokes, is obstinate to the "guards," disobeys rules, etc. His wit and bravo quickly gets under the skin of the guards to the point where they eventually feel they must strike back to subdue #77 and make the experiment as realistic as instructed. Here the most Aryan of the guards, Berus (Justus von Dohnanyi), takes control of discipline and keeping order with psychotic (Hitler-referenced) glee. Other guards begin to enjoy the humiliation of #77 and other prisoners, so they join in and, with the help of lax security by the scientists, things quickly nose dive out of control. The ending sequence is worthy of the film and takes a step back to avoid the gluttony of a hyper sensationalized finale.

The acting in "Das Experiment" is its strongest attribute. The script is mostly tight with one completely unnecessary side story told in hard to follow and excessive flashbacks. Even with that one minor caveat, however, "Das Experiment" succeeds in presenting a tense and surprisingly action-filled story that only fails to entertain during the cumbersome flashback sequences.

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net We've all had it happen. A day will be going merrily along with normal annoyances and accomplishments. Then suddenly, out random chaos, something triggers the memory of an innocent of something so profoundly awful and cringe-inducing that all he wishes is that the memory would have stayed forgotten.

Sometimes the buried memory is in the form of an embarrassing moment; like taking out one's junk and swinging it around at a wedding reception. And other times it is bewildering reminders of craptacular movies like Double Team.

My day "job" includes managing an online inventory. Recently we obtained around 300 DVDs to add to our online and brick and mortar inventory. Usually I don't pay attention to titles when mindlessly adding to our inventory. But yesterday I was struck as if by a malevolent satorie when this DVD came through.

I tweeted about it and got back a few colorful responses with regards to re-opening this wound of a movie in the minds of many.

So what was so awful about "Double Team?" Well, first of all the name: Double Team. Everyone is entitled to his most far-fetched fantasy, but I can't imagine anyone – not even the most strong stomach celeb stalker – wanting to be doubled teamed by JCVD and Dennis Rodman. It would be like having a fantasy involving a threesome with Larry King and Frances Bay (Granda from Happy Gilmore) while everyone wears a KISS mask. It just doesn't compute even to the most perverse of minds.

The next thing… well… Dennis Rodman. I mean just image google his name. Or don't.

Be who you wanna be, kid. It's all good. But to be who Rodman is and mix that with the absolute fact that he can act about as well as he shot three-pointers (23.1%) makes a mess recipe for a movie.

"Double Team" even had Mickey Rourke when he was an a-hole everyone hated instead of The Wrestler reborn a-hole that everyone suddenly thinks is cool because he is in Iron Man 2. (A side note: Rourke is the ultimate retro-cool has-been a-hole re-made into the suddenly in-demand cool a-hole that soon everyone will remember is an a-hole and will be cast aside once again. It's a crazy business.) The last thing I'm going to point out in "what was so awful about…" is that it was a stone cold career killer for JCVD. It may well be that JCVD was going to have a short career arc as a major action player anyway, but in the three years leading up to "Double Team," he was in Timecop (1994), Streetfighter & Sudden Death (1995), The Quest & Maximum Risk (1996). "Double Team" flushed down in 1997 and then… that was it. I think everything after "Double Team" was a direct-to-DVD or limited release for JCVD. JCVD was not known for quality cinema, but he was known for exploitative movies made for men who love movies made for men. JCVD movies were cheap to make and did enough bank at the box office… until "Double Team." Not even men who love movies made for men could love JCVD after he was in a movie with Dennis Rodman that, if I remember correctly, featured a fight or chase or something where Rodman's mode of attack was Grabbing a Rebound Kung-fu or some ridiculous junk like that. I know it involved a gratuitously out of place basketball reference somehow.

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net So it's been a couple weeks since I've seen this and I wanted it to let it kind of percolate through my, erm, mind area a bit before coming to a conclusion about it. You know how it is. There are some kinds of movies where, no matter how dumb something is, you come out of it saying "OMG THAT IS AWESOME!!!" and only a couple hours later do you realize how stupid the whole thing was.

Goats wasn't really that kind of movie but I did come out of it wondering if it was an Instant Classic* or just another silly, somewhat counterculture-y bit of popcorn. I'm still not 100% sure. On the one hand, it has Jeff Bridges in it in a role eerily similar to Lebowski. There is a part of me that wants to think of this as Big Lebowski II: Revenge of the Lebowski. Also there are goats. On the other hand, while I appreciate the comedic elements it didn't make me laugh out loud as thoroughly as the Cohen Brothers' 90s hit did. I expect this will be a film I'll return to every few years, but I revisit Red Dawn every few years as well if you catch my drift.

Another thing I really liked about Goats is that it seamlessly blends the true with the silly so that if you don't already know some of the backstory you might have a hard time this was based on anything resembling truth. And yet, the US Army really did do studies on psychic powers, they really did get into it because the Soviet Union was into it and they didn't want to "fall behind", and… well, just do a Google search on MK-ULTRA. The government prevents me from saying any more about that.

One thing that does kind of amaze me is the large number of bad reviews this film has gotten. In a world where the obviously sappy The Blind Side (based on a book by Billy Beane, GM of the Oakland Athletics and creator of the concept of "Moneyball" and baseball in general) gets 73% good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Goats gets… 54%? Really? Here are a couple of excerpts from these reviewers: Whatever George Clooney and his friends are smoking, could they please pass some of it around? We're confused and we need it.

• Kelly Vance, East Bay Express The picture soon runs literally and figuratively into the sands and can't dig itself out.

• Philip French, Observer (UK) A silly movie that puts the loony in Clooney and the Ewww in Ewan - Jackie Cooper, jackiecooper.com I really wish Mr. Cooper would have put a period at the end of that sentence. That's going to bother me all afternoon. In any case, I just don't get it. Well, I can understand the POV of the first reviewer, although just because a movie is about drugs doesn't mean it's the kind of movie that someone who is high on pot is going to enjoy more than someone who is not. Come to think of it, I think that means I can't understand that review. Mostly, the reviews seem to be "we don't get it and are offended enough by it flying over our heads that we will punish it with badness." courtesy of www.PopBunker.net

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net

Director: Mark Atkins Starring: Michael Holmes, Lira Kellerman, Tomas Boykin, Barry Womak, Jennifer Smart, and Kimberly Ables Jindra Asylum Home Entertainment 85min – 2009 – Not Rated

I'm going to get the bias out of the way, so the rest of the review can be as truthful as possible. I know and am friends with one of the principal actors in this movie. I hope he owed the director money or something, because I know he's better than this steaming pile of a film.

Loosely based on the Sarah Winchester mystery in San Francisco, the film is centered around Drake and Susan Grenier (Holmes and Kellerman) and their teenage daughter, Haley (Womak) as they move out of their city apartment to be live-in caretakers at an old house in the hills. They've recently suffered a tragedy, as indicated by the infant-related paraphernalia they've left behind "for donation." Director Atkins makes an unusual choice here, because the actors do not speak for this entire establishing scene. I like movies to "show" rather than "tell" but I thought this took that concept a little beyond what was needed.

For example: I found out the daughter's name first, 12 minutes into the movie. The family's last name was spoken after 25 minutes, Drake's name was established at the 30 minute mark, and Sarah's 55 minutes in. A little exposition goes a long way, but Atkins clearly disagrees.

After a close call with an oncoming vehicle, the family finally arrives at the Winchester House and begin to settle in. As Haley explores the property, she runs into Annie (Smart) – the spooky ghost girl – and follows her into a storm cellar where all sorts of old items, including a chalkboard used for a deaf resident once upon a time.

"I hate the 19th Century," says Holmes' character, in a prime example of good acting not being able to overcome really bad writing.

Haley gets trapped, apparitions appear, and everyone is scared. Enter Harrison Dent: Paranormal Investigator, and this film's clichéd "Mystical Negro." Tomas Boykin does his best Billy Dee as he explains to the Greniers about the house and the mysteries it holds.

Anyway…ghost and spirits haunt the family. Auxillary characters are killed, including Dent, Haley is kidnapped by the ghost of Sarah Winchester (Jindra), and eventually Sarah and her daughter Annie – whose accidental death was the catalyst for these events – are reunited, and the Greniers are free to go.

Or are they? In a twist, the film decides to shift away from Amityville, and pulls an M. Knight triple-axle via Beetlejuice.

Add amateur hour practical effects (the obvious latex on the dead female cop, for starters), a literal interpretation of how fingernails on a chalkboard are torture, and Dent's "Magic Talisman" that turns non-corporeal spirits to dust (?!?), and you've got the makings of a no good, very bad movie.

It wasn't all bad, though. I did enjoy the dynamics of the three principals, and thought that Holmes, Kellerman, and Womak worked well together. All three turned in the best performances possible, considering the material they were working with.

I thought that the cinematography was good, and the use of darkness and shadows helped to make some decent creepy.

I had concerns about too much green-screen use, particularly in the interior shots, but according to the "making of" featurette on the DVD the movie was also shot to be 3-D, so I may have mistaken what looked like CGI for something else.

Composer Chris Ridenhour wrote the movie's score, which I enjoyed. It had a few missteps, but I felt it blended into the movie pretty well, adding to the creepy factor when the DP was on the ball.

Bottom line: This movie was trash, and I will make a point to avoid anything written or directed by Mark Atkins in the future.

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net

Directed by Michael Reeves Staring Vincent Price, Hilary Dwyer Released 1968

Sometimes I forget what it is like to be shocked by a movie. It's hard to shock a modern audience and I've probably watched more "shocking" cinema than most.

However, a shock can come given the right placement just from being so different than what ones expect that it catches one unaware.

"Witchfinder General" is like that.

Set in the 17th century during the time of the civil unrest in England that accompanied Cromwell's Parliament against remainder forces of The Crown, "The Witchfinder General" stars Vincent Price as Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins. If you're are like me, when you think of Vincent Price movies, you think of the absurd over-the-top melodramaticness of insubstantial Poe adaptations or the campy and fun creepiness of 1950s-60s "horror" movies like House of Wax. Both of those types of movies are far removed in "The Witchfinder General."

"The Witchfinder General" contains substantial gore, scenes of sex and rape, and an extremely uncomfortable burning at the stake scene. Hopkins, his assistant Stearne (Robert Russell), and the accusers in the various towns, are all played with a perfect blend of dramatic villainy and realistic meanness. Price is a natural for the role of one who was probably once a good man but turned black from corruption and greed. His sinister oiliness and regal disposition bind with the part seamlessly.

The cinematography is unique in its willingness to show blood during the torture scenes and its obsession with crowding exterior shots with trees. There are trees everywhere. It seems that the camera tries to shoot through them, around them, under them; it's like there's always a tree in the middle of each outside shot. It's a little distracting once one notices it.

The methodical camera shots, though, are tense cinema. Stearne is Hopkins' enforcer and his scenes of plunging steel into an accused's back or punching women full in the face are harrowing even by today's standards. Since there is no jumpy cam or quick cuts, these long stationary shots, despite lacking today's realism, are more graphic than much of what we see in similar scenes in modern movies.

The movie is also called "The Conqueror Worm," on some U.S. distributions. That is fitting to force a Poe connection for U.S. audiences although the movie can in no way be said to relate to Poe's menacing pagan-like poem.

courtesy of www.PopBunker.net

Courtsey of PopBunker.net @popbunker

Michael Jai White is Black Dynamite, a celebrated community bad dude, and his life as a street enforcer and ladies man is interrupted by the murder of his brother. It appears his brother was killed in a drug deal gone bad and Black Dynamite has a three part responsibility: One is to avenge his brother's death, the second is to find out who got his brother back into drugs because Black Dynamite promised his mother on her death bed that he would not let that very thing happen, and third is to find out what role The Man plays in the drugs on the street and lining politician's pockets.

Black Dynamite takes this one personal.

And so begins "Black Dynamite." I absolutely cannot describe much of the plot in this movie because much of the humor comes from the giant leaps and absurdity of the plot. I'll tell you this much: At some point in the movie Black Dynamite and his crew has to infiltrate kung-fu island. Come on, "Kung-fu Island?" Additionally the plot doesn't make sense if one thinks about it too long. It's OK, it's not supposed to and that's part of the charm, but it is good not to watch the movie while charting plot holes. The film also has a scene where it takes a nice stab at itself and movies of the genre for the wild jumps in plotting. It's a brilliantly funny part of the movie.

Michael Jai White pulls off his best performance to date in "Black Dynamite." I reviewed White's good but not great Bone and Blood and mused what White could do with a more sensational role. Here is that role. The script is co-written by White and the entire movie feels like a labor of love by the folks involved. White is a sensational martial artist and displays everything from high impact karate to the more movie-traditional wushu. Whatever he's doing there is no mistake Black Dynamite is bad to the bone. The gags come hard and fast with great timing and pop and cultural references out of left field.

The movie should instantly become a quotable hit with some of the most memorably funny lines laid to film in a long time.

The last quarter of the movie comes from out of nowhere and is about as incongruous as a plot turns in a movie can be. The scenes of the finale become so increasingly bizarre and absolutely funny that the viewer can hardly pay attention to what's happening. I was slumped in my seat with tears rolling down my cheeks and my stomach hurting more with each additional discovery by Black Dynamite. The absurdity becomes out-of-bounds but it works well because the majority of the movie walked the line of satire and never wore out its welcome as an absurd farce. When the final scenes hit, laughs just keep coming and coming and coming.

The movie is the perfect comedic interpretation of the blaxploitation movies of the 70s as well as action films of the grindhouse style altogether. There are neat subtle little jabs made here and there that make social points, but nothing heavy-handed. The end result is simply a fantastically funny and entertaining movie that is as fun to watch as anything I've ever seen. "Black Dynamite" instantly climbs my list of 2009 films to sit right besides Duncan Jones' "Moon" as my favorite film of the year.

Courtsey of PopBunker.net @popbunker

Courtesy of PopBunker.net @popbunker

Many folks say that mega-blockbuster and children horror movie "Paranormal Activity" is scary due to using what they termed as "Hitchcockian" techniques. Those folks should have their movie-going license revoked, of course, because they obviously wouldn't understand a Hitchcock movie if a bird impaled its beak in their eye. However, I think what is being attempted is to describe the feeling of dread, provided by certain movies, that leaks from the response center in the brain down into one's suddenly thumping heart. Most movies never break through the reality filter of the brain enough to touch the visceral and trigger a survival instinct. The movies that evolved from Hitchcock's atmospheric and reactive tension, mystery, and suspense featuring the normal to incorporating fantastical or paranormal properties succeeded at massaging that survival instinct. Movies makers, for a short time, discovered that viewers are most frightened of what they can't see and when they don't know what is going to happen. "House of the Devil" tries very hard to make a movie that incorporates those elements.

Set gloriously in the 1980s, "House of the Devil" plays to the obsessive fear of that decade regarding Satanic cults and the disappearances of young people – especially young girls. The atmosphere is fed with snippets of news casts regarding a rare lunar eclipse set to happen that evening near midnight. Sam (Jocelin Donahue) is a college student unhappy with dorm living and hoping to finally set-up in her own place. She finds the perfect apartment and a great landlady, but she's flat broke and desperate to get the cash for the deposit. Luckily (yeah, right) she stumbles on a advertisement outside her dorm for a baby sitter and, after some strange sequences, secures the job in the nick of time.

Once committed to the job and at the rural home of her employer, Sam finds out that a baby sitter is not really needed, but rather someone to stay in the house to make sure the elderly mother upstairs is OK while the employer and his wife goes out. Sam hesitantly agrees after negotiating for a substantial raise. Very slowly, however, Sam begins to believe that something else isn't right. Exploration of the house yields strange clues including indefinable sounds and strange items. She's also stranded at the rural location because she was dropped off by a friend and cannot reach that friend by telephone.

So beings Sam's journey into the dark heart of cult practices. "The House of the Devil" takes its time building up to the final twenty minutes of climax. The entire first act is spent introducing Sam, which works fabulously due to the zeal in which Donahue embraces the role. Sam is plucky and cute as the 1980s version of a good kid. I grew up in the 80s, but was younger than Sam's age in this film. Therefore she reminds me of every crushable older sister of my friends in a charming and gangly way that makes her instantly endearing.

The second act continues to slowly build tension as Sam goes from goofy college kid dancing to her hip-holstered Sony Walkman (I mean the portable cassette player) and roaming the house that she has almost to herself, to a jumpy girl all alone convinced that something is wrong. The high tension in the second act is very effective. It made me physically fidgety while anticipating the beginning of the climatic activities.

The climax of "The House of the Devil" was honestly a bit of a let down. There was a good bit of gore and Donahue's Sam was convincing as being a scared kid turned feral. There was legitimate tension leading up to the end, but the end was void of tension for the most part. It was almost too clean. Therein lies the only stand-out problem with "The House of the Devil;" although I immensely enjoyed the movie, it never became more than facsimile of a certain style of film-making. I appreciate the effort and believe for the most part it worked, but the film was not completely successful in its endeavor. The flat third act gave way to an near embarrassing final scene that seemed to not be congruous to the established tone of the film. If I had to guess, I would surmise that the final scene had to be a studio insisted inclusion.

Besides being an overall entertaining and tense film, "The House of the Devil" also provides very good cinematography and perfect subtle acting that is missing in many movies of its genre. There were no gimmicks from the camera other than the deliciously appropriate 16mm film used to give the movie a 70s and 80s genre vibe. However, some of the scenes shot in the interior of the house are technically superb and perfectly placed. Long stationary shots with action taking place in and out of the frame; over the shoulder perspectives; dark, and I mean dark, interior lighting. Magnificently done. Jocelin Donahue was outstanding as well. One particular scene that happened near the middle of the second act stayed with me. During the scene, Sam is snooping around the house just as she begins to feel something is not right. She comes upon, typically, a bathtub with the curtain partially drawn. The viewer of course knows that it is too early for a major happening, but when the curtain is pulled back there is a slightly horrific discovery where Donahue completely nails the reaction. It's just perfect. The viewer knows that there is something strange behind the curtain after the reaction, but the reaction was not too blasé or too over-the-top to make the scene feel false or hackneyed. When the viewer is finally shown the discovery, he cannot help but to think that it was exactly how he would have reacted. Wonderful.

Courtesy of PopBunker.net @popbunker

If there is one glorious thing about making movies going in to the second decade of the millennium, it's that someone can have a successful movie, and a pretty good movie, that does not have to have a theater run to gain an audience or make money. There has been plethora of direct to DVD or direct to OnDemand releases that are just as good, or better, or better in a different way, than a lot of wide release movies. Usually the biggest difference between the two are marketability. The main consideration for marketability is the star power of the cast or the filmmakers.

Ving Rhames, one of the stars in the ensemble cast of "The Tournament," is probably the most marketable name associated with the movie. Most people still remember him as Marcellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction, so that right there gives a clue as to the marketability of "the Tournament." That's OK. "The Tournament" should live on in DVD rentals and sales for years to come.

"The Tournament" is ridiculous in its attempt at scripting and plot. The concept and continuity is as (un)developed as a Jason Statham franchise. But the action. Oh, my, the action is dialed to the extreme.

The "plot" is that every seven years the best assassins from all over the word are gathered together in a small town to go at each other in a free ranging field of play until there is one man or woman left standing. This year the action takes place in Middlesborough, a small town in the UK. The advantage of this small town is that it has more closed circuit cameras than any place else in the world. Therefore a team of hackers led by a dude that looks like my friend Spike (of the famous podcast The Paul & Spike Show) can somehow gain control of all of these cameras and bring live feeds of the action to a room full of billionaires from all over the world that are placing bets on the contestants. The group is hosted by Powers (Liam Cunningham), who channels the most campy essence of Richard Dawson from The Running Man .

Included assassins are Joshua Harlow (Rhames), the defending champ who is only back to settle a score; Lai Lai Zhen (Kelly Hu), a killer with a conscience; Miles Slater (Ian Somerhalder) a crazy killer from Texas; and the alcoholic Father Joseph Macavoy (Robert Carlyle) who, through a devious tactic by another assassin, gets pulled into the game against his will.

What develops is a farcical stretch of anyone's credulity, but the action is so fun and violence so over-the-top that a fan of the action genre cannot help but to enjoy the show. The gore level of the violence is nearly on par with Stallone's Rambo and the physical stunts (many actually done by this fun cast) are the high flying craziness of District 13-style.

The finale comes as a bit of a surprise in that it revisits a style similar to action movies of the 80s and 90s. The satisfaction level of the ending is very high.

"The Tournament" is a blast for action fans. The movie is simple with only a hint of a plot that's only purpose is to set up action sequence on top of action sequence. If one starts to deconstruct the plot too much, it is revealed for the silly and contrived object of convenience that it is. So don't. Pop the flick in, grab a pizza and a craft beer, and enjoy the show.

The movie had an auspicious path to release. Initially there were whispers about the tiny budget indie movie that could; there was the hokey (and almost certainly hoax) claim by eventual producer Steven Spielberg that his screener copy of the movie was haunted; then there was the nearly unanimous clout given by reviewers of the festival scene claiming the film contained unimaginable fright; and finally there was a purportedly grass roots effort that ended in propelling the movie from its limited midnight only distribution to wide release.

'Paranormal Activity' takes on the style of a "hidden footage" film. Recent movies of note to use a similar style were Cloverfield (2008) and Rec (2007). The entire movie takes place in one house and most of the "activity" is in one room. It uses a combination of sound based and off-camera activity to help build tension and heighten the sense of the unknowable. There is very little by way of visual horror.

The film opens with the viewer being introduced to the main character, the camera, as well as the main human participants, Kate and Micah. The viewer is never to forget that the camera is present and that there is no doubt that the camera is an intrusive presence. It seems that every other dialog part in the movie is Kate, in some form or another, complaining, "Micah, turn the camera off." The redundant exchange is grating. And oddly familiar. Then one recalls the same device being used ad nauseam in The Blair Witch Project. At that point the familiar becomes hackneyed.

One could argue that the entire execution of 'Paranormal Activity' has been done once before in the decade old 'The Blair Witch Project.' It may be the limitation of the "found footage" medium, but other than the considerably longer runtime of 'Paranormal Activity,' the pacing, style of tension built (sounds, character reactiveness, off camera action), and even the sequence of events including the finale are almost exact.

When the camera goes live, we are slowly told the story of Kate and her life-long battle with disturbances around her. The manifestations started when she was eight, always seemed focused on her, but even her sister could see the disturbances. She describes her fifteen year ordeal in great detail to a psychic who agreed to visit the house and hoped to help. The psychic, however, informs the couple that he deals with ghosts and reconnecting with the dead. Kate's problem is something else entirely, according to the psychic, and he refers her to a colleague in a field that might be able help. (The psychic has one more scene later on and it is one of the best in the film.)

At this point Micah pulls some kind of daft hissy fit where he forces Kate to ignore the "fruit" of a psychic and let him, Micah, deal with the problem. Micah, see, is a Day Trader, and he has access to this thing called the "internet" which allows him to visit, over the "word wide web," a web page called Wikipedia as well as some Angelfire and Geocities web pages that has precise information regarding this little problem of Kate's. It would be no problem for him to figure this thing out. That, in its entirety, is inferred. Kate, as tortured and near breakdown as she is, agrees.

The movie will sputter, catch, rev, stall, and eventually die. There's no question that one must be able to suspend his disbelief to catch fright in a movie like 'Paranormal Activity.' I'm usually able to do that well enough to enjoy any film, but not this one. After a few taunt moments about halfway in, the movie gets so caught up in its tired repetition that one ultimately gets bored with the thing.

Night scene, occurrence. Day scene, freak out, "Turn off that camera Micah," examine footage,discussion. Night scene, occurrence. Day scene, freak out, "Turn off that camera Micah," examine footage,discussion. Night scene, occurrence. Day scene, freak out, "Turn off that camera Micah," examine footage,discussion.

Whatever is behind Kate's problem could be burning entire villages in Tanzania and dumping the charred bones on their bedroom floor and Micah would still Have this covered, babe, armed with a Ouija board. Micah's character arc, or lack thereof, is a woeful disservice to the movie. It is not until the last moment that Micah thinks that whatever is happening is beyond his expertise as a day trader.

The scenes of occurrence themselves have very little cumulative effect. Each, individually, are barely nerve-wracking but are underscored with a single note of subtle deep resonating bass. The nearly subconscious suggestion of the note whispers, "wait for it… wait for it…" Awesome idea. I thought so when David Lynch did it in the BOB and dream sequences from Twin Peaks twenty years ago as well.

After the brief tension at the little before half point, the viewer must wait until the last act for a few more possible chills. In this act it is all in Kate's hands. Micah has gone into Day Trader Retreat and keeps maniacally fiddling with the camera, so Kate does what she does best and carries what little quality there is in the film. Her fear is palatable (which makes one wonder even more why she let Captain Day Trader attempt to save the day) to the viewer and what gut wrenching one feels in the film can directly be attributed to Kate. The final few occurrences are as close to scary as the movie gets.

In summary, if one keeps the perspective that 'Paranormal Activity' was made for something like twelve grand, then it would have to be considered a strong effort.

But is 'Paranormal Activity' is an unqualified success and extraordinarily scary without caveat? No it isn't.

www.PopBunker.net @popbunker

Here comes a new superhero movie from… Chile? Why not? This is not a typical superhero story. In fact 'super' is downright inaccurate while 'hero' just barely applies – at first.

Marko Zaror, a stuntman and reputed martial artist, stars as Maco, a quiet and respectful bouncer working at a local strip club. When not working, Maco is a fitness and workout nut. The seemingly gratuitous scenes showing Maco working out, charting calories, and taking amino acids seem like filler at first, but what the film is doing is introducing the character and showing his solitary life that contains little meaning outside of fitness and his institutionalized brother.

Maco's family was brutally attacked three years earlier. In the attack, the father and mother were murdered, the youngest brother beaten and sodomized, and Maco was beaten to near death. Since that time Maco has been training, working out, fanatically practicing martial arts for… something. Maco's brother is in a mental hospital due to the severe trauma of the murder and rape.

One night while jogging Maco stumbles across a robbery in progress outside of a suburban house. After instinctively disabling one bad guy, Maco hears screams coming from inside the house. Maco grabs the bad guy's mask and enters, surprising the bad guys and saving the day. One of the rescued victims is ambitions tabloid television reporter Carol V (María Elena Swett).

Carol V broadcasts a commentary piece the next night on her television show in which she calls the man that rescued her a "hero" without a Batmobile or cape. Maco is stunned by the reaction and the gears in his head start clicking. The gears become unstoppable when Maco visits his brother at the institution. For the first time since the attack, Maco's brother is responsive. It seems he was inspired by the report of the regular guy superhero. Maco then becomes convinced that he can stop the type of evil that happened to his parents, inspire his brother to get better, and perhaps earn the adoration of such public as Carol V.

"Mirageman" is a difficult and ultimately rewarding movie. In it's short 87 minute running time, "Mirageman" changes tone three different times. By far the most amusing scenes come early in Maco's career as Mirageman. Mirageman has to fight what would be the first real life challenge of any superhero: Practicality. Mirageman has to overcome cumbersome costume difficulties which include time required to change into the costume and where to stash his non-hero clothes. And of course transportation. Although Maco's "origin story" is similar to Bruce Wayne, Maco is no billionaire. His costume is pieced together from a sporting goods store and he owns no car. At first he takes the bus when battling villainy.

"Mirageman" also revels in the belly-bouncing glee of how a superhero must hold himself while walking around. "The Dark Knight" and "Spider-Man" never shows the viewer what it's like when the Caped Crusader or the Web-Slinger has to, say, simply walk up stairs or down a hallway. How would they act while doing the mundane? Marco deals with that as Mirageman. The extended sequences showing the costumed Mirageman 'creeping' in bright sunlight with his arms held to ready like an arcade game are both funny and uncomfortably awkward.

The second tone of "Mirageman" deals with the life of a hero after he's sorta figured it out. This includes the surprising public reaction to their very own superhero and the ways that a simple masked man trying to do good can be exploited and become something of which he never wished. Maco also has to deal with what fans he has and hopefully deal with that embarrassing transportation issue. Maybe a sidekick would be just the thing?

Maco goes through many transformations during the movie. I honestly can't remember more than one or two lines that Zaror has as Maco. Most of the character building is deftly conveyed using what the viewer already knows about 'superheros' and situational drama. Although he never says it, we feel Maco's pain, inadequacies, and sense of justice.

The third tone is set as Maco has to deal with these issues and the very real likelihood that, in order the make a real difference, he may have to risk it all.

The last act is brutal and realistic – a sharp contrast when compared to the relative camp of the opening act. One gets the feeling that this is what it would be like to take that mantel of responsibility.

Mirageman is left exploring a final question. Does he truly want to be a Hero?

from www.PopBunker.net @popbunker

In almost any definable way, "Zombieland" is an easy movie to review. There is not myriad of layers to pull back, there is no deep allegory or social commentary – rare in a zombie film – there is no Art House-like direction, bizarre script, or really anything that is beyond just regular-like. That in no way, however, means that "Zombieland" is a film one should ignore.

Sometimes the viewer of a film are so aware of the trickery, reveals, twists, and hidden meaning offered up to them – canny to keep an eye out – that he forgets the reason he goes to see movies in the first place: To be entertained. I was appalled when I saw on some fora where the wonderful Trick r Treat was being deconstructed and denounced because the viewer, in those cases, had forgotten that not every movie is directed with sequel building, dense allegorical connections, or overly cute cleverness in mind. If a person is the type that could not watch "Trick r Treat" with the understanding that it is whimsical slice of childhood fear produced with a loving infatuation for the subtler and more honest feelings of Halloween and the thrill of being scared; and if that person wants gore, archetypal origins story, torture, twists, and a whole heap of pop psychology, then both "Trick r Treat" and "Zombieland" are movies that person should sit out. They're not going to get it.

However, if one likes to be entertained, to laugh and chuckle, and to come away from a movie – not feeling moved – but feeling as though he just paid a fair price to have a lot of fun for 80 minutes, then "Zombieland" is a movie that person should check out.

Jesse Eisenberg is Columbus. He introduces himself at the beginning of "Zombieland" with a funny and gory montage involving others while explaining his main rules for surviving in Zombieland. There is also a small flashback sequence that just barley touches on the beginning of the trouble with zombies.

Columbus is a neurotic loner and has never been close to his family. He feels the need, though, to see a familiar face – or even another non-zombiefied face – so he sets out from his college in Texas traveling to Columbus hoping that his family might be alive. Shortly thereafter he meats Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson). Tallahassee is a zombie killing party animal who believes in one thing: Enjoy the little things. For Tallahassee the little things can be a good zombie kill, having nice wheels, testosterone enhancing firepower, or, his holy grail, a fresh Twinkie.

Though they are opposites, Columbus and Tallahassee form a partnership and decide to travel together. Once traveling they quickly meet up with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) – a young woman and her aged 12 sister. The two girls are more wary of forming alliances and leave Columbus and Tallahassee behind a few times before the four finally agree to head west together to an old amusement park outside of Los Angeles that is rumored to be a zomebie-free zone.

That's pretty much it. The middle of the movie turns more to a light romance between Columbus and Wichita as Eisenberg assembles his typical charming neurosis while trying to woo the ballsy bad girl Stone. Franky the romance part does not work that well. Eisenberg is charming in the same way he is in every role he is seen in, but Stone was a non-factor. I didn't buy the bad girl, I didn't buy the romance, and in many ways Stone was slightly upstaged by her younger co-star Breslin. However Stone was cute enough and so little of the film was wasted on the romance as to make it forgivable.

As I am sure many have heard, there is quite a surprise cameo in the film. I am not sure how much of a surprise it is; I remember reading production news about the film and there was word that this actor was on the set. Either way, surprise or not, it is one of the best cameos of recent memory with some cult worthy scenes playing off that actor's well known body of work. It works as being ridiculously funny and as a great segue between the road movie first act and the escape and rescue third act. The cameo also does a nice job of helping one forget the non-starter romance side plot.

"Zombieland" has a running time of just over 80 minutes and those minutes are well spent. My gut feeling is there might have been a lot of sappy character building and romantic scenes cut out of the movie and that led to the shorter than average length. Great, I say. "Zombieland" is not a story that takes 100 minutes to tell. The 80 minutes are packed with action and humor and is short enough so that the one mismatched ingredient is easily forgiven. "Zomebieland" is great fun and movie that can be enjoyed in almost any environment. What it excels at is reminding us that movies are at their best when they deliver uncompromised fun and enjoyment.

from: www.PopBunker.net @popbunker

"In the Loop" is a British satire film documenting the questionable push towards war with Iraq by the United States and the UK. Included in the film is a send up of civilian leaders pushing the war, peace loving Generals, hard line media relation bureaucrats, hapless nice guy politicians, political networking, sexual relations, questionable evidence, and analytical reports swept under the rug (and subsequently leaked). In short, "In the Loop" encapsulates in 100 minutes all of the purported scandal involved in the build up to the Iraq war by its two main proponent countries.

The movie begins with Toby (Chris Addison) reporting to work for a middling Minister in Parliament called Simon Foster (brilliantly portrayed by Tom Hollander). Toby immediately draws the ire of relations guru, the foul mouth insult factory Malcolm (Peter Capaldi, Torchwood: Children of the Earth). Though it is hard to given top billing in this great ensemble cast, Malcolm is one of the most constant characters and easily the most memorable.

Foster is already in some trouble with Malcolm and the more senior officials due to not keeping his statements in-line with regards to the war while guesting on a talk show. Meanwhile Toby has an inside track to get Foster face time with the American Karen Clark, a U.S. Representative struggling to sniff our clandestine meetings and committees that she believes are pushing for the war to be inevitable. Clark's aid, Liza (Anna Chlumsky), has drafted a paper that weighs the pros and cons of war and questions the sources of intelligence information. That paper, referred to by dense acronymeese, goes against the predominate climate in Washington which is to push towards war and its revelation to the public could have dire consequences for the war proponents.

The style of the movie is from a fly-on-the-wall perspective similar to The Office but without the documentary-like interview interludes. The camera follows Foster, Toby, Malcolm, Liza, and Karen make the political rounds from London, to Washington, and to the U.N. while maintaining a daft air of incompetence and humor.

The humor and zingers in "In the Loops" come fast and furious, especially in the interaction between Malcolm and Foster. The political representation is over-the-top, but for any that has been involved in politics or covering politics, it's an all too realistic level of absurdity. I have a feeling that folks that were pro war in the first place may not like the film except possibly in the way that the staunch anti-war politicians are portrayed just as frivolous as the supporters are portrayed hawkish. The level of political innuendo and depiction of networking and behind the scenes banter come off at least as chuckle inducing if not side splitting. Perhaps our reservation in laughing is due to the implication and the feeling that what is being shown as absurdity is not far off from what happens in real life. On a more lighthearted note, the image of two men sitting around in suit shirts, ties, underwear, and black calf socks is all too real. I've been on enough business trips to have seen that scene time and again but have never thought of how usual it would also be for traveling politicians and aids.

"In the Loop" is a 100 minute gag real ranging from wry humor to outright hilarity. The subject is serious, but is dealt with in such outlandish whimsy that the film never reaches a level of preachy (that I can tell). Those sympathetic to the reasons for the Iraq war that cannot separate their politics from entertainment may be aggrieved by the movie. However those who are apolitical, open minded to entertainment, or of course were against the war in the first place will find plenty of laughs.

from www.PopBunker.net @drunken_hopfrog @popbunker

Well, welly, well. After years of hearing about it and finally giving up hope to see it, a sort of Providence intervened and an unexpected last minute trip later netted me a screening of once thought to be DOA flick, "Trick r Treat." The tragedies that almost fell to keep this movie from being seen are too numerous to explain. One quick fact may lead to some idea of its rocky road: The original release date was to be October 5 2007 – two years before its actual release date this year. It was a rough road and a long wait for those of us that got wind of the movie early on.

The structure of "Trick r Treat" is similar to Creepshow or Twilght Zone: The Movie. There are five intertwining stories shown out of chronological order – each dealing with a rule of Halloween. The rules are familiar modern Halloween mythology: Wear a costume; Always check your candy; Never blow out a jack o' lantern; Hand out treats. One of the stories presents two rule failures while another seems to not deal with the rules at all. It would not be fair to describe any of the stories in detail. There is no real mystery, but part of the immense fun of the film is to watch as each story unfolds without knowing what is going to happen. The stories include tributes to some of our most popular Halloween entities such as vampires, werewolves, ghosts, serial killers, creepy town legends, and supernatural monsters. Some of these favorites don't play quite like one would expect and the movie has enough surprises and misdirects to keep each of piece of this Halloween tradition montage fresh and extraordinary fun.

Anna Paquin from the X-Men movies and HBO's True Blood is probably the most familiar face in the movie. Her story, as each of the stories in the movie, is excellent, however fans of her "True Blood" series may take particular delight.

Overall the movie plays in the right key with each element. The parts and the sum are each meticulously crafted without a single sour note and builds up to a fantastic movie. There has never been a Halloween movie similar to this in that "Trick r Treat' panders exclusively to the Halloween experience specifically in the United States. Each story and theme are from our experiences out of childhood and the fear of what lurks in the dark, what's waiting in alley, or if it were true, what would happen? The cinematography and pacing of the movie are both superb. At only 82 minutes the stories build and conclude with a tight narrative evocative of tense fear and expectation that whatever happens next is going to happen fast. The film uses a dark canvas but plays around with rich saturated colors. The effect reminds one of the bright and colorful pageantry of Halloween and the richness of our memories of being young and excited and scared.

It appears that the fate of "Trick r Treat" is sealed. It is not going to get wide theatrical distribution and will only be playing at a handful more film festivals. But if anything is right in our pop culture, this movie will live on indefinitely in DVD rentals and purchases. The movie is absolutely destined to be a mainstay in DVD players across our land during the Halloween season or anytime that one wants a fun jolt and journey back to when we could be scared and those magical – scary – wonderful things of which we are frightened.

www.popbunker.net @drunken_hopfrog @popbunker

For a moment, folks, can we forget that Juno scribe Diablo Cody or perceived celebrity tramp Megan Fox has anything at all to do with "Jennifer's Body?" For whatever reasons those two come with so much preconceived baggage that it seems to me that a lot of people can't get around that and watch the movie with an unbiased eye. One of the reasons that I believe that is because I have never seen Megan Fox in a movie before "Jennifer's Body" and I caught Juno during its early run, so that was before whatever caused the Diablo Cody backlash; and I liked "Jennifer's Body." I read on a blog not long ago something that I think is profound with regard to today's fandom. I wish I could attribute it to the right source, but alas I can't remember from whence it came. I think it was a sports blog and it went something like this: "Today's fan is much more concerned with what to hate then what they love." I think that fits with Fox and Cody pretty well.

For a guy, "Jennifer's Body" is a slightly difficult movie to completely Get. It is not Megan Fox's movie, but rather Amanda Seyfried's (Needy)as Jennifer's "BFF" and Johnny Simmons (Cliff) as Needy's boyfriend. "Jennifer's Body" is not that different from Mean Girls or Thirteen or in some ways Clueless. Also I believe the R rating was a mistake. This is definitely a soft R rating and could have used a promotion that steered it more towards the PG-13 camp and to have been targeted more towards girls than boys.

Needy (Seyfried) is a cute, funny, and basically well adjusted high school teen with a nice average boyfriend called Chip (Simmons). Needy is best friends with the school's top of the food chain knockout, Jennifer. Needy and Jennifer have know each other since early childhood where they grew up as leader and sidekick; Jennifer always took the best toys, played the most beautiful, and the princess. Needy is OK with their relationship, even going so far as to adjust her style of dress to something Jennifer would not consider competitive in sexiness.

Jennifer is exactly like every gorgeous and ostensibly self confident girl that one has ever known in life or seen in the movies. She is like The Plastics in "Mean Girls." She is self obsessed, daring, vulgar, and always in control. Early in the movie she convinces Needy to go with her to a local bar where a semi popular City Band was playing.

Events at the bar do no go well. Needy gets a bad vibe form the band that Jennifer is being obvious and bold with, and just when the band starts to sing the bar catches on fire. Almost all inside perish except for Needy and Jennifer as well as the visiting band. A shocked Jennifer retreats from the fire with the band while Needy's protests fall on deaf ears. The next time we see Jennifer, she is not quite the same person.

The humor surrounding "Jennifer's Body" is dark and somewhat stilted against the culture of populist America. From the time Jennifer is transformed to the end of the movie, the viewer is treated with both literal and symbolic rants against popularity, fame, friendship, and beauty worship. Not only does the movie step onto the well tread road of the normal girls' relationship with the sexy diva, but the movie also is requesting the viewer to maybe, just perhaps eventually – feel sorry for the diva. Being objectified as a sex symbol must not be an easy road to travel.

Jennifer's relationship with Needy and sympathy for the popular girl come into play more and more as the movie progresses. When juxtaposed against the relationship between the demon Jennifer and the suddenly rebelling Needy, some things about 'need' start to become clear. In fact, I would say the name 'Needy' is an attempt at a Dickensesque cue from Cody and the key to much of the movie. It is supposed to be obvious that Needy needs Jennifer and goes out of her way to maintain the friendship; but it becomes just as obvious that Jennifer needs Needy as a person that, while in many ways supplicant, also associates with Jennifer outside the realm of objectification.

The movie also deals with fame, its dubious honor, and the lengths that many in the entertainment industry will go to to get it. This theme is personified by the band that escaped the bar and later kidnapped Jennifer. They are able to claim fame from some of the circumstances of that night (as well as there being a supernatural influence) and bare a striking resemblance to alternative music washout cum propagandist mouthpiece 3 Doors Down (fittingly with the ubiquitous presence of the hackneyed "Citizen Soldier" in most American theaters).

The one clunky part of the movie is the forced and trite dialog. Pretentious popular vernacular and snappy pop-dense rants were fun in "Clueless," charming in "Juno," the point in Wodehouse, but amazingly contrived and ultimately annoying in "Jennifer's Body." I don't know if that is how teens today – either rural, suburban, or both – talk, but if it is to some degree I can't imagine that it is with such gleeful gluttony. The zippy conversations sound like something Kevin Williamson would write if he was an android pretending to be a teenage girl a thousand years in the future using today's urban dictionary as a reference. Nothing about it sounds realistic, but I guess neither does a teenage succubus.

I think "Jennifer's Body" should be given a chance. Give it a chance as a dark teenage comedy with elements of horror. It's not that bad and at times is actually quite good.

Lars Von Trier's "Antichrist" is supposed to shock one to the brink of profundity. If one decides to see this movie, that is what he should keep in mind. It is not a comfortable film to watch and, as the viewer, one is drawn further and further away from his movie watching comfort zone. As the film progresses it drives away from concept story telling to showing graphic occurrences for shock sake.

In some ways like Paul Solet's "Grace" (2009), "Antichrist" is an ambitious attempt from a director who has outstanding visual flair, innovative ideas for cinematography, a sense of framing style and contrast, and unfortunately the need for overkill that seems to void the film of the statement of which its mechanics were intended to lead. Where the weakness of "Grace" comes from thematic overkill, "Antichrist" instead violates all rules of visual temperance that most film incorporates and instead builds visual horror upon horror upon horror. The redundant shock competition of the last third of the film robs for fist part of "Antichrist" of its textured subtly and enjoyable dark macabre theme and leads it to being perverse, one concludes, for the sake of perversion. The images themselves are not offensive to me. "Antichrist" shows a considerable amount of intercourse, fetish brutality, penis, vagina, and even penetration during intercourse. Be forewarned.

Willem Dafore and Charlotte Gainsbourg star as an unnamed couple suffering from the tragic and bizarre loss of their only child. Dafoe is a psychiatrist who believes in a certain method approach to overcoming grief and fear. Gainsbourg is suffering the trauma more profoundly than her husband and eventually agrees to stop gratuitous medication in favor of intense therapy from Dafoe.

That decision leads the couple to nature – or rather Eden – where they take up residence at a secluded cabin to battle the trauma and horror of their loss, the circumstance that caused their loss (the ultimate theme of the movie), and the nature of love, sex, and devotion. Ostensibly anyway.

"Antichrist" has brilliant touches. There is a reoccurring situation involving acorns falling on a tin roof that provides a jarring contrast, like nails on a chalkboard, to the soft and muted scenes it accompanies. It has the affect of driving one near Poe-mad with its intrusion. There are legitimate creepy and atmospheric visuals that, alone, could seep into ones subconscious. There is an interplay of dark and light, muted and saturated, seemingly non sequitur discoveries, and various colors that I believe tie into some meticulously planned meaning meant for discovery.

In fact, there are many allegorical and extensional elements in the film. If I wanted to watch "Antichrist" again, I could deconstruct the various levels of innuendo leading to allegorical meanings and evolving subtext that I believe run like counter melodies throughout the film. Instead I only have the impression of half formed, though thoroughly forced, connections from the visual, spoken, and implied. Many things tie together and, like a Lynch film, it could have been interesting to try to put together the cues. Instead, unlike the subconsciously created elemental occurrence of David Lynch's craft, "Antichrist" presents a drearily composed and overtly manipulative narrative where the sole desire is to lead the viewer to the exact point that the director wishes him to arrive. That linear desire seemingly born of ego keeps the film from being in any part magical like the open and multilayer Lynch films and instead wallows in its constructed limitations. Instead of shattering hitherto accepted boundaries in film-making due to the natural need to expand those boundaries to tell the story, Lars von Trier tells a story that is constructed to obliterate those boundaries. Instead of elemental or even inspired Art in Film, "Antichrist" is an exercise in composed and altogether forced tawdry mayhem.

Eventually one dismisses the film as a preachy, constructed, and boring affair.

from www.PopBunker.net

I have a great gift in the ability to enjoy exploitation cinema and genre films. When a movie like "Blood and Bones" comes along, I am able to watch and hopefully enjoy it for what it is.

"Bone and Blood" stars Michael Jai White. White, one may remember, played the titular character in self proclaimed bad boy Todd McFarland's kid friendly send-up of the demonic "Spawn." White branched out to TV and voice acting after the nearly career killing clownish "Spawn" movie failed to generate much positive buzz. White, however, is an accomplished martial artist primarily in the Kyokushin style – a brutal full contact form of karate (though he also dabbles in Wushu which is much more screen friendly) – and film loves high impact martial artists. So White has been given another chance as a leading man with this movie, the upcoming fantastically buzzed about blaxploitation tribute "Black Dynamite," and a rumored involvement in Robert Rodriguez's developing mess, "Predators."

White plays Bone, an ex-con with a heart of gold. After his release, Bone finds himself immediately drawn to the illegal street fighting scene where he hooks up with mouthy small time promoter Pinball (Dante Brasco). Bone's motivation is indistinct at first and that gives the first part of the movie a rushed feel. However there is a Reveal about half way through that explains Bone's motivations and helps tighten up the not-too-surprising storyline. Otherwise Bone is a bit of a mystery in that his crime, his time, and his history is left completely unexplained for the duration of the film.

Once Pinball realizes Bone's talent, he quickly concocts a scheme that will get Bone a shot at the local street fighting champ Hammerman (played with corny endearment by former MMA champ Bob Sapp) arranged through Hammerman's bigger-time promoter James (Eammon Walker – "Oz" jailhouse Muslim leader Kareem Said).

This comes at around the halfway point where the film shifts gears from a tournament style martial arts flick to more of a revenge flick. Bone's personal motivation is brought to the forefront and momentum leads to one final fight with, inexplicably, David Aldridge, of whom I know nothing about. I say inexplicably because the film is draped in cameos and roles by past and current MMA stars from various leagues. Aldridge has, literally, less than five minutes screen time and that role, it seems, could have been handled by one of the MMA guests.

The martial arts throughout the film look powerful and brutal but the choreography is not inspired. White is a gifted martial artist and it would be interesting to see him in the hands of a stellar fight choreography team. The fights were entertaining enough, though, due to what many a child of the 90s martial action films would called the Seagal Factor. The Seagal Factor is, simply, when the protagonist is such an incredible bad ass that he is never – not once – threatened in the film which leads to a kind of maniacal hand-rubbing glee. None of White's fights are competitive in "Bone and Blood," but they're still quite interesting due to the Seagal Factor.

From a tech standpoint the film has numerous flaws. There are many cues that are missed and mis-fired gestures that are stopped and started by the actors awaiting their cue in dialog scenes. The music is horrible. The score somehow alternates between syrupy sweet Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk piano music and NIN-like industrial riffs. The effect is jarring.

But this is not a movie to watch for its technical merits. It's a movie to watch for martial arts bad assery and in that way it works. It does not score high in finesse or creativity, but there is a certain primal element that White taps into that makes the movie a worthwhile popcorn flick.

It seems that "Black Dynamite" is a can't miss and working with Hollywood darling Rodriguez can't be bad for White's career, so White may finally be on his way to stardom. If not, Bone ended in a way that could easily lead to sequels of "The Equalizer" type story lines. Or maybe White will take off while Bone makes his way to the small screen. When's the last time we had a prime time martial arts series? I think Bone could work there.

A Martini Bros. Production/ Directed by Derick Martini/ Starring Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin

Do yourself a favor. Do not overlook this movie. "Lymelife" was only released limited and its DVD run will begin September 22. It is a bitter, sweet, dark, poignant, and often funny drama that builds one of the best multiple characters studies since some of Altman's better work. At 95 minutes, the film feels short but that it ended right on time. Something that we're not really used to in this genre.

Ostensibly the film is the "coming of age" story of Jimmy Bartlett played note perfect by Kerian Culkin. It takes place at a time where the tick and Lyme Disease scare dominated the lives on many in the late 1970s. The undertones are familiar: Awkward boy has crush on long-time-friend-yet-unattainable girl and also deals with family crisis. But in this case the family crisis plays so much in to the type of person Jimmy is and his actions for one scene to the next. The realism of this built character has a broad depth often missing from cinema.

The film is packed with great acting performances. Alec Baldwin plays Mickey Bartlett – a real estate developer preparing to strike it big while the greater money brings greater problems at home. Baldwin is in his groove as a much slimier version of Jack from the great television show "30 Rock." Rather then being the purveyor of the dramatic moments, his character acts much as the fulcrum that allows other characters their leverage. Jimmy's older brother is played with amazing spark by his real life older brother Rory Culkin. The brothers on screen dynamic is, as can be expected, genuine and both brothers pull off questionable, touching, and sympathetic moments for their characters with a sense of timing and the dramatic. Jill Hennessey as Brenda Bartlett rocks out the wife-on-a-precipice character and, while weaving in and out of the main story, her character growth to its eventual maturity is glorious. Emma Roberts as Adrianna Bragg is fun and cute as the blossoming youth of Jimmy's desire. She really does a very good job in the role, but "Lymelife" is filled with such outstanding performances that hers gets overshadowed. At very least her character was natural and seamless to the story.

Finally the wild card character is Charlie Bragg (Adianna's father) portrayed amazingly by Timothy Hutton. The name of the film, "Lymelife" comes from the concern involving Lyme Disease, its spread through ticks, and its mental and physiological effects on the infected. Bragg is the only confirmed case of Lyme Disease in the town and his brief moments on film in the movie are like poignant lances laced with dark humor. Hutton's small role is a gem.

"Lymelife" is what independent filming is all about. The hook, as written, would not be an easy sale to a big time studio. However the principles involved believed in the project and made the film on a small level. It's reported that the Culkin brothers and Baldwin were attached to this film for several years and the payoff – for them the stars and us the viewers – was well worth it.

from www.PopBunker.net

I have some respect for Director Jaume Collet-Serra. He directed HOUSE OF WAX which turned into a Warner Bros attempt to cash in on Paris Hilton's 15 seconds. The movie could have easily been a train wreck of an epic magnitude, but instead turned out to be a respectable genre piece and I think should be considered pretty well when taken as such.

THE ORPHAN Good movie. It is what I thought it would be, but that is mostly because of the positive buzz I've been hearing form from genre fans. (The filmmakers and studio must be psyched about this. Usually word of mouth kills horror movies.) The cast was excellent. One is likely to hear much ado about aged 12 Isabelle Fuhrman. Fuhrman was dead on creepy and had an honest but subtly consistent Russian accent that would put many Hollywood mainstays to shame. It appears that she is going to be in a remake of CHILDREN OF THE CORN, so we could be witnessing the birth of a new scream queen - or scream creep. It's a shame to type cast so early, but she was that good.

This movie was very much Vera Farmiga's (The Wife) as well. She's a veteran actor that's seen some screen time in THE DEPARTED and a bunch of smaller movies and TV roles. I have to admit that I don't remember her from THE DEPARTED, but she did enough in ORPHAN to warrant a revisiting of some of her work. At aged 36, Farmiga is real world attractive and brings a convincing knack for nuanced method acting to the film. Her emotionally unstable and self doubting character is a sale right from the start and that wonderful vividness plays with kinetic appeal when joined by Fuhrman.

The plot of the movie is not dissimilar from others in this sub-genre. What ORPHAN brings to the mix is well paced tension and some neat visuals by way of camera work and concept (the black light images were wonderfully malevolent). The seemingly single-shot playground sequence was inspired even though you probably know what's going to happen. The film seemed a little long and The Husband (Peter Sarsgaard) a trifling bit generic. However the climax is enough to make one forget that the film is pushing an hour fifty when it starts; and Sarsgaard pulls off several good scenes in the climax for a mini redemption.

As a genre film, I would have to admit ORPHAN is a startling surprise from a movie that was not even in orbit around my radar. Even better, I would have to call it a pretty good movie all around. The movie has some re-baked ideas, but the recipe is different enough to keep it interesting and tasty!

There is little that I can do by way of review. There is a minor REVEAL a third of the way through that, though it would not ruin the movie, would ruin some of the cumulative effect of the subtly clever tale.

Sam Rockwell plays Sam (for some reason I love it when that happens) who is a one man show on a moon mining base for a Big Energy Company. He signed a three year contract and he is two weeks away from going home to his wife and small child.

Kevin Spacey's voice gives life to GERTY, the helpful corporate robot. GERTY expresses himself with emoticons which are chuckle inducing.

The brilliance is that writer/director Duncan Jones (son of rock idol Davey Jones. No, not that Davey Jones, but rather the one that took the stage name of David Bowie {which makes Jones' movie taking place in space... OK, nevermin}) lays delicate red herrings at various points where the viewer is suddenly convinced that it is going to be THAT type of movi... er, no, I mean OK, we saw that in 2001 it... er, no, that's like Solar... hmm.

As I mentioned, The Reveal comes pretty early, but this is not a M. Knight movie, so The Reveal is not what drives the film. After The Reveal the movies turns into a quiet and contemplative commentary, maybe, or perhaps an extensional wrapped philosophical study. I'm not sure, actually, which is why the movie stays with you. It allows one to read quite a bit between gratuitously wide-spaced lines, take it at face value, or approach it in the abstract. It is more ambiguous in its purpose than something like 2001 which was purposely extensional and ambiguous, if that makes any sense.

I must also add that the movie made me very, very sad. It's hard to explain why for the movie did not have a classic "sad ending," but the effect that it had on me bordered on profound. This is by far my favorite movie in a long while.

And lastly, Sam Rockwell was absolutely amazing.

The fact that my anticipation was so high for the film and still did not disappoint probably means it is even better than I am claiming. Do yourself a favor though: If it plays near you, go see it.

10/10 *****/***** Three Thumbs Up and a Bucket of Popcorn