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Mutant X (2001)
Mutantx pretty good rip of X-Men
Ah, mutantx created by avi arad. Arab is one of the producers behind other marvel hits like "spiderman the movie" , "the hulk" and upcoming hits like "ironman". Mutantx is obviously modeled after "x-men" and the characters in this series are obviously inspired from the same comic. It doesnt quite have the depth as the comic, but the show has gradually gotten better, effects wise and script wise.
It's been on for 3 season since 2001, however, a couple of script changes have hampered the show (like the elimination of emma, the supposed death of adam cain, the elimination of eckhart), it's hard to say where exactly the show is headed and what the status of the show is, but mutantx is good cheesy fun with signs of brilliance.
Story
just like "x-men", the mutants are in what's called "sanctuary" where they train their mutant abilities and used to track the activities of the criminal organization known as genomex.
The mutants are led by adam cain (john shea), a scientist who had research mutant genes but the genes produced disastrous effects and bad mutants like gabriel ashlocke. At first as shown in the first 2 seasons we see adam as the good guy, a scientist working for the better of mind, however in the last season, we saw that adam cain had a hidden agenda. He created the mutants genes not so much to better mankind but for his own big ego. The episode in last season revealved that mason eckhart (tom mccamus) and adam worked together for genomex. When the mutants found out, they obviously didn't have the same relationship with adam, he was not trustworthy anymore.
So lets read about the mutants themselves:
forbes march plays jesse kilmari who can "phase" his body through metal, often coming in handy bypassing security locks and high security clearances.
Victoria Pratt is Shalimar Fox, a mutant like Wolverine who can smell enemies and kill them with her ferocious attacks.
Lauren Lee Smith was Emma DeLauro the strong telepath, the writers decided to kill of her character last season in somewhat of a disappointing cliffhanger. Her death wasn't received well.
Victor Webster is Brennan Mulray, who can harvest electricity and use it as a weapon similiar in a way to Strom from X-Men except he uses electricity.
Karen Cliche is Lexa Pierce (replacing Lauren Smith), a character that can teleport from one place to the other, obviously a copycat of "NightCrawler" from X-MEN.
So whats the status of the show?
This season Mason Eckhart was killed at the hands of Brennan Mulray, Adam Caine thought dead is not, however , he seems to be playing games with his former home of Sanctuary.
He pops out as a holographic image , offers advice then disspears. Emma DeLauro was written of in a very cheap way, enter Lexa Pierce who joined the team although like Adam, Lexa Pierce seems to have her own agenda.
Genomex has now been closed down, so a new organization called "The Dominion" is now running things and causing problems.
Lexa Pierce seems to be a friend of "The Dominion" and there seems to be a cat and mouse game there.
Several storylines have repeated themselves, the Mutants encountered a telepath from last season trying to kill them. A stream of killer locusts was set loose. A virus targeting mutants went into the wild, and from the last 2 episodes we have gotten a deeper background into the characters of Lexa, Brennan and Jesse.
Jesse seems to like Lexa, however, seems to be the type of girl who plays with guy's emotions. Shalimar and Brenna have their doubts on Lexa, which is growing as their brief communications with Adam Caine hint.
That's about it, the season isn't over yet and it's anyone's guess how it will end, next week's episode is All New involving the kidnapping of Jesse Kilmari's grandfather.
Avi Arad has developed quite a fun and interesting show, despite it being a ripped of X-Men however "MutantX" has enough going for it for a recommendation.
The action scenes are pretty good showcasing martial arts mixed with special effects, and the stories seem to get better every next so watch it.
Hellboy (2004)
Crappy film partially saved by the action and special effects
A little substance with the first 30 mintues then becomes a stereotypica action flick with Hellboy (Ron Pearlmen).
Received a thumbs down by Ebert's partner, Roper.
Not that bad, but also not that good either. I wouldnt waste my money seeing it again.
There are some comical moments and they are executed well, and the action is good, but misses the mark with its subpar acting and storylines.
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
James and the Giant Peach a classic on dvd
i just watched a quality film named "james and the giant peach", i have to say i was very impressed on all levels of the film: the acting was good, the soundtrack was awesome by a couple of good medleys by randy newman, the story was quite interesting, but above what intrigued is that the character of james is a character many people cant identify with. now some idiot might say what identify with a kid who gets converted to small size and spends his adventures inside a giant peach with insects at his friends? lol it's that kind of narrow thinking by a narrow critic that tries to subdue the great qualities and messages the film has, and i will explain them all and you will see this film is not just a film for kinds to enjoy but adults too, adults who don't have any inspiration to follow their dreams like james does.
story:
james (paul terry) is a nice and quite moral little boy who has two loving parents. while near the beach, he and his mom get killed (although this is not shown since it's a pg film) by a rhinoceros. yes this is a fantasy film in part and there are many magical elements in the film. james custody then is then taken over by two ugly aunts: aunt spiker (joanna lumley from "absolutely fabulous" fame) and aunt sponge (miriam margolyes) who are classic examples of adults who abuse their children. they are the classic example of the trash and evil nature that exist in all wretched adults who seek exploit others for their wealth. in fact, james's aunts use him as basically a slave to work around the house. they starve him and feed the breadcrumbs that are in the trash. they yell at him when james wants to make new friends and talk to kids who he can't relate to. nah it doesn't get much lower than quality of life aunt sponge and aunt spiker have on james. one day a mysterious man gives james a mysterious bag full of crocodile tongues I believe, which he says are magic and can make James dreams come true. In this case, James dream was to go to New York City and see Empire State Building. It was actually both James parent's dreams and James dream. However, even though James parent's are long gone, James still wants to go to New York an accomplish the dream he and his parents set out to do. This is one impressive kid, he has a big heart and the kind of determination that almost no adults have nowadays. That's one lesson of the film right there , which is not to give up on one's dream, it's literally embodied in this great kid.
So this special bag of magic combines with a small peach to grow into a gigantic peach which Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker capitalize for their own selfish profits!!!! Now if you think this made James's life any easier youd be wrong. Nope James's life continues as before, even worse as his rich selfish Aunt have become greedier and more manipulative and more vindictive. It's hard to believe that these "aunts" are the blood relative of James. Now before I go on, I couldn't help but think of James and Harry Potter. Sure Harry Potter was an orphan, but he and James are taken in by their slimy relatives who basically want to exploit and abuse them without any rights whatsover. Potter eventually escapes his vile relatives and so does James. Potter becomes one of the most loved characters at Hogwarts and James also near the end (without revealing too much) becomes one of the most loved kids in the world. Anyhow James interests in the peach grows huge to the point with the aid of the magic bad of tongues , James becomes magically converted to small size and invades the beach. Inside the beach, James discovers a group of zany characters all symbolizing common day insects who have now made James the center of attention. James meeting the characters of Mr. Grasshopper (Simon Callow), Mr. Centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), Ms. Ladybug (Jane Leeves from Frasier), Ms. Spider (Susan Sarandon), learns that they have been watching him as he is mistreated by his aunts and know that James dreams of going to New York City. Eventually James learns that the characters not only want to go with him but they are going to help him on his journey as well. This is a great movie about friendship as well. Let's face facts it's not likely James would have gone to New York on his own, but these group of wonderful friends give the help and encouragement to do it, when he needs it.
When James and the group decide on a plan to go to New York City, they're journey is stalled by several dangerous adventures which include a metallic shark, dead caribbean pirates, and the hazardous condition which threaten to end their journey. However that isn't stopping anyone and James and his friends, as a group are determined to make it New York and James is determined to make his and his parents dream come true....
As you can see you can describe the movie any better than better, and the movie itself is loaded with amazing special effects that elevate this entertaining fantasy world that James has now come into contact with. In fact when I first looked at the effects, I thought I was watching another classic fantasy film like in "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and guess what both films were directed by the same great director, Henry Selick. I was success and an eye for greatness embodied in fantasy is a signature for Selick. He really outdoes himself here.
Sony Imageworks and a trio of great animators provide the stop motion technology and animation that make the world of James and The Giant Peach so fantastic. Speaking of fantastic the voice talents in this film are all great with Sarandon, Dreyfuss , Leeves, and David Thewlis as Mr. Earthworm are great, you can tell that they captured the characters really well, but the person who outshines them is Paul Terry as James, he give's quite a performance and I couldn't think anyone better to do the role he did.
So as you can see James and The Giant Peach is far from being just a kids flick, it's that kind of stupid attitude that shows the true ignorance of so called critics who we'll miss out on the many meanings of films like "James and The Giant Peach". In fact one critic even mentioned that the film brings up ideas by Karl Marx for example the relationship of the slave, and master which are true in some regard, but above this a film that really does capture the spirit of having a dream and not quitting until he or she achieves that dream, because as you watch the ending, you can see in the ending, that James's dream really affects many people, not just himself.
I could go and on about how great "James and The Giant Peach" but I think I've nailed everything good about it, all that's left now is to recommend the film to those who haven't seen it.
DVD Details:
Ah, the DVD is excellent coming up with several extra features:
*Commentary
*Behind the scenes on the making of the movie
* A special music video by Randy Newman who wrote several songs for the movie
* A beautiful transfer of the movie shown in letterbox format.
*Theatrical trailer
* About 13 character sketches on the characters themselves giving a glimpse
into the artistic process of the film
* Dolby Digital Surround sound.
As you can see a good DVD definitely worth checking out especially if you want more details about the film.
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Beverly Hills cop good one now that is on dvd
axel foley (eddie murphy) is back in the hit sequel, beverly hills cop 2. many times sequels to original blockbuster films are sucky. there even more sucky when the sequel is done by a different director (tony scott) than the original film (martin brest) , but in this case that's not the case. beverly hills cop 2 is amazingly good, it's funny, has a good script, has action and suspense.
the story in this film is that axel's buddy, and friend former chie andrew bogomil (ronny cox) has been shot and left for dead by a crazy lunatic arms dealer named karly fry (brilliant done by brigitte nielsen).
axel , back in detroit, heads to beverly hills to see his friend and to aid his fellow friends billy rosewood (judge reinhold) and john taggart (john ashton) in getting justice for his friend.
however, a new police chief harold lutz (allen garfield) a small man with lots of power, plans to derail their investigation while at the same kissing the butt of the mayor (robert ridgely) to further his career and reputation.
like i said, beverly hills cop 2 has alot of action. there are gun fights, car chases and everything found in a good action flick.
however, i also liked the fact that all the characters were back in the film and that all of them were as close as ever. billy rosewood, the nice and anal friend of taggart, has become a wannabee rambo type guy collecting guns and weapons leading to taggart telling him that "we need to talk". lol however, billy and taggart in the last film do become helpful in helping axel, along with giving us a couple of good laughs.
axel (eddie murphy) is again at his comical best, doing everything legal and illegal to find out whose behind his friend's shooting and bringing them down hard. all in all, beverly hills cop 2 is a great sequel to the original. many of the cool music tunes are back along with a couple of new ones, plus the film manages to recreate the hysterical laughs from the first film and adds alot of action.
Furthere Note: There are actually two games made of Beverly Hills Cop. One for the PC and one for the Commodore 64.
Check em out and check out the movie. Rent or buy it today.
There is also a Special Edition Dvd of Beverly Hills Cop II which
includes deleted scenes, directors commentary by Tony Scott , a brief but good featurette on the making of the film with interviews with the whole cast.
L'homme qui aimait les femmes (1977)
The Mah who loved Women
"The Man Who Loved Women" by Francois Truffaut is the critically acclaimed film released in Europe in 1977 that is a comedy/adult drama that teaches quite an interesting lesson about men and women. Specifically the obsession of sex and carnal pleasure without the input of love, respect and commitment.
Bertrand Morane (Charles Denner), is a man who loves every woman he meets, literally. You can basically call him a leech, and sex addict, because he has never loved any women he has slept with. However in some cases the man tries to develop a relationship with these woman and it's the women and not him that are problem. One woman comes to mind. Delphine
,is a paranoid sex slut who likes to have sex in dangerous places for the thrills of it. She reminds of the type of woman I briefly have met and or even the schizophrenic "kitty", bondage like women who have rated my reviews (You know who you are). Later on we learn that she does it to spite her husband. Morane at first thinks Delphine likes him, but being a grown man and being smart enough to realize when he is being played for the fool, he soon realizes she is just using him. She is just a piece of trash that he had the pleasure and displeasure to be with. In a way this incident describes the problems for Morane, sometimes he meets really nice women who are afraid of commitment but like the sex (does feeding Morane's appetite for more sex without love), and other times he meets these nasty, gutter trash, unfeeling, abusive and self paranoid women wholl screw him in the end. Quite a sad story, and it gets sadder and at times funnier throughout. The flight attendant encounter he has is a pretty memorable fling, one those flings where Morane and his mate have fun, and both come away happy with their short term encounter.
However, the party is over when Morane through his doctor, Doctor Bicard (Jean Daste) tells him he has Gonorhea. In a funny scene, the Doctor tells him to tell his sexual partner that she has it, but Morane cannot do that, because he has been with a dozen women over the last few years and taking names was something Morane didn't do. LOL It's this sort of negligence and irresponsiblity that show the side of Morane that every womanizer is. A man in pursuit in his own selfish interest that when the time comes out to help another, the man (whether a womanizer or a capitalistic) doesn't care. In this case, Morane's Gonorrhea infection is both ironic and fitting.
Morane through this predicament then tells the Dr. about the book that he is writing and the Dr. encourages him to write since it would help him perhaps deal with his women issues and perhaps find the sexual partner with whom he infected gonorreah with.
Despite the somewhat offensive premise, "The Man Who Loved Women" or better known by it's original title "Homme qui aimait les femmes, L'" is a very entertaining French adult comedy/drama almost reminiscent of newer comedies like "Amelie".
The film by Francois Truffaut is regarded as one of his best from a very respectable director. He has done quite a good job here including themes that teaches the audiences many lessons. Ask for the DVD released by MGM, it was a dissappointment, no commentary, no trailer, no nothing basically the film itself. However the fact that the movie is available in U.S. is good news since many of these rare films from the 1970's are practically unavaible in the video store.
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Cool Hand Luke great movie to watch during Oscar month
Paul Newman (Old Blue Eyes) stars as Cool Hand Luke Jackson, a war hero, who gets himself in trouble with the law, and is repeatedly beaten both mentally and physically savagely by the main boss of the prison he is in.
The main boss hates Luke for several reasons: Everyone likes Luke. He is the typical rebel , yet he has a certain aura around that people love. Even the people working in the prison like Luke.
The boss also hates Luke, because he keeps escaping out of prison, which makes the prison's security and himself look bad.
The movie from beginning to end, is one of the entertaining and powerful movies by Newman.
Throughout the movie, we see Luke's exploits including his status as "Cool Hand" which basically says that he can do anything.
There is no better scene that shows this that Luke's bet that can he eat 50 eggs in one hour. This scene is terrific and humorous to watch, time and time again. George Kennedy plays Greg Dragline, Luke's best friend and prison inmante.
Dragline's love of Luke is evident through the whole movie. Whenever, Luke is mistreated Dragline is there to try to pick up his spirits. Whenever, Luke is beaten severely for trying to escape the prison, Dragline is one of the first friends that is there to pick him up and attend to him.
Then of course, this Oscar worthy film has the memorable tunes and lines that all audiences all familiar with:
"What We Got Here is a familiar to Communicate" is Paul Newman, legendary and household line that critics and audiences remember. This line has also been used in over a hundred, movies and tv shows including comedies, crime drama movies and much more. The line is a piece of cult phenomena and America which symobolizes a bad situation.
Paul Newman was nominated for Best Actor for this film, but didn't win.
Newman over his career has been nominated over 10 times for this award: "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" , "Malice", "Nobody's Fool", are several of the great movies that NewMan has been nominated for.
"Cool Hand Luke" stands as one of the American movies ever made. It represents the abusive and mistreatment that a couple of prisons have.
It also represents an intelligent and popular fellow who all through his life had one bad situation after another, yet like Greg points "Ah Luke, always had that great smile."
Luke's character in a way is a reflection on individuals like himself, whose life have been filled with pain and aggravation yet people like these never give up.
An Oscar worthy film, during this month of oscars.