Shutter Island

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo


They cant ALL be winners. The usually bankable Martin Scorcese takes us on what is supposed to be a psychological whodunit filled with twists and turns and creepy atmosphere. Well, the atmosphere part was nailed. The score and several haunting shots of the island do set the tone for what could have been a chilling character study. But ultimately the movie seems to just flop around from one intense interrogation scene to the next with almost zero pay off in the end.
You see the twist (if you can call it that) at about the one hour mark and you spend the next hour and a half hoping you were wrong. The photography was fantastic but there were some terrible short cuts taken as well. One in particular screamed out to me and it involves a lengthy ride in a jeep with Leo carrying on an inane conversation with the warden of the facility that he is investigating. The problem with this sequence is the awful use of a green screen and the Flintstone like background seemingly repeating itself again and again. Why not actually get in a jeep and drive for real? Just sloppy. The story is as weak as Leo's sometimes vacationing Boston accent and stuff like this really piles up by the time the final credits joyously arrive.
In short, this movie actually pissed me off. The droves of suckers that made it 40 million bucks in the opening weekend must all feel as duped as I did. We all had such high expectations what with the last time these two Hollywood titans teaming up and winning Oscars as a result (The Departed) and all.
Like I said to kick this off, they cant ALL be winners

Rating 1 pahshall Boston accent out of 5



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ONG BAK 2 The Beginning

Starring Tony Jaa and several awesome elephants


This uber prequel to the cult smash Ong Bak starring Tony Jaa takes place centuries before the first adventure began as we find our hero in the midst of more betrayals between families than the entire seasons of Dallas and Dynasty combined. War is everywhere and clans do battle with dozens of different styles and weapons, enter Tony Jaa who of course is a master of them all and what we get is a vividly rich and eye popping treat.
The scenery, sets, costumes and weapons are amazing to look at but if this entry in the series fails anywhere, its during its countless flashbacks and convoluted story lines. Lets be honest, Tony Jaa is a freak of nature when it comes to the next level of kung fu stars in the industry and that's what we want to see. I would have paid the same amount of money for a Blu-ray that simply featured the fight scenes in a compilation, rather than having to sit through the so called character development.
The last fight sequence in this movie is utterly phenomenal and could probably become viral if someone took the time to upload it onto You-Tube. I would even bet that it would get more hits that copies sold of the movie as a whole.
The movie sets up the 3rd entry in the series but sadly looks all the same as this one. Fantastic action, maybe the best I've seen in a decade just cant seem to save this one or sadly the next.
For serious enthusiasts only.

Rating (for martial arts fans) 4 tusks out of 5
Rating (for casual movie viewers) 2 many flashbacks out of 5

The Last Waltz on Blu-ray

Starring The Band with a little help from their friends Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Dr John, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, The Hawk and others






What a lasting treat!! Given new life on Blu-ray and hi def, The Band comes back to life for their final farewell after 16 years on the road in this musical celebration of their storied career.
I hadn't seen this one in a number of years and was pleasantly surprised at how strong it remains to this day. The musical guests parade endlessly before you and lend a hand in bidding the boys adieu, each one adding their own signature style to the occasion.
Standouts for me include Van "the man" Morrison doing his classic Caravan complete with high kicks,fist pumps and some scatting thrown in for good measure. Bob Dylan and Neil Young with shockingly happy looks on their mugs are fun to watch as well. The haunting good looks and talent of Emmylou Harris add another dimension to the opus and cut through out the numbers the band members tell sordid stories of the road and Robbie Robertson carries these moments with his engaging style and deep stare. His voice had me thinking of another celebrity all the while and I couldn't figure it out until about an hour into the movie and it finally hit me, Robbie back then has an exact voice double in the entertainment world and it is that of David Duchovny of X Files fame. Give this movie another whirl and you will see/hear what I am talking about.
O.k back to the brilliance of this film. Eric Clapton puts on a clinic on the guitar along side Robertson for one song and Robertson is no slouch but Clapton makes him look like a beginner. Levon Helm in almost every song is so much fun to watch on drums and vocals, he adds an unequalled dimension to the groups appeal. Muddy Waters steals the show for most with his classic Mannish Boy and as Martin Scorsese recounts in the bonus features of the disc, they almost didn't capture his brilliance at all as Martin had ordered all of the cameras to stop so that he change film. One lonely camera was rolling out of 5 when the song started and Scorsese leaped up in a panic thinking it would be lost and ordered everyone back on camera and thankfully the performance was saved.
Little tidbits like that in the features section make this re-issue all the more engaging for the home viewer.
For an unrivaled farewell performance, look no further than The Band's Last Waltz

Rating 4 1/2 riffs out of 5


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The Hurt Locker

Starring Jeremy Renner

You have a month left on your tour in Iraq as a bomb specialist so the goal is fairly simple. Stay alive. Easier said than done for one of the deadliest assignments the armed forces has to offer.
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (K-19, Point Break) the Hurt Locker has its fair share of gritty suspense and shoot outs but that might just be an understatement of Oscar worthy proportions. The suspense is the kind where you know full well what to expect and it almost always is, but getting there makes you sick to your stomach with anxiety.
The end game for these scenes are shot in a spectacular slow motion style that lets you fully appreciate the gravity of these harrowing events. Style coupled with a frank approach to a simple story are what makes this war movie an Academy Award nominated war movie. Each actor compliments the other, from the wimp to the cowboy to the head strong 2nd in command, we have no weak link and the stand out performance from the lead is what earned Jeremy Renner and Oscar nomination. He is not a big name like Clooney or Bridges and may not win but the old adage that its an honor just to be nominated actually holds true here and he should be honored.
The same goes for Bigelow who in the past has directed her fair share of suspense and action movies but this time around has created something that much more. She too is nominated this year and finds herself up against her ex husband (James Cameron) who is up for best director for Avatar??!! Sufficed to say, he doesn't need or deserve this award when compared to an actual cast of humans being directed deftly by another fellow human.
If James Cameron actually does win. Here's hoping he acknowledges his ex and that his speech isn't as jackassish as his first. Geez try saying that one 5 times fast.

Rating 4 green wires out of 5

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Edge Of Darkness

Starring Mel Gibson

Imagine your daughter is violently ill and so you decide to drop everything and take her to the hospital right away. You grab your keys and hurry her out the door on a stormy night and as soon as you step outside to join her, she is gunned down right before you. This is how the tale begins and it is not for the faint of heart. The previews for this movie would have you believe that this is a simple tale of a cop wanting to find his daughters killer and for the most part, that is what we get. However, there is a whole other side to this story that involves politics, greed, conspiracy theories and of course terrorists are implicated as well.
Mel Gibson appears stripped down and humble with his thinning hair and deep set wrinkles mapping his face and he couldn't have looked more appropriate for the part.
With Gibson looking the part,what unfolds is a thought provoking story that has the odd twist or two to keep you from groaning at what appears to be a by the numbers revenge tale. Peppered with some jarring scenes of violence our hero plods along and sinks deeper and deeper into the reality of the situation as it unfolds before him. There are too many people involved and on too many levels for him to comprehend. One by one Gibson sorts out what he can and is unapologetic in doing so along the way.
Once you the viewer is all caught up, its hard not to root for him as the bereaved father does what he can to get to the bottom of it all with the help of visions and flashbacks of his daughter helping guide him on his quest.
This is part Death Wish and part Taken but in its own way this movie despite a terrible title stands alone as a much deeper tale.

Rating 3 cover ups out of 5



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Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince

Starring Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson and Alan Rickman

Ive honestly lost count but I know there only two more to go in the series so this one simply serves to move things along. It shows. No new ground is covered and so to keep things fresh, we are introduced to a couple of new characters and story lines. Poor old Harry still has trouble with the birds and perhaps that's why Radcliffe in real life did some Broadway last year and went full frontal. But that's another story.
This time around the theme remains dark and so does the actual look for roughly 80% of the film. Another muddled aspect is the dialogue. I found myself having to rewind a few key scenes after not being able to discern the accents and that got old quick and after 2 or 3 times I gave up.
The visuals are a different story and continue to be a selling point with this franchise. Knowing that the final two chapters will be in 3D I can honestly say that I am looking forward to them more than the last 11 or 23 or however many there have been already.
Positive points here include Alan Rickmans performance and Radcliffes subdued turn and a few welcome humorous scenes that helped break up the bleak theme and unfortunate passing of a main character.
As I stated before, nothing new here but its fun to look at and it translates beautifully on Blu-ray. You don't need my recommendation, if you've seen the others you will of course see this one.

Rating 2 1/2 teen romances out of 5



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Paranormal Activity

Starring some no namers and a very low budget

Treading lightly and not wanting anything to be spilled in the way of secrets, I tried to avoid any discussion on this movie with all that saw it before me. Knowing full well that the idea behind this ultra low budget flick was to simply generate internet buzz, ones expectations aren't that high. The problem here though is that through a wild fire of word of mouth our little experiment turned far too many heads and soon demanded a wider public release.
And thus begins the incredible story of a 15 thousand dollar movie going on to eventually take the top spot at the box office going up against films that spend that much on food over a weekend shoot.
I must say that some of the "acting" was a little amateurish at times and through some poor editing I found a few too many little gaffs in continuity but that being said, this was perhaps the best 15 thousand dollar movie I will ever see.
The tension builds at a wonderfully predictable pace and the look and feel is creepy enough to keep you wanting more. Even the special effects were seamless when they could have easily been overblown or altogether absent.
You find yourself scratching your head at a few parts while wondering how in the hell they actually pulled of certain scenes and that's a good thing.
If you showed these few creep out scenes to someone on your computer and told them the footage was real, it would no doubt be taken seriously and for that alone, the film deserves all the accolades it has garnered thus far.
Well done marketing team and all involved.
Turn off the lights and crank up the surround sound and enjoy.

Rating 3 door slams out of 5

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