Killer Nurse is based on a true horrific story that centres on a man named Charles Cullen, a notorious serial killer who called himself the Angel of Death. When the police uncovers a series of enigmatic murders, he comes to be known as the Killer Nurse. In the intial phase of investigation, the murderer tries to defend himself but soon he confesses his crime involving the murders of over 43 patients entrusted to his care at the St. Mary’s Hospital. Directed and written by Ulli Lommel, the movie stars Steve Olson who plays the killer nurse and Pia Pownall.
Here’s an attempt of Director Lee Demarbre and Writer Ian Driscoll which you wouldn’t find anything less than intriguing. You would certainly be amused by the newfangled idea put forth by the makers of this movie which serves as a satire on filmdom.
Director Able Whitman’s (David Hess) latest film receives an unfavourable review owing to its poor quality, lack of substance and oddity in special effects. Totally let down by this unprofitable venture, he tries to find some comfort in a strip club and when he meets the stripper, Gigi Stops, he decides to walk away with her. On their way home, the two meet with an accident, the stripper dies while Able manages to survive. Convinced that he would find himself in trouble if he didn’t hide the body, he works out a plan to save his neck. He decides to use the body parts in his latest horror flick that is in progress to bring some realism. The film emerges as a mega hit and enjoys an unprecedented success. Carried away by the turn of events, Able makes up his mind to kill people and use the corpses for a similar purpose in all his future endeavors.
This movie has plenty to offer, you must especially take notice of Hess’ performance which is far superior to the rest of the crew.
Tom (Michael Hampton) has an unsuccessful career in songwriting but that’s not the main cause for worry. What really disturbs him is the house for which he is a caretaker. The eerie thing about the basement is a hand which grows into an arm and eventually develops into a person (Ryan Sterling) for whom Tom becomes the sole provider and the two have a healthy relationship. Concurrently with this uncanny encounter, Tom is head over heels in love with beautiful Veronica (Devon Iott) who happens to be the sweetheart of Tom’s neighbor, Philip (Chase Hemphill). Not only that, Veronica’s life is dotted with mystery. This leaves Tom in a state of perplexity and he’s unable to reach a satisfactory decision.
Directed by Graham Ratliff and written by Garett Ratliff, the film would have worked better had it been a little purposive. Looks like the fault is with the screenplay, at times the conversation between Philip and Veronica seems gratuitously long.
Grace is a first rate horror flick which evokes an uneasy feeling in the audience with ease and that’s what sets it apart from other horror pictures. In his directorial debut, writer-director Paul Solet has conceived an idea, the supremacy of which lies in the fact that it relies less on gore and draws the viewer’s attention on the characters instead.
Jordan Ladd ( starred also in Death Proof), plays Madeleine, the expectant mother who has her husband and unborn baby killed in an accident. Unable to come to terms with her earlier two lost pregnancies and the recent mishap, she insists on carrying the dead child and yearns for her child to come back alive. On the child coming back to life, Madeleine finds that she has the most strange child to nurse. From the beginning the child manifests an odd behaviour. But what’s most unsettling is that the child’s appetite has to be satisfied with more than just milk.
With a runtime of about 1 hour 53 minutes and directed by Ernest Johnson, this action-driven flick stars Tyrone Burton, Brian Hall, Aron Andre Frazier. Slim, Ralph and Cory are three young men who are involved in the business of recovering sophisticated and expensive autos that are actually tough to fetch back on account of lack of payments. The present assignment of Slim is to retrieve a pastor’s car failing which he has to meet dire consequences.
This is a sequel to the one released in 2005. But this time Uwe Boll is not the director. The duo Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer have worn the two hats of writer and director. Edward Carnby teams up with a group of witch hunters in search of the dangerous witch Elisabeth Dexter. The movie could have been a lot better than it is. Michael Pare and Danny Trejo have been wasted in their small roles. I have mixed feelings about the movie and doubt if horror fans would find this as one generating the needed chills and thrills. Anyway watch it and send in your feedback.
Directed by Amir Valinia and co-written by Anthony Faia III and Dan Garcia, here’s an Action movie that would leave you gasping for breath. Set in post Hurricane New Orleans, the plot centres on a notorious Mexican drug Lord Santiago Rodriguez who breaks out of prison to look for his girl friend who is in possession of $15 million. Assisting him is his uncle to whom he has to hand over the huge sum. The cops are desperately searching for him to put him behind bars again. But they’re not the only ones, a hit man is also behind the drug Lord to avenge the death of his niece. Will the drug Lord be caught before he gets the cash from his girl friend?
Written and directed by Morten Willoch, the story has Justin (Kenny Low), a second-generation immigrant, as our hero who is returning to Hawkersham, his homeland and a port where illegal immigrants arrive at their pastures new. But unfortunately, these hopeful immigrants are used as slave labourers, sex workers and get trapped in an underground combat rink. While Justin dreams of a peaceful life with his lost love Leelu (Tracey Grace Baker), the owner of ‘the Cage’ wants her for himself. Justin must now fight to safeguard Leelu.
Directed by Scott F. Evans, Big Bag of Money tells you well that money is the root cause for all evil. A sack of money is found and although nobody claims it, five of them are desperately behind the pretty penny. They fight with each other and the scuffle turns really violent. But is the money really worth their lives?
Johnny Sanchez (Ernie Reyes, Jr.) is in prison and during his sentence he fights in the gladiators war organised by warden, Harbin Rask (John Savage). The money he earns the hard way, he sends it to his lover and son, Oscar whom he hasn’t seen for years. Johnny is given a second chance at life by the warden who sponsors him to a tournament, The Red Canvas. And this time, he realizes it’s going to be more tough than one can imagine.
Directed by Steve Carr, here’s a comedy that would involve the audience with its story of a security guard, Paul Blart (Kevin James) of a mall who aspires to become a cop someday. He finds it difficult to achieve his goal due to his over weight body. The time finally arrives when he is presented with an opportunity to prove himself and that’s when a gang of criminals captures a mall and take hostages. His sense of duty makes him take on the responsibility of rescuing the people in the mall.
Mike Riggins, a former US Special forces operative is imprisoned in Eastern Europe. In exchange for rescuing an American woman, Ana Gale who had been kidnapped by a merciless warlord, he is promised his freedom and money. But before long he releases Ana, he comes to know that the scheme was a subterfuge. With practically no help in the hostile country, Mike has to save himself as well as Ana from the clutches of this horrendous place.
Hitman Jake Lead (Sergio d’Amato) is unable to complete his latest assignment of eliminating Nina Conrad (Charis Michelsen). Though he begins following her with the intent of obliterating her, he suddenly feels he is connected to her and ends up wanting very much to save her life. The two are on the run and are eventually caught up in a series of violent attacks.
Directed and written by Josh Evans, this action / adventure has some thrilling scenes.
Kirk Jones has tried to give something entirely different for his action fans, the dialogue is completely in the form of rap. So it’s quite natural that only an audience who fancy rap music and ‘gangster movies’ would appreciate it.
The film begins with the protagonist, Kirk wanting very much to quit street life. There’s a crime fight going on where the opponents are gunned down, Kirk is caught in the crossfire and is in the midst of bloodshed. As you see, it is a simple premise but a novel presentation which has not so far been attempted by anyone.
To all you rap music lovers, you are invited to tune in.
In desperation to prove his mettle, win his girl friend (Anna Faris) and steal the limelight by securing the honorable post at the police academy, the head of security, Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) works hard to catch a flasher who poses a serious threat to the mall and its patrons. His work place is the Forest Ridge Mall where he has to contend shoplifters and all those who threaten the security of the mall. Ronnie is presently thrilled about his latest responsibility of tying down a flasher who for sometime had been creating trouble for the occupants of the mall. Just when he believes that there is a good opportunity presenting itself for him to achieve his goals, Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) enters the scene and on learning that Ronnie’s boss has put the detective in charge of alleviating the problem, Ronnie is totally distraught.
Directed and Written by Jody Hill, it is just another verson of Paul Blart: Mall Cop, there are funny moments which would give you laughs but ultimately it is disappointing.
This movie is based on the Afghan’s belief in powerful creatures called the Djinn believed to have existed even before humans. These creatures generally have no shape but can assume any form. The Djinn’s greatest enemy were the humans and hence the two couldn’t co-exist. With the dominion of man, the Djinn vanished from the face of the earth, however few of them are believed to have remained in vessels.
In the story, a group of US soldiers in a mission in the Middle East accidentally shoot a statue found in the desert where the troop is stationed. This statue turns out to be one of those vessels containing the Djinn. The Djinn is freed and begins to destroy men.
Actors have given their best particularly Mercedes Masohn, who plays the Djinn. Shane West in his lead role makes the movie complete. With a small budget, Alex Turner has crafted a well conceived idea with realistic effects and intense action, although it does not surpass ‘Dead Birds,’ an earlier and very successful endeavour.
This sci-fi action flick is about Luke (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) who loses his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He himself is in a critical condition which he discovers upon waking up to find himself in the hospital. Unknown to him, the Hexx Corporation led by an infamous head (Kilmer) implants a microchip in his brain. Through their attempt, the Hexx Corporation hopes to gain authority globally and although Luke’s life is saved, this technology is deployed to cause him harm. Luke has now to get this chip out of his brain as at any moment he might become brain dead. In his struggle, he is forced to seek the help of some computer hackers.
Directed by Ernie Barbarash, this is a preposterous plot done in poor taste fueled by bad acting.
Dolph Lundgren, the director of Command Performance also wears the hat of the actor playing the drummer who must come to the rescue of the Russian President and his daughters. There is a Moscow concert held in which the American Pop singer Venus (Melissa Smith of The Pussycat Dolls) is performing and all of a sudden, some extortionists break in and take the Russian head and his three daughter hostage. The drummer who is till now been habituated to pounding the drums must now beat up the terrorists. He teams up with Russian F.S.B. Agent to fight the armed men and save the Russian head and his family.
Directed by Sharon Maguire, the film based on a novel tackles a hot-button subject that adroitly blends politics, sex and the tragedy that transpires out of a suicide attack on a London soccer stadium. Michelle Williams plays the protagonist, the adulterous journalist whose life changes completely following an afternoon when news of the bomb blast reaches her and she realizes that her husband and child are among the victims. Besides the film’s valiant effort in portraying the enormous grief emanating from the terrorist explosion, Williams’s role which has been fabulously handled by her deserves special mention.
This is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel ‘Cry of the Owl’ and is written and directed by Jamie Thraves. The movie involves a young man, Robert (Paddy Considine) looking for some solace in life. He leaves his ex-wife and goes to live in a town where he thinks nothing would disturb his tranquility. Once he gets there, he develops an interest in viewing the normal household chores performed by a woman, Jenny (Julia Stiles) by peering into her kitchen. On noticing the man, the woman does not get annoyed instead she feels a deep sense of sympathy for him. She invites him to her home and gradually their acquaintance grows into a serious relationship. The woman’s boyfriend, Greg (James Gilbert) comes to know of the affair and his anger is evoked. He seeks to kill Robert but in the assault Greg loses his consciousnesses and goes missing. Robert now emerges as a prime suspect in a murder case which begins to seem like a total hoax.
Directed by Seth Grossman, the movie stars Chris Carmack as Sam Reed, the protagonist and tells a story of his ability to travel back in time. This ability is demonstrated at a young age when his house catches fire and he saves his sister using this exceptional power but loses his parents in the attempt. This talent helps him earn a living by working for the police to identify killers. But the problem is that if he changes anything in the past accidentally or otherwise, it causes a change in history and when he returns to the present, he seems to have trouble recollecting the new history. Things become worrisome when he uses his skill to investigate the murder of his girl friend. Would he be able to find the killer before he loses his mind?
Directed by Amir Valinia and co-written by Anthony Faia III and Dan Garcia, here’s an Action movie that would leave you gasping for breath. Set in post Hurricane New Orleans, the plot centres on a notorious Mexican drug Lord Santiago Rodriguez who breaks out of prison to look for his girl friend who is in possession of $15 million. Assisting him is his uncle to whom he has to hand over the huge sum. The cops are desperately searching for him to put him behind bars again. But they’re not the only ones, a hit man is also behind the drug Lord to avenge the death of his niece. Will the drug Lord be caught before he gets the cash from his girl friend?
Sai, a new artist unknowingly gets trapped in a world of fantasy. She falls prey to the influence of an ancient drug which a handsome man gives her. This drug eventually makes her the victim of the vampire. And very soon the man uses the addiction to his advantage. Directed by Christopher Hutson and starring Alex Petrovitch, Chris Ivan Cevic, Ivan L. Moody, Michele Morrow, Sarah Farooqui, the horror / thriller is disappointing to say the least. But I’m sure many of you would not want to miss the flick as it features Ivan L. Moody, the vocalist in Five Finger Death Punch.
Directed by Scott Ziehl, the story begins with ten passengers boarding a bus on Christmas Eve. As they reach a section of the highway that’s deserted, the bus crashes against a biker wired with crystal meth. When the passengers try to rescue him, he opens fire and in an attempt to defend themselves, they kill him. Unknown to the passengers, the murder is being witnessed by eight other members of the biker’s crew. The furious gang is now behind the passengers to avenge the death of the biker. The horrified passengers flee from the scene on the bus but soon they move off the road and reach a wrecking yard. Trapped in this yard and surrounded by the bikers who are determined to kill every passenger, the terrified lot must find a way to escape.
Directed by John Gulager, it is the story of a combat with the beasts where the survivors are helped by one Shot Bus Gus to travel to the big city. On their way, karate expert Jean-Claude Seagal equips them with knowledge about the origin of these beasts, who are said to have come from a place called “The Hive.” Given this information, they work to ruin the beasts.
Written and directed by Brian King, this is a story of two passengers and a conductor who while travelling in a night train discover that a person is dead. On being tempted by the valuables on the dead body, they decide to take the diamonds and discard the body to make it appear that such a person never boarded the train. What is really disturbing is they cut the body into pieces so as to fit it into a small trunk.
Directed by Paddy Breathnach, the movie tells a story of a doctor who administers a powerful drug to a patient in coma. But instead of recovering, the patient acquires an ability to get into bodies of people. The patient happens to be a dangerous man who wants to inflict pain and torment to the group of medical students who were unknowingly responsible for the patient’s condition. And as these powers increase, the doctor, who was herself part of the group, realises that she too is in great danger.
Based on the premise Deep down… we’re all killers, director Chris Moore has ventured into making a spooky film involving a horrific plot. Seven college students make plans to whoop it up for their forthcoming graduation. They choose to hang out in an isolated vacation home where the unthinkable happens. They meet up with a saddistic killer who sets up a deadly game involving the students. Each of them must kill the other in order to save one’s own life and finally only one can survive. Who would that be?
Newly weds, Cliff and Cydney jaunt to the perfect honey moon spot in Hawaii, a land with beautiful beaches and scenic beauty offering splendid opportunities for fun and adventure. The couple overwhelmed by the ample scope for exploring isolated paths and remote areas believe that they are truly experiencing heaven until they hear a group of notorious hikers planning a murder of another newly married couple. Not knowing what to do, they join two other couples but things do not shape up as expected. Instead, in this totally secluded place, everybody seems to pose a threat to the other and eventually what was regarded a great start turns out to be a nightmare.
‘A Perfect Getaway’ features a cast that’s not popular with the lead roles done by Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich. Directed and written by David Twohy, the man who also wrote The Fugitive and Pitch Black, the movie is chock full of murder and mystery.
It’s a banal tale again that centres on young girls who go missing without a trace in a certain town. Nevertheless, there are real gripping moments and visual designs that might help to arouse some level of interest in the audience. Thanks to the efforts of the director and cinematographer, Nathan Hope. Also, the lead actress Anna Kendrick who plays Sarah, the friend of Jillian, the latest victim, has contributed significantly to make this familiar story watchable.
It comes as a surprise to us to find Sarah, the clean girl getting along with Jillian, a showy and disreputable dame. Jillian is known to have flirted with almost every other man in the town and before she absconds, she is known to be in touch with some men on the Internet. After the girl goes missing, Sarah and Jasper (another friend of hers) work intently with available clues like phone messages and notes in the victim’s diaries to solve the case of the missing girl but as they come closer to the truth, they realize they are also approaching danger.
The story follows a young man (Terry, played by Danny Pino) who flies in to a rage on learning that his fiancee (June, played by Brittany Murphy) is about to check in at a hotel room with another man, (Julian played by Mike Vogel) who turns out to be his best friend. The plot is more than a triangular love story, it’s a mystery that surrounds the whole sequence of events. Unable to swallow the deceit, Terry decides that his friend must die. But it is not merely about finishing his friend off, there is something eerie throughout which makes it interesting to watch.
Directed by Alex Merkin and the casting done with care, there are good number of scenes offering tension.
Sam Walczak (Mischa Barton), a young, smart and good looking demolition expert has the new task of supervising the demolition of the Malestrazza Building. Her work is to conduct a structural analysis for which she has to remain in the middle of nowhere where the building stands until the job is complete. No sooner does she reach this remote place than the mystery surrounding the building begins to unveil. Sam learns that the building which is presently left with few inhabitants was 15 years earlier occupied by the victims of a gruesome mass murder. About 16 dead bodies were then buried within the walls of the building and the horror lingers. Sam is unable to sleep owing to some strange sounds that come from the walls at nights. Although disturbed by the dangerous situation she’s in, Sam never gives up ferreting out the truth. At last, Sam has to face terror and the dark secret is revealed.
The originality of the story, a fine cast and the building which enhances the eerie atmosphere are but a few elements that make for a horror flick worthy of acclaim.
Although life seems a bed of roses to Jack Bishop (Simon Baker) who has been blessed with a wonderful wife, lovely daughter and the most desired career, his hidden past returns to haunt him - a past about which he has not spoken either with his wife or daughter. When his daughter, Toby goes missing, he realizes that his past is visiting him. With no options, he turns to his long forgotten faith, La Santa Muerte, a pagan tradition for help. As he is joined by the sheriff and two FBI agents, he gets closer to the past and as the search advances, many horrifying secrets are revealed.
The movie is a perfect treat to watch offering a great thrill ride in that there are twists and turns throughout taking the audience by surprise. In no uncertain terms it can be stated that the product is the work of an imaginative film maker. Writer and Director, Dror Soref who has crafted this taut tale deserves applause for putting his creativity to good use. Talking of the cast, all have given terrific performances. With everyone having done a great job, it could only be expected that the movie would be a whopping hit.
Starring Nicolas Cage as the father of a kid, this action-thriller seems to overcome the inadequacies of this Director Alex Proyas’ earlier film in 1998, ‘Dark City.’ ‘Knowing’ is somewhat different by reason of the fact that it tries to give interpretations to codes discovered by the son of a professor.
In 1958, an elementary school proposes to collect some drawings from the children to be stored in a time capsule. All the children are busy sketching while one little mysterious girl writes down numbers arbitrarily in a row. Fifty years later, the professor’s son gets hold of this inscrutable message and challenges his dad to decipher it. On trying to figure out the interpretation, the professor comes off with some frightful predictions that is expected to cause destruction on a global scale.
Soon after the mysterious death of his aunt, lawyer power lawyer Bryan Becket (Tim Daly) decides to stay in her house dismissing all suggestions that the house is haunted. As soon as he reaches the Victorian mansion, he begins experiencing the uncanniness in the house but chooses to ignore it until such time it becomes too peculiarly unsettling for him to pay no attention to it. He finds that there is some kind of connection to his past, particularly some painful experiences as a boy. For a moment he suspects his sanity which leads him to seek medical help but instead a young psychic points out that a dark secret is buried in that house.
Contrary to expectations , the ‘dark secret’ isn’t all that gripping in this attempt of Director / Writer Tennyson Bardwell and this movie fails to generate even a moderate level of interest in horror fans. It is rather tepid and there is no scene where tension mounts up.
What begins as a tedious and uneventful thriller shows itself up as unputdownable which makes it a feat worth watching for film maker, Amanda Gusack. Gorgeous Melissa George fills the bill here as Jamie Taylor who regains consciousness following a car crash and is distressed to finds herself together with her son in a shoddy room in a warehouse. A stranger Alek (Oded Fehr) steps out of nowhere and eventually Melissa gets to know of her predicament. She discovers that her husband whom she knew as a devoted spouse and loving father has underworld connections and has looted pretty penny from the gang.
As far as the success of the movie goes, a lot needs to be said about the efforts of Jamie and Fehr in crafting a rewarding product.
If there’s a movie you can think of that is suffering from too many plots, it would be the iMurders. Focusing on the gruesome murders of the participants of a chat room, it appears on the surface as an interesting idea, but soon you realize that the film is lost on us.
The story follows a triangular love that ends on a tragic note. Fast forward to a few months later, you find some members of Myspace-esque chat room getting killed mysteriously in their own homes. Directed by Robbie Bryan, it is advised to concentrate on the central theme, that is the killings of the innocent members of a chat room while not paying serious attention to the sub plots which have been devised merely for distraction.
This is the case of extraordinary events happening to very ordinary people. Set in a normal neighborhood with no sense of foreboding, no one would have the least suspicion that something untoward is about to happen. This precisely is the key strength of this taut thriller directed by Richard Kelly.
It is 1976 and Cameron Diaz as Norma Lewis is a high school teacher whose husband is an engineer working at NASA. They have a young son and life is pretty normal for this couple until they encounter a strange man at their doorstep with a box in his hand. The deal is that if they choose to push the button on the box, they can instantly receive $1 million dollars, but this offer comes with the price – that is, simultaneously when the button is pushed, the life of someone unknown to them will be claimed. The time given to make the choice is 24 hours but what is most apprehensive is that irrespective of the choice the couple makes, the consequences would be dire.
After Cellular and Phone Booth, director Rob Cowan has attempted another phone centric film. A college professor Joel Brandt (Mathew Lillard) teaching advanced screenwriting sees one of the plots of his scripts happen in real life.
A trembling voice pleads with Joel Brandt to answer the phone on a message recorded in his answering machine. Joel thinking it a hoax ignores it. Soon, he finds that the caller is dead. Likewise, Joel receives a message from another caller and he too gets mysteriously killed. Murders after murders, the cops have their eyes on Joel. But the truth is that Joel is the target of a psychotic killer from whom he had stolen one of the plots which he is now seeing alive.
Brothers Michael and Peter Spierig, makers of Aussie zombie flick UNDEAD, have kicked of the year with a surprisingly good genre movie that is part sci-fi, horror, thriller, and action movie. DAYBREAKERS is a thinking person’s vampire flick with deliciously gory action, an underlying social message, lean direction, and best of all, no obnoxious product placement or pop music.
Enter Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a blood specialist at a blood production company and a reluctant vampire, who encounters a group of humans in hiding who have stumbled upon a cure for vampirism. When Edward agrees to help the humans try to figure out how to use this knowledge to save humanity this sets the stage for conflict with Edward’s boss, Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), a former terminal cancer patient-turned-immortal vampire who uses his private army to ensure that no cure is found and vampires continue to thrive.
A big part of the film’s success is the persistent tension that is maintained. This is remarkable given that it has turned the tables on vampire conventions by making most of these monsters appear ordinary, or rather paler reflections of humanity.
Backing up the strong story and action is a welcome, dramatic orchestral score from Christopher Gordon. I had almost forgotten how much better a genre movie can be with real dramatic music tailored to the film. Along with vivid, earthy production design by George Liddle, who previously worked on the equally excellent genre film DARK CITY, everything in DAYBREAKERS really flows together well and I feel the filmmakers have successfully put forth their vision about as well as anyone could.
A married couple deal with a crushing loss in a way that’s both funny and deeply sad in this comedy-drama from director, screenwriter and star Stanley Tucci. Don (Tucci) and his wife Janna (Patricia Clarkson) meet every night in the same shabby nightclub where Don performs a humorously shambolic magic act.
Don and Janna’s relationship has been on the verge of collapse since the death of their daughter, and they’re trying to reconnect with each other through role playing, so each evening they pretend they’re meeting for the first time on a blind date after discovering one another through personal ads. Sometimes they assume characters that are openly confrontational, while other times they try to bring a sweetness and intimacy back into their lives, but more often than not their struggle to reclaim the love they knew ends in confusion and frustration.
Blind Date was adapted by Tucci and screenwriter David Schechter from Theo Van Gogh’s 1996 film of the same name; it was the second in a series of remakes of Van Gogh’s films (following Steve Buscemi’s Interview) created in response to Van Gogh’s assassination by political extremists in 2004.
The cast is a delight, especially up-and-coming star Ron Livingston. While almost every other character is more quirky, Livingston holds the film up by making us care for him. His performance is the best in the film, despite the flashy roles of others in the cast. Jennifer Aniston virtually sheds her Friends persona in a hilarious performance that will have everyone laughing in knowing recognition. David Herman is also funny as the man whose name (Michael Bolton) gets him more prestige than anything else. Ajay Naidu is good, but he doesn’t seem to know what to do in his role. Deidrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show) is funny as the nosy neighbor who can hear Peter’s affairs through the wall. But the scene stealer is Gary Cole in an incredibly realistic and dead-on imitation of your worst manager. He’s absolutely hilarious. Stephen Root does what so many actors aren’t able to do: make the wretched and annoying appealing to watch. Root is terrific as Milton.
Office Space is essentially the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for the working men and women of today. The main character decides that he wants to control his own life, tries to get fired, but ends up getting promoted. Two consultants (both named Bob) are brought in to evaluate the workers, and in a shining example of cynicism, Peter seriously announces that he does as little work as humanly possible. “I work about fifteen minutes in your average work week,” he tells the two Bobs (John C. McGinley and Paul Willson). Mike Judge’s screenplay is full of witty one-liners that will be spouted right and left throughout offices for quite a long time. The best? “It appears that you’ve been missing quite a bit of work lately,” one Bob says. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing it much,” he responds. It’s a line of sheer perfection and it works very well.
With its bright lighting (even night scenes feature an attractive neon glow) and cast of familiar-faced non-marquee names (former “Ghostbuster” Ernie Hudson; Joe Mantegna as a sleazy record producer; Mohr’s wife, Nikki Cox, as a cleavage-exposing cougar newshound), “Lonely Street” plays sort of like an unsold comedy-mystery TV pilot that was retrofitted with profanity and jokes about vomit, flatulence and genitalia in hopes of attracting theatrical interest. The occasional gross-out humor (complete with sound effects) is the worst thing about the film; it’s sometimes accompanied by Mohr’s often redundant voiceover narration, much of which seems to have written in post-production, in an attempt to spice up the action. Click to Watch Lonely Street Movie Online
A teenage girl (Bishil) who is entirely American other than that she doesn’t have legal status, becomes the target of the FBI and INS when she voices compassion for the September 11 hijackers. Despite growing up in the country, she could be deported to her home country even though she doesn’t speak the language or know the culture. Kramer ignores the fact that this girl should have been smart enough to know that supporting the 9/11 hijackers would not go over well. Again, there’s promise in this story, but Kramer never gives the story enough depth to make it seem like anything more than a political statement.
And that’s what Crossing Over is: a political statement. The immigration system is messed up and perfectly good people fall victim to it. This is a fine message to have, as we all know that the immigration system is screwy, but Kramer comprises his stories with his message. As a result, Crossing Over barely garnered a theatrical release and Kramer’s message reached almost no one.
In reality, Crossing Over is perfectly watchable and mildly entertaining, with decent performances from all involved. But it wants to be Crash without the connectivity or storytelling power of Paul Haggis. The movie is a bunch of stories, but they are too random to care about any of them. Had Kramer settled down and focused on one individual plot, he has the skills to develop an authentic film; but as is, Crossing Over just doesn’t feel authentic.
Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is fed up with the dating scene and decides to start a family on her own via a sperm donor. The day she is inseminated she meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin), and he turns out to be the perfect man, sent to muck up her plan. Supposed hilarity ensues as the two learn important lessons about life and love and the joys of a pregnancy that is not a product of their relationship.
I thought the plot was at least different enough that there was potential for a decent movie. It started on a downward slope with what seemed like a ten-minute opening-credits cartoon sequence and then went straight into a voice-over backstory. Ugh. From then on out it was every bad romantic movie cliche topped with cheesy dialogue and a plot that never went anywhere beyond what is shown in the previews. I realize the genre as a whole has kind of hit the bottom of the barrel in terms of new plot ideas, but this was like some high school kid took The Wedding Planner and Knocked Up and did a mash-up video on YouTube. Lopez played the same character she always plays: the successful and stubborn woman who doesn’t need a man but desperately wants one. The fact that the theater was less than half full on opening night shows how much her stock has fallen. While dashingly handsome, O’Loughlin did little else to make his mark on American audiences.
The highlights for me were every scene with Michaela Watkins (of SNL fame). She managed to shine despite her all-too-small role as the best friend. I see big things for her. I also found myself not hating Zoe’s “single mothers and proud” support group.
Though positioned as a documentary about the town of Forks, Washington (where the Twilight films and books take place), make no mistake about it—this is little more than a love letter to the teen-angst-and-vampire series and its obsessive, adoring fans. I’d be on board for that, too, if the film was at all interested in examining why it is that Twilight has inspired such feverish devotion in such a huge and varied population of fans. Unfortunately, that’s not this movie. This movie simply wants to give the fans a forum in which to express their love of the books and films, covering everyone from teenage girls to older moms to high school teachers and, in one instance, a middle-aged man with a goofy blonde dye job. Some of the participants are thoughtful and well-spoken when they plead their case, such as the teacher who says it’s not fair to write off the fans or Meyer’s books when they mean so much to people. Others are arrogant, insulting the cults of Star Wars or Star Trek as “weirdos” while bragging about how accepting the Twi-hards are (for the record, few fan groups are more accepting than Star Trek fans). But Twilight in Forks seems to side with them both, and that’s where the problem is.
A hotel doorman falls for the daughter of the wealthiest residents in the building, discovering that love knows no social boundaries as their playful friendship blossoms into a full-blown romance. Henry (Joseph Cross) was studying for his nursing degree when his father died unexpectedly. Realizing that the responsibility of caring for his family has fallen on his shoulders, Henry drops out of school and lands a job as a doorman at a posh Manhattan apartment building. Henry’s boss (Joe Pantoliano) is an uptight bundle of nerves, and his co-worker (Snoop Dogg) is the dictionary definition of “mellow.” Instructed never to fraternize with the tenants, Henry can’t help but fall in love with pretty Scarlet Downing (Sarah Roemer) following a chance meeting. When Henry’s fired for breaking rule number one, he realizes that not everyone defines themselves by their social status, and that sometimes love is worth fighting for.
Ultimately, Falling Up is far from a fiasco, but lacks the humor, insight, or emotion to make it in any way memorable. This is what I’ve come to expect from most of the big-budgeted romantic comedies. If nothing else, this film is proof that you don’t need a studio system to produce mediocrity.
Storyline - 12-year-old Dre Parker could’ve been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying - and the feeling is mutual - but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre’s feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts “the karate kid” on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.
