James Sparrow's Rented Reviews

So, I know I tried to touch on reviewing movies awhile ago when I was on here but never really got into it as much as I would like to so this is why I bring you "The Rented Review." Seeing as how I work at Blockbuster we are fortunate enough to get the movies a week before they hit the shelves. Now at this time I know most people have see alot of the big movies but there are a few of the smaller titles which I tend to rent and now I can have a chance to bring them to you guys.

I get them the Wednesday before so that give me plenty of time to watch and let you guys know before Tuesday when they hit the shelves. I'll definitely touch on the big movies as well but not as much because its possible you saw them in the theater.


Anyway let's get to this weeks since it is Wednesday today I got about 9 rentals that I plan to watch and here is the list of which I got.


Wednesday Oct 10th 2007

1. Transformers (2007) - Michael Bay
2. Grindhouse: Planet Terror (2007) - Robert Rodriguez
3. Ice Spiders (2007) - Tibor Takacs (WASN'T ABLE TO SIT THROUGH)
   
4. Flight of the Living Dead (2007) - Scott Thomas
5. A Mighty Heart (2007) - Michael Winterbottom
6. The Invisible (2007) - David S. Goyer
7. The Reaping (2007) - Stephen Hopkins
8. Return To The House On Haunted Hill (2007) - Victor Garcia
9. Casshern (2004) - Kazuaki Kiriya (FELL ASLEEP DURING)

Wednesday Oct 17th 2007

1. Meet The Robinsons (2007) - Stephen J. Anderson
2. Mr. Brooks (2007) - Bruce A. Evans
3. Hostel Part II (2007) - Eli Roth
4. Black Sheep (2006) - Jonathon King
5. Kaw (2007) - Sheldon Wilson
6. The Tripper (2006) - David Arquette
7. Home of the Brave (2006) - Irwin Winkler

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James Sparrow's Rented Reviews!

The Reaping 7/10
Transformers 8.5/10
Flight of the Living Dead 6/10
The Invisible 6/10
Return to House on Haunted Hill 1/10
Planet Terror 8/10
A Mighty Heart 7/10

So last night I sat through one, going to try and post a quick review before my girlfriend arrives to whisk me away from teh computer. Anyway.

The Reaping (2007) - Stephen Hopkins



Starring:

Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Idris Elba, AnnaSophia Robb


The Plot

Katherine Winter (Swank) plays a former Christian missionary who specializes in debunking religious phenomena. When suddenly a town called Haven starts suffering from what seems to be the 10 biblical plagues, she is forced to investigate.

Is It Any Good?

Let's start this off by saying when this film hit theaters I had no intentions to see this for one thing not being a fan of Hilary Swank and a second the movie itself just seemed to be a little bland and not something I could ever see myself enjoying.

So when it came time for me to grab the movies from work I was skeptical about grabbing this one but in the long run i'm quite pleased I did. It turned out to be nothing that I had expected it to be and still held pretty strong by itself, yes there are parts in it that your kinda wondering why did they do it that way, or why is the CGI so bad (I.E The Cows - Its really not hard to find them I dont see why they had to CGI em).

For the most part the acting was alright. Hilary, like many of her other films tends to over act a wee bit much for my tasting and as for the other cast well to be quite honest I don't know if I have ever seen them in anything else. Kudos goes out to miss AnnaSophia for actually being one creepy kid on camera. Most of the time you have a kid in a movie their really not all that chilling. She on the other hand didn't over due it to the point where its annoying to watch, she could definitely turn out to be quite the actor in her later years.

For the 10 plagues, which consisted of water turning to blood, Frogs, Flies, Lice, Sick Livestock, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, and the Death of the First born. Which stretch the whole movie so you kinda know where its going but throw in a few twists and turns and a little bit of gore and you got yourself The Reaping.

How Are The Extras?

The DVD itself didn't consist of too many special features, there is one though where it goes through the plagues again but gives you the scientific answer to as why these things could have happened which I found to be quite interesting and this was about 15 minutes long. Of course it has "The Casting" in which the actors talk about how much fun they had during the filming and give a little about themselves, i've always found these a bit boring."A Place Called Haven" is a five minute featurette with writer Brian Rousso talks about his southern roots and looks for the perfect shooting area. Finally, "The Seventh Plague" is a one-minute peek at Idris Elba learning to overcome his queasiness over working with so many hundreds of live locusts.

Final Words

To me The Reaping was definitely an underrated horror flick that i'm glad I actually sat down and watch, I'll probably pick this one up once it hits shelves officially and if your looking for a good horror film with some good writing you should really check it out come this Tuesday.


Movie - 7/10

DVD - 3/5



So there you have the first installment of the Rented Review. Hope you guys were able to find it helpful and tomorrow look for the next film!

I like DVD reviews. It's the good to know if the extras are worth a damn. Good job.

And welcome back.

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TOP 100 | "Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

Transformers (2007) - Michael Bay




Starring:

Shia Lebeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson


The Plot:

For those who have been living under a rock this summer, I'll still explain this movie to you. Alright so you have two clans of intergalactic robots one called "Autobots" (The Good Guys) and the "Decepticons" (The Bad Guys). This object called the All Spark hit down on earth quite some time ago and the Decepticons want this for evil things and the Autobots are there to prevent this from happening. When Sam Witwicky holds the map to this All Spark its a race to get to it first and save the world... But with big motherf**king robots!


Is It Any Good?

I could easily sum this up right now and just say "YES!?" but I will not for I have a duty to fulfill and fulfill that duty I shall.

When I first saw this movie in theaters I have no aspiration for it at all being not the biggest fan if any of Michael Bay's work *cough* Pearl Harbor *Cough*. But I'm quite please I put all that behind me and went and saw this movie cause to be honest right from the start I was blown away with this film. I found it to be quite entertaining and probably the best summer movie to come to theaters out of the big blockbuster movies.

You got a pretty good cast for the most part with the lead mainly being that of young Mr. Shia Lebeouf or as I like to call him "Even Stevens." I'm quite surprised with him actually from his day's back on the Family/Disney channel, he's definitely made quite the career out of him. Though alot of the jokes were lame I dont blame him. We also have Megan Fox who was probably one of the bad actors of the flick but she's quite something to look at. Also I would like to give a round of applause for them not using horrible voice actors to do the voices of the Transformers. Kudos goes to them for actually getting Peter Cullen to come back for Optimus Prime.

This was probably my fourth time seeing this film and no matter how many times you see it I find it still entertaining each time. The action sequences aren't overdone, the romance storyline didn't go to over the top and have their first kiss somewhere in the middle of the movie which I thought they definitely would have done. The CGI was flawless and the sound was superb. It would have been nice to see a few more Transformers in this flick (I.e SoundWave) or seen them touch on more of others (I.e StarScream) And touch less on some (I.e Scorponok).

How Are The Extras?

If you're a fan of extras, I repeat "DO NOT GET THE 1 DISC VERSION" which is what I had to see cause there is absolutely none on here, I think there was possibly a Michael Bay commentary but really that was all. Now with the two disc you get quite a handful of them and heres a list (I took this straight from the dvd so no credit for this list goes to me.)

Our World
· The Story Sparks - Steven Spielberg discusses his love for the franchise and early concept art for the film. Explores how the writers adapted the cartoon into a live-action movie and why Michael Bay is the perfect director for the film.
· Human Allies - A look at how the actors were selected and their experiences on the set.
· I Fight Giant Robots - An exploration of the military training that Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson underwent for their roles and the various stunts that the actors were asked to perform.
· Battleground - A piece on the senior officials from the Department of Defense and Air Force who consulted on the film to give it authenticity and the key locations that the U.S. government provided access to.

Their War
· Rise of the Robots - Explores the interaction between Hasbro designers and Michael Bay to bring the toy line roaring to life.
· AUTOBOTS Roll Out - Michael Bay discusses working with Chevy and its designers and the modifications that were made to the cars seen in the film.
· DECEPTICONS Strike - The film’s military advisor's discuss the “toys” they allowed the production to borrow: F-22 Raptors, Ospreys and A-10 Warthogs.
· Inside the AllSpark - ILM’s digital artists discuss the challenges of bringing the TRANSFORMERS to life.

More Than Meets The Eye
· From Script to Sand: The SKORPONOK Desert Attack - An in-depth look at the making of this particularly epic and challenging scene from initial storyboarding through production and visual effects.
· Concepts - Early sketch concepts of the robots.
· Trailers

So if your going for special features get the 2 disc for sure, I still think there is a possibility that they will down the line release an extended version of the film with what they added for the IMAX release but you never know.

Final Words

Overall i'm so glad I went into this movie with bad expectations cause I was blown away more so that I would have if I were a fan of Bay's. I was thoroughly pleased and will be adding this to my collection no doubt but for sure the 2 Disc copy of it

Movie: 8.5/10

DVD: 1.5/5 (For The One Disc Version)

On the other side of this, I am a huge Hilary Swank fan and I may never see this movie, not even on cable TV.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Touche, but its worth a look, compared to alot of the horror/thriller movies out there its up there on the list.

Nice reviews, James. I like the way you rate the movie and the DVD extras. Not being a Michael Bay fan at all, I was surprised that I found Transformers to be tolerable, mostly due the the presence of Shia Lebeouf.

I'll be back on later after work to add the next one.

Heres the one you've all been waiting for!

Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane (2007) - Scott Thomas


(I know this says Plane Dead but its the same movie)

Starring:

David Chisum, Kristen Kerr, Kevin J O'Connor, Richard Tyson, Erick Avari

The Plot:

As if the title of the movie itself doesn't explain it to you, look no further for I have the answer to your queries. On a flight from LA to Paris, a mad scientist who is sought after by the CIA bring aboard a coffin containing the body of a colleague who is infected with this virus thats brings the dead back, and guess what... She escapes and reeks havoc aboard this plane turning most into mindless blood thirsty zombies.

Is It Any Good?

Well with a title like "Flight of the Living Dead." What do you really expect? Nothing right, exactly like I had assumed but guess what.... This movie was actually really entertaining. More so than that of "Snakes on a Plane" (and I really liked that one). I was glued to the screen during this whole movie not once was I bored with this film. It was humorous because they all knew the idea of the film was absurd but they had fun with it which is what you should always do.

No when you take a look at the cast its got alot of people you may not know and some you will recognize like the bad dad from Kindergarten Cop, or Mohinder's father from the show Heroes. To me Kevin O'Connor stole the screen to whole time playing the convict who was to be released to Interpol once reaching Paris but mid flight the cop he was handcuffed to gets knocked out during turbulence and makes his break for it. Once you see him you would probably think of John Waters cause he kinda has his look which was awesome and somewhat sounded like him as well. There are quite a few other characters aboard this plane like teh Tiger Woods imitation character, the jocks and their girlfriends. A Nun who made me laugh out loud everytime. And this one Asian zombie who never seems to make it out of his buckled seat.

Of course being a low budget horror flick you know its going to be gory and of course it did not upset. It didn't go to over the top and stayed true to a zombie movie. The make up effects were actually pretty well done for the price range i'm guessing they had. Only a few gripes with this movie like the scenes that took place inside the Pentagon which was always the same room, always the same angle, and the same three actors in there. Either than that though this movie flowed really well, some of the CGI was bad but not to the point where it really stands out. The ending of the film I though was pretty good, could have been better. The writing was like most low budget films but actually had me laughing out loud a couple times with some of the one liners, and such other things.

How Are The Extras?

What extras....... On the main menu your only choices are Play Movie, and Scene Selection. So you don't really have anything extra with this flick. If you want some rad zombie dvd extras get the 4 disc Dawn of the Dead set.

Final Words

If you out there looking for a good campy cheesy zombie flick, look no further this is the epitome of these kinds of films. All in all i loved every minute of it and finished this film satisfied much more than I though I would. Unlike others in this genre it isn't chock full of nudity which is good cause it has time for other things. So definitely check this out if your looking to be entertained

Movie: 6/10 (I'm going to rank out of 10 now, more possibilities. I shall edit the old posts for the new rankings)

DVD: 1/5 (The menus are alright so it gets a 1)

transformers :/

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contribution :/

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Oh, and after hearing about Flight of the Living Dead and by hearing, i do solely mean hearing the title, i've felt obligated to watch it. Very similar tactic to Snakes on Plane and title marketing plus the obvious concept, even so good to know it's worth a watch and not the tripe i had it down for.

The Invisible (2007) - David S. Goyer



Starring:

Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Marquette

The Plot:

The story revolves around Nick (Chatwin) who is pretty much your picture perfect teen, good grades, artistic, sticks up for his friends to no end. Ever since his father dies life has been tough for both him and his mother (Harden). The movie also follows Annie (Levieva) who suffers from the same kind of thing but in this case he mother died and she seems to be taking it alot worse and kinda becomes this hybrid of a girl and a thug. Well paths collide and Nick ends up dead, or so he thinks. Invisible to all the world he tries to get Annie who can feel his presence around her to turn herself in and save him.

Is It Any Good?

Well the movie itself is really just one enormous pile of depression rolled into a movie. The acting is so depressing between both Nick and Annie you think any minute they're going to commit suicide. But if you can look past all the teen angst going on, on screen you'll find a pretty decent movie. (Not one bad movie yet eh, just wait for the Ice Spiders review) Alot of this movie focuses on Nick follow people from his life around and talking to himself about there relationship and stuff like that, really coming to age drama you know. Which you'll notice in this one scene with his mother which I thought was a way to overdone. The character of Annie throughout 89% of this movie is wearing this god awful beanie that makes her, for lack of a better comparison look like a cancer patient which really bugged me and kind of draws your attention away from whats going on with you wondering "I wonder if she's a blonde?"

As for the acting/actors I thought Nick was cast perfectly Mr. Justin Chatwin pulled of invisible boy perfectly I thought and at time yes of course theres over acting but what teenage drama doesn't have that? Margarita played thug pretty well but she's kinda got a pretty face so that throws that whole look off. Which is probably why in alot or scenes you see her covering her face up. Now for Marcia Gay Harden I really can't stand her I don't know what it is but everytime i see her or hear her talk I hate her that much more, so that is kind of one sided. There were alot of other characters in this flick who did alright as well, like Annie's convict boyfriend Marcus who kind of reminds me of Leo Fitzpatrick's character from the movie "Bully." and Nick's "Best friend" Pete played by that of Chris Marquette.

I didn't think I would like this movie that much but found myself oddly entertained by it, it had a pretty decent but overdone story but with a new twist. Some of the shots in this film were really well done I think so a kudos goes to the cinematographer. The ending I think could have had some work because as I said in the "Reaping" review alot of movies nowadays have horrible endings. This one wasn't horrible but still could have used some work I think. Maybe tone down the depression, and get rid of Harden and you probably would have had a better movie in my opinion.

How Are The Extras?

Well this doesn't have that many extras on it but more so than that of "Flight of the Living Dead." Its got about 10 or so deleted scenes, nothing special and you can see why they were cut. Its also has a commentary but I dont really listen to movie commentaries unless your Kevin Smith, or possibly entertaining. From the soundtrack of the movie it has two "Music Videos" but one isn't so much a video as it is a live performance, one from the band Sparta (I forgot the name of the song but it was kinda bad and your typical movie video with clips of the movie and band) then the other was a live performance of the song "The Kill" from 30 Seconds To Mars, the video was horrible and for most of the song Jared Leto was letting the audience sing it.

Final Words

It seems to be a trend so far with me reviewing some good movies but i'm pretty lenient when it comes to a movie being good or not, I always tend to find some good things in movies and chose to write about that while still informing of the crap. But that hasn't been the case so far the ones i have watched have entertained me and this did as well, so if your looking for a teen angst drama with a twist check it out on Tuesday, if not you may find yourself missing out.

Movie 6/10

DVD 2/5

Return To House On Haunted Hill (2007) - Victor Garcia


(Best Picture I Could Find For This)


Starring:

Amanda Righetti, Erik Palladino, Cerina Vincent, Tom Riley, Jeffery Combs

The Plot:

8 years have passed since the last survivors of Hill house escaped ( Sarah, and Eddie). Now the kidnapped Ariel (Sarah's Sister) is forced to enter the house with a bunch of treasure hunters looking for the Baphomet Idol, which is worth millions and is believed to be the reason for the evil inside Hill House.

Is It Any Good?

You would think with an amazing plot such as that () this movie would be A+ right.... Wrong. This movie was seriously a pile of garbage. I had to fight myself from turning it off and or falling asleep but I stayed strong just so I could get this review for you. I dont even know where to begin with this movie they're so many aspects of this movie that just pissed me off. First of all how about the plot for starters the beginning of the movie jumps from place to place and some of the actors look to much alike you think isn't she doing something else right now? You think if a movie like this is bad it would have a fair amount of gore, but it didn't. Yes there are a few limbs being ripped off and stomachs being ripped out and faces cut off, but thats about it. This movie is like National Treasure but set in a haunted house.

How about the acting? Yeah dont even get me started on this the villain of the movie first of all looks nothing like a villain (Here's Your Proof) his acting is horrendous much like everyone else's in this movie even that of Jeffery Combs was bad, him with his little John Waters mustache walking around, no you dont see him walk they just edit him moving so he looks like he's teleporting which was totally uncalled for. One of your treasure hunters is probably around the age of 54 and yet he gets shocked and depressed when his 26 yr old "girlfriend" leaves him halfway through the movie for the villain. There was no stand out actor in this film because it was all atrocious even down to the ghosts who's make-up was just as bad as the acting.

This is your stereotypical, cliche, horrendous attempt at making a horror film. Its sad to see what the horror industry has come to when you have movies like this being made. It almost to easy to make movies nowadays, you just need to know someone in the business have a stupid idea and no talent what so ever to film a movie but hey that's okay cause you're my pal and I'll give you your money. People i'm not even exaggerating this. Its a horrible movie and you will waste your money if you actually rent this.

How Are The Extras?

Well you get a few deleted scenes that are just as bad, then you get two other features that are apparently a tie in to the movie giving you the one treasure hunters background as he's searched over the years for the Idol, and the other is confessionals from the characters in the movie about whats going on but where they messed up here is some of the actors that bite it on earlier in the movie are talking about stuff that happened well after they died so even the extras are dumb.

Final Words

DON'T SEE THIS MOVIE?!

Movie 1/10

DVD 1/5

We appreciate you taking the hit for us.

'Tis a shame; I actually thought the first House on Haunted Hill was quite scary, and underrated. Not surprising that this follow-up's terrible, though.

Thanks for the reviews, yours in pecking nebbs

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

I don't know if I'll be able to get all these movies in this week seeing as how I got to get them back by tomorrow morning at 9am.

I've already watched the Planet Terror one so that one will be coming, now I'm wondering do I watch A Mighty Heart, Ice Spiders, or Casshern.

So Casshern bored me to no end had to turn that off the visuals were pretty good though but realyl distracted you alot and thus getting bored. I didn't manage to get to Ice Spiders but from the look of things the CGI would have taken me right out of the film.

Keep and eye open today for Planet Terror and A Mighty Heart review.

Planet Terror (2007) - Robert Rodriquez



Starring:

Rose McGowan, Freddie Rodriguez, Marley Shelton, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis

The Plot:

After an experimental bio-weapon is released, all hell breaks lose as thousands start turning into zombies and its up to a group of people to put an end to this before the whole world is doomed! Sounds like your typical zombie movie right? Wrong this is so much more!

Is It Any Good?

I originally saw this movie in theaters when it was actually in its whole GRINDHOUSE form with that of Death Proof attached to it and found it the better of the two and now after seeing both the extended versions of the films I must say.. That the original assumption still stands strong. I absolutely love this movie its got everything a grindhouse-esque movie should have. Lots of blood, lots of gore, sex, and cheesy humor. Now some might say "Sex?" well it was in there it just was hilariously not there at the same time (for those who didn't see it I shall say no more). I wish they had put this one after Death Proof cause I was really bored with it, it dragged alot I felt but still overall was a good movie but this was just so much more of one and enjoyed myself THAT much more when I watch it. I mean where else can you go to see a chick as hot as Rose McGowan have a gun for a leg taking out hordes of zombies? (and they say Hollywood is loosing originality)



Upon second viewing I will say its still as good and the jokes still made me laugh. The gore in this movie is a bit more extended with this dvd version and i'm glad because I know they had to cut away alot as Robert said in one of the features that comes with this DVD. The acting was dead on to what you would expect from a Grindhouse movie and I dont think it could have been cast better, the actors/actresses were dead on with there characters and all seemed to have a good time doing this movie. It was nice to see people like Bruce Willis and Naveen Andrews in this movie, as well as Quentin Taratino's cameo was pretty ballsy(hahah get it? ).



This is the perfect movie just in time for Halloween if you up for some good horror/comedy fun. I haven't seen a movie take on the horror comedy aspect as well as this since Shaun of the Dead and they both did it their own ways and both succeeded in that challenge. I might wait a bit before buying these cause you never know down the road what they will release and if they release them together in some definitive collection with those fake trailers from the theaters. Or i may just wait till we pull a few copies from work and get it that way until this special collection is released. In a way i'm kind of glad they were released separately cause now if i have a craving I can watch both whenever and not have to skip through scenes to get to them.

How Are The Extras?

I was actually quite impressed with the features on this one, more than I was with the Death Proof extras, probably because I enjoyed this movie more. But in true Rodriguez fashion there is his 10 minute film school which like always goes through some of the stuff they did to make the movie. One thing I though was a little weird though at the end of it he talks about the 10 minute cooking school feature but doesn't show up anywhere on this dvd which led me to suspicion of another release to come. There is two other features that talk about the "Babes of Planet Terror" and the "Guys of Planet Terror" which are essentially a look at the actors and actresses. They're both pretty good. Another one like that but called "Casting Rebel" in which Robert talks about having his kid in the movie, which is actually really hilarious once he starts talking about the "Alternate Cut of Planet Terror". Theres also a stunts featurette and another one about Robert casting his friends.

Final Words

This movie was the better half of Grindhouse and now its all yours to own and own it you should because this movie is a blast for anyone. Just sit back, relax and enjoy it like it should be enjoyed.

Movie: 8/10

DVD: 4/5

Great reviews, James.
I just finished watching Flight of the Living Dead based on your recommendation. As you said, it's good campy fun. I just wish it hadn't taken so long getting to the zombie attack. The first act seemed interminable. It's nowhere near as good as Return of the Living Dead, but still, I laughed a lot.