Suspect's Reviews

DOOM (Andrzej Bartkowiak)




"At Least It's Better Then What Uwe Boll Would Have Done"

A group of MARINES are sent out to a space station when problems start to arise. Although, once they get there...they encounter an enemy they are not ready for.

DOOM was a revolutionary game, it still has many fans today and Hollywood wants to cash in on the franchises success. Well, Doom does some things right, and that begins with not having Uwe Boll as a director, that's right, DOOM is in fact better then what Uwe Boll would have done...or probably ever will do.I'm not saying it's a good movie, it's pretty bad, but I'll give it kudos for actually trying to stay true to the source and try to be good.

Doom stars the so called new action hero "THE ROCK" and "I Was In Lord Of The Rings" Karl Urban. Both are macho MARINE guys who lead a small group of macho men into some dark corridors. Their enemy lurks in the dark and attack out of nowhere. This was terrifyingly creepy in the game, but for the film is lacks anything that would constitute as a scare. It does follow what the game has mapped out and excluding one particular scene, it doesn't try anything to re-invent and add on.

The Rock is horrible in this film. He's not too bad of an actor, The Rundown is a good role for him, this is not. It is actually hurtful to see the actors try to act in this film. What's even worse would be the so called evil creatures. Not at all scary, or even "dangerous". They do kill the MARINES one by one, but unlike in certain alien films there is no suspense when wait for these things to appear.

The fight scenes are terrible. One punch and the person will go flying across the room. Even if the two who are fighting are "pure evil" and "in god mode" it doesn't fit well with the film. It also tries a little bit with a subplot of how a brother and sister apparently dis-like each other at the beginning, but near the end, they put their differences aside and pull through together....how touching and clichéd.

One scene that ultimately makes or breaks this film for the fans is obviously the FPS, First Person Shooter (for those non-gamers out there) scene. It was a cheesy, but nice touch. It stays true to the source and I commend this film for actually doing that. The main character is in the "invincible" state and goes around shooting the creatures....that is pure DOOM CHEAT MODE and it was really neat to see.

Is this the worst video game adaption? Far from it, that goes for anything BOLL can turn out, is this the best, nope. Video games that become movies have great material to extract from, but fail to capitalize on it. Until something with some concrete stuff breaks from games to film (still waiting for Metal Gear) then I'm sorry, but films like this is what we'll have to sit through.

4/10

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Suspect's Reviews

May give Doom a miss. that Suspect

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Good Night & Good Luck (George Clooney)





"Know What You're Getting Yourself Into....Or Else Be Bored"


In the 1950's Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly looked to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy. Through much controversy they stood up against all odds and brought down the Senator.

George Clooney is at the directorial chair for a second time. After taking on "Confession of a Dangerous Mind" I was eager to see what he had in store for us a second time around. With Good Night and Good Luck, although not perfect by any means, does not disappoint.

Good Night is a movie that has class, which is evident as soon as the bold black and white hits the screen. Good Night has classic film written all over it, and is a new classic film for this era. Clooney knew exactly what he wanted for this period piece, down to every little detail. Such as smoking, which seems to appear in every single scene. The smoke from the burning cigarettes look beautiful on screen, especially with the black and white. Clooney uses actual footage of McCarthy and the trials which blends in with the black and white of Good Night.

Good Night And Good Luck is not for the younger crowd, as it's not very "entertaining". Nothing really seems to happen in it, it's geared towards an older crowd. It's odd to explain how the film made me feel, because even with nothing much happening I felt totally into the film. It could've been the content in the film or they way Clooney presented it. In the final scene, I was surprised to see it come up so fast, but knew it was going to end as soon as that scene was finished. This can't be said for all, since nothing really happens in it, you must be really intrigued by the content to not feel like the picture is dragging on and on...*cough* CAPOTE *cough*

A gripe with the film is the lack of it's supporting cast. With star power such as Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr and Frank Langella it would have been nice to see more of them. Robert Downey Jr. is basically useless, he really serves no purpose other then the fact that he was an actual character in that time period. The same goes for Jeff Daniels, Frank Langella although does serve a purpose and does get more of a spotlight then the others, but he could have used a little more.

Good Night's strongest feature would be David Strathairn's performance. Although, it's no where near as great as Hoffman's Capote, Strathairn seems to finally get his place in the spotlight. After many years of supporting roles, Strathairn is able to break-out and shine in the film and is acknowledged just as well. He gives a powerful performance and if the film was done in any other year, then I would really be amazed by it.

Good Night is a film that Clooney can be proud of. It's a big improvement over Confessions and is one of the better films of the year. You just need to know what's going on with it's story, or you can be lost throughout the film. If you're lost, then you'll ultimately be bored out of your mind. Don't go to be entertained, go to watch a film with a message, and for Strathairn's performance of Murrow.

8/10

Didn't you find it entertaining?

__________________
"Like all dreamers, Steven mistook disenchantment for truth."

For the most part yes I did. Although, I predict that the general public will not. Which is why I put the warning at the end.

Ok...fair point. Just checking.

Thanks for the review Sussy

Yeah, so this is pretty much one of my favorite movies of all time. I agree that its not for everyone. Deffinatly a film that people with select senses of humor will understand. As far as the directing abilities, I think he did an amazing job. I too have not read the book but I am reading the sequal, and the movie seems to capture just what the book was trying to say.

Three...Extremes (Takashi Miike/Fruit Chan/ Chan-wook Park)





"Three Stories, Three Directors, Three Visions...Three Extremes"


Three...Extremes is a film with three different stories being told. Dumplings, Cut and Box. All of which have a horrific tale routed in it's story.

Three extremes take two talented directors and one unknown (from my perspective anyway) and let them carve their own original piece of a puzzle that fits together in Three...Extremes. While I'm still impartial to Miike, he does have talent. He has beautiful imagery in his films, it's just that they also tend to have some story lacking. With his short, BOX, Miike gets you to think about what the outcome is going to be. His films are always twisted in some kind of way and asks the audience to look deeper into what they just saw. With BOX, he ultimately disappoints with the ending. Cut, the second short directed by Park has an uncanny resemblance to "SAW", as some might say. It deals with the psycho kidnapping someone and getting them to play a game, or someone dies.

CUT was my favourite segment out of the three and throws the viewer a curve ball at the conclusion. Which leads you to believe one of two things. Do you believe the events that you just saw and take them as face value, or is there some mind tricks at play. Finally, the first short actually, is Dumplings from Fruit Chan. A name I never heard of but would like to hear more of. Dumplings doesn't have the edge that CUT has, or the beautiful images that BOX has, but it does have the disturbing factor. Which lands Dumplings in the good books.

CUT is my favourite segment and Park did a great job at hinting that the film is not EXACTLY what it seems and it has the "oh so cool" factor that this film needed. BOX, being the second film that I've seen from Miike still leaves me in the grey with him. I want to seek out more of his work, but am hesitant because it hasn't impressed all that much. BOX isn't all that bad, it's just not all that good and the viewer feels cheated by the end. Some might feel the same with CUT and be left very confused with the actions of some characters, but it worked out it's in favour for some strange feeling.

I'm going to let the cat out of the bag and tell you what Dumplings is about...eating aborted fetuses. Gross? Yes. Disturbing? Yes. Why did I like such a thing? Fruit handled it very well, I have yet to see the full cut of the short but it leaves me wanting to know more. The ending...again with these endings, left me very confused. What was with the tongue? It didn't flow with the rest of the film? Is she human?

Finally, if you're a fan of Asian cinema, give this a little taste test. It's three for the price of one, and you'll get some sort of enjoyment out of at least two of them. If you're the type that is uneasy hearing the crunching sounds of a women eating an aborted fetus, you might want to skip these and look for Bambi.

7.5/10

Waiting... (Rob McKittrick)




"A good chunk of the population at some point in their life has worked in the food industry"

In the style of CLERKS, Waiting tells the story of a group of employees at the restaurant Shennangins. Their hi-jinks, games around the kitchen and jokes that they play on the customers to make their job seem less crappy.

CLERKS was a film that changed cinema, not drastically but it did make it's mark on it. Here, Waiting takes a little note from CLERKS and is able to spin its own originality on the yarn and make Waiting quite enjoyable. Granted I work in the food business which makes the film even more enjoyable. Waiting strides because of it's recognizable, but not star powered cast.

A good chunk of the population at some point in their life has worked in the food industry, and the stories that they can tell could stretch for miles. In waiting what may seem outrageous to some, is quite honestly everyday happenings for others. I've never heard of the game that they play in Waiting, but wouldn't doubt it for a second.

Dane Cook stands out here as Floyd, one of the cooks. The energy that he puts into the small role is outstanding. Every single character has their own fiddle, and the actor knows how to play it. Chi McBride and Luis Guzman, along with Cook really make this film. A very good casting job on the filmmakers part. Ryan Reynolds plays the same character that he did with Van Wilder. The "I'm so cool, everyone loves me/is jealous of me" routine. While it was okay in this film, I would have liked to see a little bit more from him.

It's not so gross out as some would expect, if you idea of someone tampering with your food does gross you out, avoid this. I was surprised to see a bush shot, fake or real, it was out of nowhere. You would expect the joke to be in the film, but not to actually see it. Waiting probably the best film about the food industry.

Waiting is able to connect with so many people and plays it's comedy off their misery. Crappy tippers, foreigners, friends laughing at you...you can either laugh with it and respect it, or remember the "bad" times and loath this film. To say that it is a rip off of CLERKS is false. If that were true, then every movie about people in a dead end job is a rip off of CLERKS. Both are "A Day In The Life Style" bu other then that the films are different, and both equally funny.

Waiting is a film that previous food employees will find funny. If you have never worked with food, but have a sense of humour, enjoy it, don't be disgusted and afraid to ever go to a restaurant again. Waiting a film to enjoy and laugh with, and that's the bottom line.

8/10

Christmas With The Kranks (Joe Roth)




"It's Time For Tim Allen To Move Away From The Holiday Films."

After their daughter leaves for the Peace Corps, Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas all together. No decorations, no gifts, no parties and no holiday spirit. Instead they decide to "save" money by taking a cruise...this does not settle very well with their neighborhood.

Christmas With The Kranks seems like the perfect movie to start up a new series, Griswold style. With two comedy powerhouses in the starring roles, Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, and with Christpher Columbus penning the script, Kranks had potential to last longer then just one film. But Joe Roth makes the film so utterly boring and unbelievably unfunny, that instead of dreading any sequel in the works you dread the entire experience that you just went through watching this thickheaded attempt at a funny film.

Where does the torture begin? Well, if I had to pinpoint the moment it started when the opening credits hit the screen. The bottom line is that Kranks is simply not funny at all. In what is suppose to be a family holiday comedy, Kranks is nothing more then a dim-witted, inane, atrocious piece of crap. Tim Allen should honestly stay away from anything Christmas related for the rest of his career, or sooner or later the Toolman's career will be over.

Jaimie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen do not work very well together as a husband and wife. There was no real chemistry and neither of them manage to get any laughter out of the audience at any point in the film. Being scared of your neighbors to the point where you are scared to leave the house is not funny. Getting botox to the face and not being able to drink is not funny. Maybe is Allen and Curtis had better material to extract any piece of comedy from then this film would be one level above abominable.

As well as not being funny Kranks is predictable. Scrooge finds a heart. That scrooge is Allen and the heart comes from giving away his cruise to an old man across the street, with whom he does not even like. After the Kranks decide to throw a Christmas party after all, all the neighbors join in and everyone lives happily ever after, except those that had to sit through this thing. There's not one interesting character in the whole film, not even one of the Christmas Crazed neighbors is able to connect or get any part of enjoyment from. Akroyd seemed okay in the role he did, but that doesn't make the role funny.

Joe Roth has yet to make one entertaining film and after this and Freedomland, I predict he never will. He should stick to producing and let someone with a little bit more talent stay behind the camera. Roth had no clue how to direct with the talent that he had. If he had lead the cast in some kind of direction maybe the film would have had a stronger comedic tone. With not a funny joke or scene in the entire film, or even a story-line to keep the audience from leaving their seats to slit their wrists, Kranks manages to make it to the bottom of the heap in a list of bad movies.

Everybody involved with this thing should have known that it was going nowhere. It's main draw in was the star power and everyone involved should read Comedy For Dummies, so the next time a garbage script like this comes their way, they are able to burn it.

1.5/10

Hoodwinked (Cory Edwards)





"It Lacks Good Animation and Adventure, But Give It Credit For Being Unique."

The "true" story of Little Red Riding Hood, told through four different perspectives from four different characters, Red, Granny, The Wolf, and The Woodsman. These quirky characters are from from the usual suspects. Can the detectives straighten the story out and figure out who the local "Goody Bandit" is?

Hoodwinked is one of the new films being released from the Weinstein Company. With top notch animation out there, Hoodwinked, on it's first look, looks to be a couple years behind. It lacks good animation and adventure, but give it credit for being unique. Hoodwinked has star power voices behind it, including Glenn Close, James Belushi, Anthony Anderson, Anne Hathaway and the great Patrick Warburton...who is the perfect choice for any voice work.

Hoodwinked is a film that lacks great animation. When you put it up against the likes of Shrek 2, Robots and Finding Nemo. Hoodwinked looks to be in last place. So where does it pick up steam, with the material. It's not falling to the ground funny, or groundbreaking, but it is something different then the normal animated fare. The characters in the story aren't very memorable, but it's the people behind the voices that make them who they are. Warburton is hilarious as The Wolf and stands out in the entire film. Andy Dick, who I normally would find annoying, is actually likable here.

The film starts right into the action and moves along pretty fast. Within minutes we are hearing the first story from Red's perspective. All the stories seemed to intertwine very well and made for much more enjoyment. If they did not intertwine at all, I believe the film would be a lot less enjoyable. Everything blended well, although the one character, The Woodsman, voiced by Belushi...awkwardly. Seems to have no purpose in the story what so ever. His story doesn't intertwine, or is funny at all. Are we suppose to laugh at his stupidity?

The characters range from goats, to frogs to actual people. Along with The Wolf and Dick's Bunny, the photographer squirrel, who always seems to have a bit to much coffee will entertain the little ones. Hoodwinked has enough jokes for both the kids and adults. The kids will laugh at the zany characters, like the singing goat or the coffee addicted squirrel. Whereas the adults will lean more towards the comedy from Warburton.

The writing and strong voice acting is what makes Hoodwinked good. It's nothing amazing and definitely one to rush to go see, but when you have some time on your hands and want to enjoy a movie with the kids, pick this one up. Pay attention to what happens on the screen because it will come back to play later on in the story. The ending sets up a sequel, and with a higher budget and a little bit more of a punch in an already creative writing team, then Hoodwinked 2 can be a huge success.

6/10

Eight Below (Frank Marshall)




"You Can't Go Into This Film Expecting Not To Cry"

With major snow storms heading their way, Antartic exploring teams must leave their team of sled dogs behind as they fly off for their own survival. Jerry, feeling very distraught, tries everything he can to go back and bring those dogs back.

Inspired by a true story, Eight Below tells the magnificent story of survival of a team of sled dogs who were left behind in a major snow storm. I can watch films in which people lose their limbs, such as KILL BILL. But if any movie where an animal is in danger, I tend to get a little tear trickle down my face. Eight Below takes this idea and pushes it to the extreme. The dogs are so cute, kick-ass, adorable, courageous and lovable, you can't go into this film expecting not to cry.

Paul Walker is upstaged by these dogs, and Jason Biggs is upstaged by Paul Walker. With saying that, you shouldn't see this movie for those two actors, one of which I didn't even know was in this film.




Watching the dogs on the screen made me very fearful for their fate. Every second that went by, I was praying that they would not get into any danger. Of course whenever they were, especially regarding an evil seal, I was on the edge of my seat. Eight Below is a Disney film that aims for an older audience then Disney would usually shoot for. It has many tearful scenes, many gross-out scenes and one that I'll admit, made me jump.

Marshall manages to keep the tension throughout the film, even when we are not with the dogs. Our hearts are still with them, but we are watching Walker teach some kids how to kayak. Eight Below contains some beautiful cinematography and it uses it's surroundings very well. The ice top mountains and star filled sky are beautiful.

The film a little lengthy, it feels like two different films in one, the second half being the more intense, emotional, heart-warming half. It was hard to be fully enjoying the movie in a theatre packed full of timid kids who are grossed out by the dogs eating birds and a whale, along with the parents telling the kids what's happening on every screen.

In the end, Eight Below is a good film, that is full of many emotional scenes, especially when the team make their way back to the station. The kids will want to see this film, but it is a little bit more intense then one would think. The bottom line is that the dogs are groovy and I would take these dogs over the penguins any day.

7.5/10

Thanks for the reviews Suspect. I think I will give The Kranks a miss

Yeah, I should've done the same myself. Unfortunately I was talked into it - sucks to have two little brothers.

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Failure To Launch (Tom Dey)




"Fails To Launch Any Chemistry Between McConaughey & Parker"

A slacker in his thirties along with his friends all live with their parents. When the parents of Trip hear about another couples son moving out because of this woman, they hire her to go out with their son, so he can finally move out on his own.

Failure To Launch is the first romantic comedy from the director Tom Dey, who's other works include Showtime and Shanghai Noon. Dey has a lot of the right ingredients to make a successful film, but when he blended them, he must have forgot the lid, because "Failure to Launch" is a mess. With Two great stars in the title roles and a story that seems to have some potential, what went wrong?

The main problem with this film is that it, and sorry for the pun, fails to launch any chemistry between McConaughey and Parker. What made "How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days" a decent chick flick was the chemistry between Hudson and McConaughey, they played off each other perfectly. With "Failure to Launch" Parker and McConaughey seem to awkward together on the screen to really be believable. Tie in the fact that the two title characters are ALL THAT Likable to begin with, you have a pretty bad start to a film.

With the two main characters not connecting very well, you'll need to have a really good supporting cast to save the film. With the exception of the parents, Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates, the entire supporting cast are really just forgettable. The two best friends are the comic relief, but they are not funny. One scene that would be the stand out would be the reviving of the mockingbird. It did get a chuckle out of me, but it's something that many have seen before. As mentioned before, Bradshaw and Bates steal the movie as the parents of McConaughey. Bradshaw with his naked room, the best part in the entire film lights up the screen and is the perfect choice to play with Bates. You can tell that they enjoyed their roles and basically had fun with it, which is what two certain main stars should have done.

Of course the script follows the formula that every other romantic comedy follows. Guy meets girl, they go out, they fall out, then get back together because they love each other. So, you know step by step what is going to happen. I would like to see a romantic comedy that does something different and has it's character actually not end up together in the end. Something to come along and not follow formula.

Tom Dey was the wrong man for the job, leading his actors a long and winding road that eventually ended up nowhere. If someone that has experience in this genre was behind the camera, then they could have used their skills to make the relationships between the characters work. Dey can stick to his buddy cop movies and leave the romantic comedies to people who know how to make an on-screen romance work.

"Launch" showcases some useless, awkward and pointless scenes, involving animals that attack McConaughey. Why they do this, I still do not understand, some reason that they threw at us was because he was not "with nature". Why these things are in this film, I have no idea. It adds nothing to the film, it only makes you sit in the chair longer and wonder why you decided to see such a film.

The target audience are the young females, and they will drool over McConaughey, they will love the fact that the nerd loser friend gets the girl, they might even laugh. For the rest of the world that want to go to enjoy a film, you might want to pass, unless you're a big fan of those people involved or of the genre...and I mean a big fan.

5.5/10

The Ice Harvest (Harold Ramis)




"In Wichita Falls, The Ice Harvest Falls Flat On It's Back"

In Wichita, Kansas, Charlie has something to celebrate, and it's not Christmas. Charlie, an attorney, and his so called business partner, Vic, have just stolen $2 million from Charlie's boss. With a hit-man looking for them, Charlie and Vic have little time to get out of Wichita. Will they both get out alive, or will the money make them greedy and try to find a way to get more.

The Ice Harvest is a dark comedy, that's heavy on the dark and lite on the comedy. With Billy bob Thorton and John Cusack leading the way, being supported by Oliver Platt and Connie Nielsen and finally the comedy alumni Harold Ramis behind the camera, many would think this to be a recipe for success. It's just too bad that none of the gags work in Harvest and neither does the story.

John Cusack is a good actor and is very likable in the roles he chooses. In the Ice Harvest, he seems a little out of place. Granted, he has the right look, just not the right presence. Teamed up with Billy Bob Thorton, who was good for the role, they bounce off each other awkwardly. With a better chemistry between these two characters, then the actors could have made it work. Oliver Platt is drunk throughout the entire film. He is the comic relief, a guy for the audience to look at and pity but laugh at at the same time. Connie Nielsen plays the character wooden, no emotion. I dreaded the time she was on screen, for every second. Looks can only go so far, here they go nowhere.

Harold Ramis usually has a good funny bone thrown into his films. Here, the dark moody atmosphere is too overshadowing and leaves the comedy in the dark so much that many will miss it. Ramis creates some scenes that do get a laugh, such as which car to place the box into. There is also some nudity, with even though they go into many strip clubs seems odd here. It may just be me, but it is totally useless.

The story itself could use some work. They don't really go into the details of how they got the money, just that they got it. They also have twists and turns that try to surprise the audience, but many can see them coming from a mile away. I myself was able to see it coming once they enter the strip club for the first time. If you're a fan of dark...and I mean dark comedies, then check this one out, but don't expect to laugh too much cause the laughs just aren't there. It is more of a dark crime movie with a couple of odd placed jokes.

Randy Quaid makes a random appearance as Cusacks boss near the finale of the film. The ending of "Harvest" decides to go out with the happy ending, opposed to the dark one, which would have flowed with the rest of the film. Seeing the characters are at the end happy seem wrong here. Then again, this whole film takes so many steps in the wrong direction it hurts.

5/10

Inside Man (Spike Lee)





"Get Ready To Root for The Bad Guy"


Detective Frazier, is one tough cop who is too smart for his job. Dalton Russell is a bank robber, who planned the perfect bank robbery. Hostages are at stake and Frazier needs to get them out. When an unexpected guest arrives, Madaline White, Frazier begins to believe that there is more to this heist then just the money.

A Spike Lee Joint, one of his better joints if you ask me. Leaving his "pro black, con white" message in his past, Lee has made an entertaining heist film that makes you side with the bad guy just because he is cool. Right from the get-go Owen tells you the What, Why, Where, When and eventually the How on the perfect bank robbery. Hearing this, you get the impression that he will be successful in this attempt. I'm not going to tell you whether he is or isn't, but throughout the entire movie, even though you might not want to, you can't help but cheer for Owen to get away with it in the end.

While viewing the trailer, one gets the impression that Inside Man is more then just a normal heist flick and it is. It's difficult to go into an explanation of the plot without giving some bits of it away, as I've probably already have done for some. The plot of the film is interesting, although some may be expecting a bigger pay-off in the end, Inside Man does deliver the twists and turns, just not as big as some may suspect.

Lee throws in his usual character has a racist moment as he does with virtually every film he does. He also manages to have fun with the time line and give us some testimonies of the survivors, it manages to flow well with the film. Here Lee is able to keep up with what's on the screen. He makes the plot follow along smoothly, up until the end though, where the film unexpectedly goes on and on dragging the viewer with it. It has to have that clichéd ending where the detective realizes what has just happened.

The performances are top-notch. Washington delivers us another great performance as the tough cop who seems to catch on to the scheme quicker then others. Jodie Foster gives a good performance with what little she has, even if her character has no background information what so ever as to what she does or who she is. She just happens to be there and with connections. Clive Owen is great as the bad guy, even if his face is covered for 3/4 of the film. He is so cool and sly as the villain that you end up rooting for him, knowing that it's the wrong thing to do. William Dafoe rounds out the supporting cast and along with Foster, doesn't have much screen time. This is forgivable because Washington and Owen are so good on the screen that you wish the story would stick with them.

Inside Man begins as an action thriller and takes a quick turn to something a little bit more sophisticated, once we get inside the bank with our captives. The film itself will make you want to try and plan your own "perfect robbery". Lee gives us a great heist film that I'm sure will be mentioned with the best of them. If Inside Man was a bit shorter...such as cutting out some "digging hole" scenes and a better wrap up, then it could have qualified for an early start to one of the year's best films. But for now it can just stay as being an entertaining heist flick....oh yeah, get ready to root for the bad guy.

8.5/10

thanks for the review.....looking forward to seeing this one tomorroow...

i just saw xmas with the kranks...not too bad, a lot like the book which i read at xmas time last year...but i never looked on tim allen's character as a scrooge type....but you've hit the nail on the head because i wasn't sure...

thanks for your reviews

Great reviews. Thanks