film recommendations

its been a while since i've blogged and at the moment i can't be stuffed going into detailed examinations of films that are currently showing at the cinemas. so here's a list of a few films that i reckon you should go and check out:

DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY
stars vince vaughn, ben stiller, christine taylor
4/5
the premise of this film is probably a bit exhausted, but the cast and peripheral storylines make it such a memorable and quoteable film. vince vaughn plays peter lafluer, a laid-back kinda guy who runs the 'average joe' gym - but he hasn't collected any membership fees for over a year and is set to lose his gym to white goodman (played by ben stiller, who also produced the film). the members of average joe's gym set out ot make the $50k they need to save their beloved gym by entering into a dodgeball tournament. but goodman is equally determined to get the gym and enters his own team into the tournament as well.

vaughn's character is probably what most people could aspire to, and he plays him perfectly. his character develops as the film progresses and you soon realise that even those of such high character as pete lafluer can have bad days. ben stiller over-does his performance of psycho gym guru white goodman, but its all a bit of fun and most of the jokes hit the spot.

highly recommended.

SUDDENLY 30
stars jennifer garner, mark ruffalo
3.5/5

another teen wanting to be older. apparent yawn? well, thankfully jennifer garner's infectious enthusiasm and innate childish innocence makes this recycled concept enjoyable and fun. jenna rink (garner) is a plain jane, her 'friends' are all assholes and she wants boobs. on her 13th birthday her good friend matt (ruffalo) gets her some wishing dust and hey presto, she's transported to 2004 where she's a fashion editor and friends with madonna.

jenna has gotten everything she ever wanted but lost one thing in the process - her best friend matt. when she tries to find him she realises that a lot has changed since she was 13 and has plenty of catching up to do.

this is a fun kinda movie that lets us see that when jennifer garner isn't running down hallways in "alias" or leather-clad in "daredevil" (and the "elektra" spin-off out next year), she can just be a regular girl.

"suddenly 30" may not rock your world, but it might make it that much more enjoyable.

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
stars matt damon, brian cox
3.5/5

it's been a while since i saw the first film, but this one gave me the same feeling - pretty damn awesome. however, "the bourne supremacy" lacked something that i couldn't quite figure out. it had the car chase, the fight scenes, the interrogations and cat and mouse routine, yet it still didn't reach the peak that the first one did effortlessly.

in the sequel, jason bourne has gone into obscurity with girlfriend marie (franka potente) until another assassin kills some government guys and leaves bourne's prints at the scene. this initiates an elaborate plan to capture jason bourne.

but the chase also initiates bourne's crazy combat skills and it takes a lot more than walkie-talkies and product-placed mobile phones to stop him.

i'm sure you'll enjoy the film, but don't expect it to be as good as the first.

also, a few movies that i've pulled out of my dvd collection over the past week or two...

STAND BY ME
stars river phoenix, jerry o'connell, keifer sutherland
4/5

anyone who knows me knows that this could possibly be my all-time favourite movie. from director rob reiner comes a story about four friends who set off on a journey to find a dead kid's body. but more than that, they find themselves.

based on a book by stephen king, the film is from the perspective of gordy lachance (played by will wheaton and richard dreyfus (grown up)) and follows the boys - vern, chris, and teddy - as they travel along old harlow road. they deal with issues that all boys deal with, but the characters of chris and gordy allow the film to explore ideas and values that all people hold, and not just kids.

most of you will have seen this movie already and know what happens, but every time i watch it i get something more out of it. the child actors in the film present a remarkably realistic and authentic performance. jerry o'connell (vern), corey feldman (teddy), and the late river phoenix (chris) make this film monumental in all coming-of-age movies.

DAREDEVIL
stars ben affleck, jennifer garner, colin farrell
3.5/5

its not affleck's fault that this film didn't do well at the box office! in fact, i sometimes think that this film was one of his best performances. another comic to film, "daredevil" is about a kid who is blinded by toxic waste but his other four senses are given super-human acuteness. after the death of his father when he was 12, matt murdock (affleck) had sworn to protect those that the formal justice system had failed - in one way or another. a pro-bono lawyer by day, and a vigilante by night.

enter elektra (garner), the kingpin (michael clarke duncan), and bullseye (farrell) and you're in for a pretty crazy ride.

like i said before, a lot of people didn't like the film because ben affleck seemed to yuppie and/or pretty boyish to be a blind super-hero lawyer. but i think he pulled off the role believably, being both human and super-human.

so if you don't mind watching good-looking super-heros battling it out, "daredevil" is for you.

MONSTERS INC.
stars billy crystal, john goodman
4/5

the good ol' disney/pixar combination - unfortunate though that now their partnership as been dissolved. ahh well. "monsters inc." follows sully (goodman) and mike (crystal) as they approach a record-breaking level of scaring kids. see, they need to the screams from children in the human world to provide electricity to their own world - the monster world.

the turning point for the film is when a human child unwittingly enters the monster world, and all hell breaks loose. as sully and mike try to hide the child from the rest of their world, randall (steve buschemi) is plotting a scheme of monstrous proportions (lame pun, i know).

this is a light-hearted comedy that also plays with the emotions a bit. the animation is crisp and colourful, and the voice performances by all the cast are amazing. and if you're watching it on dvd, there's the dts sound that makes it all the more sweeter.


....well, i guess i did go into a bit a detail after all.

-LOki

HELLBOY

stars ron perlman, selma blair, rupert evans
4/5

i know, i know. you've seen trailer and immediately you think "some red guy running around fighting another 'greatest evil'". but trust me, this film is so much more than that.

ron perlman plays the title role, a demon from hell who was brought to earth by a portal created by the nazis, and raised by the FBI. yeah, its a kinda far-fetched but c'mon, it's a comic book. anyways, HB along with the FBI fight the things that go "bump in the night". enter john myers, a rookie FBI guy who has jsut been recruited to work for the bureau of paranormal research and defence (the BPRD). only when he first meets Big Red does he learn of his extence - up until then HB was a well kept secret of the FBI although there had been sightings of him.

the pair get off on a rocky start and myers soon questions why he is even there at all. but the father character in the film assures him that soon enough, his purpose will be clear.

then there's selma blair's character who is a pyrokenetic, meaning she can create fire using her mind. at the beginning of the film she has since left the bureau in search for normality in her life. but as the film progesses, she's brought back to the bureau and her purpose too, is realised.

initially i thought this film would be crap - i'd never heard of the comic before, and like i said before, its a huge red guy going around shooting up shit. but the film is amazing in the way it deals with human emotions, the choices people make, and the company we keep. director guillermero del toro (blade) has a fluid and dark way of presenting the story which i love, and the special effects are quite superb. but sfx aside, the origins of HB allow the film to explore what it is to be human and that what defines a man is not where he came from, but the choices he makes.

performances by all cast members were great, especially perlman being both the demonic HB, but at the same time being the average kinda guy who likes nachos and beer. the film is full of on-liners which is usually film suicide, but they work so well in this film that they've actually become a highlight.

-LOki

WALKING TALL falls short

stars the rock, johnny knoxville
3/5

as most of you can guess, a film staring a WWE wrestler can never attract high expectations. but for those of you who have seen "welcome to the jungle", also starring 'the rock', my above statement may nto be valid (that is, if you liked the fillm).

so i went to see "walking tall". the film is about a guy who comes back to his hown town after serving in the army, but the town he returns to isn't the same as the one he left. the old lumberyard has been closed down and a casino has become the economic backbone for this old country town. of course, some dodgy shit is going on.

the rock returns home and meets up with a bunch of old mates. its kinda cool in a way that the film highlights how each of them has changed over the years using minimal screen time. anyways, one of the friends is the owner of the casino and turns out the be the bad guy in the film.

that's the basic storyline though i haven't left much out. the film moves in a very linear and restricted way, having a definite beginning, middle, and end. no side stories. no exposition. this makes the characters seem cliched and two-dimensional but as i said before, my expectations weren't high to this film - which is why i actually enjoyed it.

like i said, the film is very straightforward and seems to end aburptly. but overall i had an alright time watching it and there was a refreshing performance by johnny knoxville. usually i can't stand the guy but in "walking tall" he was pretty cool. the film offers nothing more than energised entertainment and action, but sometimes that's exactly what some audiences are looking for.

looking at my ticket stubbs

following jase's excellent review on "i, robot" i thought i'd rummage through my ticket stubs of the past couple of weeks. i came across quite a few of them actually so i figure it would be better to post a seperate post for each film i'm gonna talk about.

here we go...

-loki