FilmRoar

I wondered what sorry state of affairs would bring me to watch this movie. I now know: being stuck in a plane for four hours. As the movie was announced I decided that I would rather spend two hours watching a crap film than sitting there bored. I also thought that I would have the first film to get a ‘0 – Stinker’ on Film Roar. It turns out that while Kangaroo Jack is far from a great movie it is actually at times quite a bit of fun. Oh sure the story is crap and the stereotypes abundant, but Jerry O’Connell has great screen charisma and the digitally animated Kangaroo is rather amusing.

On a rather disturbing side note, a sequel to this flick is already being planned. O’Connell and Anthony Anderson have already signed on to a sequel set in Vegas titled “KJ2: Jack Is Back”.

After watching X2 (2003), I thought I would go back and watch the original X-Men (2000) movie. Like the sequel, X-Men is an action packed popcorn flick extravaganza. The action is just right, the one-liners funny and the script just serious enough to be rewarding while not taking itself too seriously to be amusing.
Read the rest of this entry »

I just watched Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) in a theater and I must say I was a bit disappointed. I believe that the disappointment is solely my fault, as the movie delivered everything it promised, lots of guns, people being shot and a touch of sex appeal. I do not know what it is that I was expecting from Writer/Director Robert Rodriguez, by now I should know that he is a good commercial director of action flicks, nothing more and learn to check my expectations at the door.
Read the rest of this entry »

I managed to get a hold of another set of Underworld Pictures for everyone to enjoy. And yes, this time we do get a picture of one of the Werewolves!
Read the rest of this entry »

With six days to go the early reviews for Underworld (2003) have startled to trickle in, and the reviews are mixed. Copernicus over at Ain’t It Cool News says it was so bad he walked out on it, Michael Rechtshaffen from the Hollywood Reporter seemed under impressed, the The Onion A.V. Club says that “Underworld is gorgeous to look at but sorely lacking in all other areas” while Brenda Cullin at Empire Movies said she came to it with low expectations and enjoyed what she saw. Overall the feeling seems to be one of ‘ignore the bad pacing and bad writing, and just enjoy watching Beckinsale run around in tight leather and shoot her guns’. I still think I will be there opening weekend, but now I know to check my expectations at the door.

I think my friend Sven said it best when he commented after seeing Russkij Kovcheg [Russian Ark] (2002): “Well, I have that satisfied feeling of having met my Art Film quota for the month”. However in talking the film over it was clear that the meaning of the film sailed right over our heads. Very beautiful and highly artistic this journey through the last 200 years of Russian history, as seen through the eyes of a French aristocrat walking through the Russian State Hermitage Museum, seems to require a degree in Russian studies to be understood. The movie is never the less quite beautiful and worth seeing solely for the free tour of the magnificent building and for the technical accomplishment of shooting a full two hour movie in a single shot.

How can you loose with John de Lancie back as the interminable Q? TNG: Q Who has one of my favorite Star Trek moments where the omnipotent Q shrinks away in fear of Guinan while telling Picard “you have no idea what you have brought onboard your ship, she is not what she appears to be”. Q afraid of the mysterious Guinan? That had me so exited to find out what he was referring to, a moment that I am sorry to say never came.