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Under discussion:

No Country for Old Men  (2007)

No Country for Old Men is one of those movies I tell my friends that you’ll either love or hate. To be honest, I’m not sure how to go about writing this review. As a writer -and an avid movie watcher- I like movies/stories that take different routes, and aren’t afraid to take the road less traveled. I usually scream with joy when I see something unravel in front of my eyes that seem fresh and new. No Country for Old Men uses this technique when it comes to the overall story arc. The problem is, as a viewer who paid money to watch it, I feel cheated. Hell, I was damn right angry.

Let me digress and explain, (I wont go into any details that will ruin the story for those who have not watched it {I hate spoilers}) but lets say you pay your hard earned money to follow a story arc about two people, and for some reason the story takes a sudden jerk from the conventional path (something normally I would praise, as conventional anything is just another phrase for stale and unoriginal) and when you meet back up with the two people, something very drastically has occurred and you the viewer got to witness nothing but the aftermath. I was pissed. In fact this was the only movie I had ever watched where the entire movie theater booed the ending.  WTF?

 I understand the argument that the movie was not centered on these two men batling, but rather around the old man who narrates and his struggle with finding his place in a new strange world. And i will admit Jones was amazing in his role. 

 This is where I am torn. This movie was fantastic for the first three-fourth of it. It’s filled with action and well timed humor, the subtle type of humor that does not neglect the seriousness of the situation, and is dark enough to feel real. The characters are so well played and created that I wasn’t even sure who I wanted to route for, despite one being much more vile and evil then the other.

 If this movies last half hour had been portrayed differently, this easily would have been one of the best movies I have seen in years, up there with Pans Labyrinth even. Unfortunately, I can’t get past that one scene. If you’ve seen this flick, then I’m sure you know what I’m speaking of.

 That’s all I have for N.C.F.O.M. I’m sorry if this review seems a little bit on the rambling side, I had a really hard time writing it and trying to explain the sequence of events without spoiling anything. In a nut shell, if you fell under all the hype this movie garnered, then just ready yourself for potential disappointment.

Under discussion:

Doom  (2005)

Let me start by saying I have only played a little of the doom franchise, most notably Doom 3. So writing this review I won't be heavily relating it towards the games, as I don't know that much about them to compare. I will say that I heard a lot of negative feedback about this flick and that I don't feel like it's getting the recognition it deserves. I also feel that once a game franchise is made into movies it more often then not carries with it an unfair disadvantage.

Let me start by saying Doom is much more then just a sci-fi action flick, it touches on so many well rounded themes that really get over shadowed by the  fact it is a "video game movie, staring a former pro wrestler". If you look into the story arc you will find a plethora of deep and intriguing elements. One of the most dominant themes in the story follows the concept of mans endless need for technology and science, which ultimately in this movie unlocks a hellish nightmare. There's a lot to be said about this concept of science and how it may someday lead to the end of mankind, how far is too far, can the balance between science and faith be kept equal?  

Speaking of faith, the religious theme is strong throughout the movie, especially seen in the character the Goat, who is a walking icon for both Christianity and the argument for faith over science. This gets even trickier once this character faith fails him and he is ultimately "converted" into one of the demons. I could right a ten-page review over that theme alone, luckily for you I wont, but what I will say is that is a damn interesting sub plot to dive into. There's more too, what about that concept of hierarchy and unlimited devotion to your government that is contrasted by the two main characters, one of which is played by the Rock who did a superb job with his character.

Granted at times there was a fair share of corniness that I could have done without. I would have rather seen more demonic hellish creatures that the run of the mill zombie feel they threw in for the majority of the movie. The first person perspective towards the end of the movie was cool for those who played the game, but it was a little too long for my taste.

Ultimately I think this movie deserves much more credit then what it seems to get. If you are sitting down for cheap thrills and gore, yea that’s there and you should find your fix. But for those of us who like to sit down knit-pick about movies and stories, there is so much underneath the radar you could have a field day picking them out. It's unfortunate   that I think a lot of people won't pick up on the deeper meanings.   

Under discussion:

Thirteen  (2004)

Thirteen was a solid attempt at early teen drama. It however pales in comparison to the movie “Kids” which takes the cake for its edginess and willing to go that extra mile to leave that after taste of “what the hell did I just watch” in your mouth. I had a few minor issues with the camera work done. I’m not a fan of the style they used and at times felt like it took away from the movie. In the end I will say it was worth the two hours I spent watching it, but in the end it is forgettable.  

Under discussion:

Hot Fuzz  (2007)

I heard rumors that Hot Fuzz was “four times” better then Shaun of The Dead from a few of my good friends. Let’s just say I once again fell into the hype, much like I did with Spider-Man 3. Luckily I didn’t leave my local theater kicking and screaming, however I was a tad disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, largely I enjoyed this action/mystery/thriller/comedy. The cinematography was delightful and I will give the starring duo team their credit, their performances were outstanding. Knowing this movie was being billed as an action comedy I will say on both separate accounts they failed to deliver to my expectations. I only found myself chuckling out loud on a few separate occasions. I will say however the duo’s banter kept a smile on my face almost completely throughout the film. For the action sequences I also feel as if they dropped the "proverbial" ball. We have some grotesque death scenes, but when it comes down to the actual cop versus bad guy shoot em’ up scenes they seemed to want to go down the PG-13 route. So you get this mix of over the top gore to “instead of shooting the old hag through the head let’s shoot a chandelier to fall on her instead, scaring her more then hurting her”. It’s already an “R” rated movie, why not go all the way with it? I also felt like at times the movie tried too hard to take itself too seriously. Shaun of the Dead played off the seriousness and silliness beautifully; Hot Fuzz fizzled a bit. In the end i thinkt his movie had a lot of redeemign qualities of it, but a few key issues that prevent me from honoring it with five stars.

Under discussion:

300  (2007)

There’s no denying the pure beauty of 300’s imagery. For visual sake I would no doubt give this movie top honors, unfortunately a movie can’t be judged merely on its visual appeal. If you thought 300 had a good story, then you’re basically a dumb bastard. No seriously. If you couldn’t unravel the entire plot line from the first twenty minutes of the movie (with or without any prior knowledge of the mythos) then you shouldn’t be able to hold a job long enough for you to pay the ten dollars it costs to see this movie in theaters. The plot was trite and unoriginal. The only thing that saved this movie’s merit is its wonderful ability to entirely suck its audience in with is imagery. Beyond its visual flair and amazing fighting scenes, this movie offered nothing more then a few yawns. Once the fighting stopped, so did my interest.  

Under discussion:

Disturbia  (2007)

Disturbia is a nice walk down the “good but not great” street that is Hollywood. I’ll say this Shia LeBouf was way better then I ever expected, and from this performance alone is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine. For being billed as a thriller, I think it falls short. The whole “possible next door killer” plot seemed to be the least interesting aspect of the film. I found myself enjoying the witty dialogue and the aspect of how one must cope with the isolation of house arrest much more entertaining. It is because of this that I think the film delivered over my expectations. Normally I cringe at this type of film falling under the PG-13 rating, but this one really pulled it out well. In whole, the story was nothing new and added no new twist to its inherited text. Yet in the end I couldn’t help but to walk away from the theater with a content feeling.