Underworld: Rise of the Lycans---Can't Wait...

Of Course this film hasn't come out yet.
I just wanna say how totally and completely happy I am that it's coming out at all.

Thank you Lakeshore International for answering all of my wishes and making this highly anticipated, fervently prayed-for, extremely looked-forward-to final trilogy installment.

The first one is one of my favorite films. I wondered what happened next, and how did the Lycans rise?
The second one disappointed, but showed me what kick-butt stuff happened next. It left me still wanting a prequel about how the Lycans rose...
This third one will be the prequel to end all prequels.

Rise of the Lycans seems to maintain the successful, fitting and dramatic directorial style of the first two.
It uses the same blues and dark shades that made the first two such feasts for the eyes.
And it's always difficult to make a prequel with stars who are 6 years older than they were when the first one came out.

It's also hard to resist the temptation to make the characters from the past have better technology than their descendants in the future...
Oh wait, no, that's stupid... who does THAT?

I wanna watch Quantum of Solace next week and then fast-forward to January 23rd so I can watch Underworld III.
And I want to go up to Rhona Mitra and tell her she's the new Robin Wright...
Random but true.

-MovieKnight

Skinwalkers---Werewolves Killin' Eachother

The credits for Skinwalkers aren't even half finished and I'm writing this.
I'm always skeptical of PG-13 horror movies, even after being scared witless by The Ring and The Grudge. I've always thought that a good horror movie should be rated R.
Skinwalkers wasn't supposed to be a horror movie though (despite the freaky cover art which was why I even gave this film a chance) as much as it is supposed to be a thriller.

-----SIDENOTE:
What the hell is a "thriller"?
Lets ask the Bible, aka, merriam-webster.com---
Thriller: a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure, or suspense.
End of SIDENOTE-----

I don't have much bad to say about Skinwalkers. It was a very well-done, well-cast thriller.
The acting was good sometimes and bad at other times, given the potential in this movie for intensity and dramatics. The characters frequently seemed to underplay what was happening to them.
It was good to see Ninja Turtles' hero Casey Jones (Elias Koteas) back in action though. He's a fav of mine...I'm bias towards friends of the Turtles...

The film brilliantly featured hotties Rhona Mitra (Doomsday star and star of upcoming Underworld :Rise of the Lycans), Natassia Malthe (from such instant classics as Bloodrayne II: Deliverance, DOA:Dead or Alive, and Elektra), and Sarah Carter (Final Destination II, DOA, and TV's Shark).

I also enjoyed watching TV's Sons of Anarchy star Kim Coates (not hot, Kim is a dude) packin' heat.

The rest of the cast were blackhorse, to me at least.

Oh and did I mention Skinwalkers is about werewolves and that vamps have NOTHING to do with it?
That's good to know cause I'm a huge vamp fan and the Skinwalkers' cover grabbed my interest. Wouldn't want ya to get confused like me.
No vamps in this film.
---Sorry Twilight fans. You still gotta wait 'til Nov 21st like the rest of us.

I recommend this movie, I liked it, but I can see others maybe not liking it. Something was missing. I never found myself rooting for the good guys, and it's important to get viewers behind ya on that...
I was more curious to see how it ended than I was hoping that good would prevail.
'Course, I'm a heartless bastard so what would I know?

Skinwalkers.
Werewolves killing each other.
'Nuf said right?

-MovieKnight

Felon---Dorff Beating Dudes Up

Stephen Dorff is Wade Porter; the honest family-man convicted of murdering a man who is robbing Porter's house.
I thought, at first, that this was a movie trying to push a message down my throat about how corrupt the penal system is; like some kind of adrenaline-powered Shawshank Redemption remake.
Not at all though. This movie is totally new and bold.
(And Shawshank was about a whole lot more than just our crap judicial system, of course)

Action-movie fans need to know; Felon needs to be on your watch-list.

If you saw this on the wall at Blockbuster it looks like some B-quality movie that managed to get a couple of big-time stars (Dorff, Val Kilmer, and Harold Perrineau from LOST) on the cover. But this movie is, in all reality, far from low-grade.
It's perfectly acted, the cinematography is simple and appropriate, and the story is full of violence.

Note: If you don't appreciate violence in films then don't see this movie.

Porter finds himself in deep crap before he even gets off the prison bus, and he keeps sinking deeper as he finds himself trapped in a corrupt "cock-fight" gambling ring the guards throw using the more dangerous prisoners.

Believable and far-fetched?
Heck no.

Felon keeps it real, keeps it bloody, and is totally enjoyable for dudes of all ages (17 and up...).

So if your in the rental store and see a B-quality-looking film called Felon; grab it and watch it.
It'll make you wanna punch your friends.

-MovieKnight

The Strangers---Scared Me

That's right, The Strangers scared the crap out of me.

I don't know what the actual crime scene that this movie was based on looked like, but I feel bad for the victims.

I was scared the whole way through.
If any visitors had tried to visit my home during this film they'da got a gun in the face AT LEAST:
"Is Tamara there?"
"*BLAM!*"
That's how it woulda gone.

If you are looking for a horror movie that will make your girlfriend rip the pocket off your shirt, stretch your collar, or just generally claw at you in terror, then The Strangers is it.

It scared ME.
I shouldn't have watched it alone...

-MovieKnight

PS-The acting was ok. Liv Tyler was good.

Revolver---Original, yet, Predictable

I'm a huge Jason Statham fan, can't lie, so I'll try not to be biased.

I just checked, and this movie was made in 2005... so why was it on Blockbuster's New Release wall?
Either way I watched it and liked it a lot.
It had plenty of action, surprises, and enough plot to confuse a...lesser individual.

The film did try to be artsy farsty a few times, and that's not the kind of thing Revolver fans would be particularly looking for. The artsy parts left me rolling my eyes going, "OK, I get it, there's depth, there's depth, now SOMEBODY SHOOT SOMEBODY!!!"

Ray Liotta was great too. His character was unbelievable though, only because he was so incompetent and, yet, manages to be rich, powerful, and feared...most of the time.
Maybe that ISN'T so unbelievable...

I'm proud of myself that I predicted the ending too. I won't give it away, but I will say that the ending left me with a feeling like I'd seen this ending before.

-MovieKnight

Red---Small but Steady

I kinda like these movies that aren't about the world ending, or some massive government conspiracy.
No, Red keeps things small and simple.
Red is about an old man, Avery Ludlow (Brian Cox from The Bourne Identity, Supremecy, The Ring, and X2) who's dog, Red, is murdered point-blank by a gutless teen with something to prove.
The film follows Ludlow as he tries to seek legal justice for the murder of his best friend.
The law, of course, lets him down.
That's enough spoilers.

The characters were all well cast.
Tom Sizemore (from Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor, and Black Hawk Down) plays the gutless teens spineless, enabling father. He does a good job being a piece-of-crap person, esp since I've only seen him play more heroic types in war movies.
Noel Fisher's (Hostage) portrayal of "Danny MacCormack" was the best. He plays the cowardly, out-of-control teenage boy who shoots Ludlow's dog for sport. The entire movie I wanted to lash out and knock Noel's head in. I realize that's cause he did such a good job in the role.

It starts well, the story stays interesting throughout, and it ends differently than I'd expected.

-MovieKnight

Hancock---Totally Different

If you think Hancock is just a comedy about a drunk superhero then think again.
Hancock is different from every superhero movie I've ever seen.
If you've seen the previews then you only know a piece of what's coming in this comedy/action/drama.
I want to tell you the story but I won't.
You're welcome, and you'll enjoy it more this way.

I'll tell you that Hancock might very well be Will Smith's best performance ever.
He does it all in this film.
I've never seen an actor be so divers in a movie, making me laugh one minute, exploding with action the next, and wrapping it up with powerful emotion.
I haven't ever seen an actor apply Method-acting to a superhero so affectively.
Does that make sense?
I mean, where would Will Smith go to learn how a superhero should react emotionally?
How did he do his homework so well?
He broke my heart in several scenes. He was amazing.

Also in this film were Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman (together again after the final season of Arrested Development!). Charlize was hot as always, and Jason Bateman was excellent.

An interesting point about this movie was how so many of the scenes seemed partially ad-libbed. Some of it felt very unscripted and off-the-cuff. It was all executed well though, and added a natural feel to the movie that helped me fall into it.

My only complaints were regarding those things that are never explained. Movies don't have to explain themselves ENTIRELY, but some occurrences in the film were out of place to me. I still think there's a hole or two in the plot, which only matters because they're big, important holes, and the filmmakers seemed to make a lot of effort to keep things "real".

I'm left wondering to myself......."sequel?" I can't decide yea or nay.

A warning for families though:
This film contained way more swearing (lots of a-holes and humorous f-bomb) than I expected. It would have been so easy to do without the swearing, even though the writers tried to incorporate it into the plot.
It didn't bother me much, but I'm a 25-year-old, single dude... nothing bothers me.

But yeah, I've seen it 4 times now and it's great.

-MovieKnight