The Good: It was a great story. No two ways about it. Danny Glover plays an almost-down-and-out shop owner in New Jersey, and he pulls it off flawlessly. How?! I really don't know, but he does. His shop ($1 vhs rental / thrift store) is being threatened by the town's improvement committee (stupid $%^%@#) because it's just too old and run-down. He goes on a trip to the city to spy on a Hollywood Video store trying to get ideas on how to make his store better.
Enter Mos Def and Jack Black. Mos Def is a nice kid from the neighborhood that helps out at the store ($1 vhs rental / thrift store). He's left in charge for the week or so that the owner is gone. So far, so good. Jack Black is a (bless his heart) down-and-out loser with a good intentions and a small brain. And he is a comic GAWD! He's perfect for this role. (his camouflage skills are beyond reproach)
The Bad: Mos Def is a nice kid from the neighborhood that helps out at the store ($1 vhs rental / thrift store). I know I just said that a second ago, but it deserves repeating. Why, you ask? Well, here's the rub, Mos Def's character at the beginning of this film: D-U-M, stupid! I really did think he was playing a "special" kid from the 'hood. I even thought to myself "wow, he can pull off a mentally handicapped character really, really well." I was impressed. Then, as the movie progressed, he started getting smarter and smarter. Nothin' wrong with a little "hey-I-have-responsibility-now-so-I'll-grow-up-a-little" attitude. But all of that in the few short days that Danny Glover was out scouting? Unlikely. By the time the movie ended, I was thinking that MENSA would be showing up asking him to sign up. (or maybe just the DGA). So, what about the dee dee dee thing he was doing eariler? Was it a mistake? A bit of clever writing? We may never know.
The Ugly: Irv Gooch in drag.
Conclusion: Good idea. Good acting. Good sweding. Good movie. Good nite.
Be Kind. Rewind. (or just buy the dvd)
02.23.2008
10.55p 02.23.2008
Be Kind Rewind
Rave Motion Pictures Polaris 18 (click for online ticket purchase)
Synopsis
Jerry is a junkyard worker who attempts to sabotage a power plant he suspects of causing his headaches. But he inadvertently causes his brain to become magnetized, leading to the unintentional destruction of all the movies in his friend's store. In order to keep the store's one loyal customer, an elderly lady with a tenuous grasp on reality, the pair re-create a long line of films including The Lion King, Rush Hour, Ghostbusters, When We Were Kings, Back to the Future, Driving Miss Daisy, and Robocop, putting themselves and their townspeople into it. They become the biggest stars in their neighborhood.02.16.2008
10.45p 02.16.2008
Jumper
Rave Motion Pictures Polaris 18 (click for online ticket purchase)
Synopsis
David Rice has grown up with a mysterious power of which many have dreamed. He is completely and utterly mobile, able to zap through wormholes in the space-time fabric to any city, any building, any place at all that his mind desires. In the blink of an eye, he can "jump" from one side of the earth to the other and back again--he can tour twenty different sunsets in one night, he can have breakfast on the Egyptian Sphinx, spend the day surfing in Australia, then pop over to Paris for dinner and enjoy dessert in Japan. He can pass through walls and locked bank safes and enter the most forbidden chambers. So far, he has used his powers to run away from his past, to take advantage of unlimited wealth, to remain fiercely independent. He's never known limits or boundaries or consequences. Or true connection. Until now. But when David discovers another young man like himself, a fiery, globe trotting rebel named Griffin, the truth of his existence begins to dawn. He is not just a lone freak of nature, but part of a long line of genetic anomalies known as Jumpers, none of whom are safe. David has now been identified by the secret organization sworn to kill him and all Jumpers. And he is about to be relentlessly pursued in a chase that will literally bound around the planet--as he becomes a key player in an unseen battle that has been raging, invisible to most of humanity, through the ages.02.09.2008
10.55p 02.09.2008
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland
Rave Motion Pictures Polaris 18 (click for online ticket purchase)
Synopsis
On September 12, 2005 in Hollywood, California, Vince Vaughn took the stage at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood, California and began an unprecedented comedy tour featuring four stand-up comedians. In the spirit of the old west variety shows, Vaughn played host to the ensemble of comedians and performed improvisational sketches with surprise celebrity and musical guests. "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland" chronicles the journey of Vaughn and the comedians as travel over 6,000 miles and perform 30 shows in 30 consecutive nights in cities across the nation. The documentary gives audiences a rare opportunity to experience Vaughn and his team as bring their unique styles and perspectives to regional audiences throughout Western, Southern and Midwestern states. Through rousing on-stage performances and behind-the-scenes interviews, the engaging grass roots documentary breaks down the true essence of each comedian's life altering experiences and the personal and professional challenges that will unite four comics, one movie star and legions of fans from Hollywood to the Heartland.02.02.2008
10.55p 02.02.2008
Untraceable
Rave Motion Pictures Polaris 18 (click for online ticket purchase)
Synopsis
Within the FBI, there exists a division dedicated to investigating and prosecuting criminals on the internet. Welcome to the front lines of the war on cybercrime, where Special Agent Jennifer Marsh has seen it all--until now. A tech-savvy internet predator is displaying his graphic murders on his own website--and the fate of each of his tormented captives is left in the hands on the public: the more hits his site gets, the faster his victims die. When this game of cat and mouse becomes personal, Marsh and her team must race against the clock to track down this technical mastermind who is virtually untraceable.
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