Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium was not the movie I wanted to review this weekend. I had no desire to see it because the trailers have been horrible, and the buzz has been worse. I went by myself to a matinee so I could give my international friends a “heads up”. I must have looked like a ped going into this movie alone; and buying a lone tab energy drink at the concession stand probably did not help my defense.

The movie focuses on Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) the eccentric tinkerer, Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) the store manager, Henry Weston (Jason Bateman) the accountant and Eric Applebaum (Zach Mills) the lonely kid that plays with toys all the time.

The story follows the Magorium’s transition of store ownership to Molly Mahoney, in order to do this, an accountant is needed and that is where we are introduced to Henry Weston. The sentient store seems to flourish because of Magorium’s presence and when his departure nears, the pouty building begins to act up and the “magic” of the place fades away.

The Good

The store itself was like something that would be run by Pee Wee Herman. It had tons of moving toys, magical books and other mystical phenomena that customers just seemed to accept as normal. As a character in the movie, the store was never explained enough for me to understand the mood swings - but it was neat to see. Kids may enjoy the film for all the eye candy and the film includes life lessons for both young and old.

The Bad

Every five minutes it seems like gears are being shifted into a life lesson or moral. The music slows down and people reveal something to one another that will help them along the game of life. Not only does this get annoying but it is the same life lessons over and over; Don’t give up on your youth, Believe in yourself, The power is in you, Chase your dreams. We are pounded with these sentimental moments and seldom are we entertained. Magorium will start to get ridiculous and then slam out of gear into endearing mode.

The story just always seem to stall, for most of the movie you are just hanging around some people in a toy store as they encourage each other, and deal with their problems. Nothing bothered me greatly, but viewing this film was akin to watching a nice family eat at Denny’s.

Overall

This is a movie that kids may enjoy if they have low expectations or really enjoy it when toys come to life. You should probably wait for this on rental, and see Beowulf this weekend. 4/10

I had been looking forward to ’30 Days of Night’ since the beginning of this year. It has been on my top five must see film list of 2007, and once I heard David Slade was directing, (director of last year’s amazing indie, ‘Hard Candy.’) I was ecstatic and counting the days until the highly anticipated vampire movie was released.

For the very few people out there who don’t know what the movie is about, it’s about a small Alaskan town which is going into their month of darkness. During this time, a large group of bad ass vampires arrive to the town to feast on an “all you can eat” buffet of locals.

So was ’30 Days of Night’ worth biting your teeth into, or was it another critical failure from ‘GhostHouse Pictures’? Read on for details.

THE GOOD

A lot of people were worried that Josh Hartnett was not right for this horror film, (even though he excelled in his performances in ‘H20’ and ‘The Faculty’) but he was able to give a solid performance as the strong Sheriff Eben Olemaun. He was also able to make me forget that essentially he was too young for the role he had to play.

The other actor that also stood out was Ben “scene-stealer” Foster, as the Renfield-like character that brings the mayhem to the small town. He didn’t have much to do, but when he was onscreen, all eyes were on him.

Now let me say, the vampires in this film are by far the scariest vampires I have EVER seen onscreen. The make up was amazing and quite impressive. Kudos to the people responsible for the special effects. They definitely exceeded all my expectations!

The best character however in the film was the small town itself. It provided a great and unique setting for a vampire film, (even though I had already seen this done in last year’s Swedish Vampire flick, ‘Frostbiten’) and I felt just as isolated as the characters for I knew that there was NO ESCAPE for them until daylight finally came.

Although the most bold thing about this movie was the minimal use of a score. (Something rarely done in mainstream horror films) The uncomfortable quietness throughout matched the somber and dark mood of the film, and made some scenes very unsettling to watch. (Particularly one attack on a couple in their home.)

THE BAD

For a movie that has possibly the scariest looking vampires ever seen on film, it sure was lacking in the “scares” department. In fact, the vampires were also revealed WAY too early into the film, which unfortunately took away any elements of mystery to them.
I wish the filmmaker had used the vampires to their full advantage instead of taking the easy route and polluting the film with many mainstream “boo” scares.

Also, a lot of the action sequences were a huge disappointment. Most of the sequences were shot way too fast, and the audience is only revealed truly great and effective “money shots” of the violence near the climax of the film.

Additionally, I felt the title of the movie should have been changed from ’30 Days of Night’ to ‘One horribly LONG night’ because that’s what it felt like. Several days pass off-screen, and the only change we see with the characters is Josh Hartnett’s beard (or should I say ‘neatly groomed goatee with slight stubble’) keeps getting thicker. We don’t see any effects or tolls the situation has been taking on the characters. Unfortunately, because of the lack of character exposition, I found it hard to feel for any of the supporting cast who eventually became late night snacks for the vampires.

OVERALL

’30 Days of Night’ is not a perfect film by any means, but it is by far one of the best (if not the best) vampire movies in the past decade. Despite its flaws, it still made for an enjoyable time in the theatres. I congratulate ‘GhostHouse Pictures’ for finally making a decent and solid horror film. Bring on the ‘Dark Days’ sequel!

I give this film a rating of 7 out of 10.

As horrible as the previous film, Resident Evil:Apolcalypse was, I was still looking forward to the third (and “supposedly” final) installment to the horror series based off the popular video games which have all been successful at the box office. (Zombies, a former supermodel kicking ass, and the devastatingly hot Oded Fehr…you can’t go wrong, right?)

The synposis for the film is that the Umbrella Corp has been cloning Alice (Milla Jovovich) numerous times and killing the clones to obtain the blood for the cure to the T-Virus Outbreak which has now affected the entire world.

The real Alice (who has been on the run since escaping the Umbrella Corp in the last film) meets up with friends Carlos (Oded Fehr) and L.J. (Mike Epps) and a group of survivors who are under the command of Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and they are all trying to find a way to get to Alaska, a place where presumably no infection and outbreak has occurred.

Now knowing all this information beforehand, I was expecting a movie that was a mix between Mad Max and Day of the Dead. However, what I got instead was only a movie twice as good as its predecessor….and unfortunately, that’s not saying much.

THE GOOD

Two words. Milla Jovovich. She is the best part of the previous films, and continues to shine in the third installment with her impressive fighting skills and her strong heroine presence. She kicks a lot of zombie ass in this film and it seems that the movie is only interesting when she’s onscreen. (Well..and Oded Fehr, but that’s purely for eye candy reasons for yours truly) Honestly, I think it’s going to be hard for the films to be distributed theatrically
if they continue the RE sequels without her character.

Besides Milla, the other notable stars of the movie were the flesh eating monsters themselves. The CGI effects and the look of the zombies were quite impressive. (They beared a similar look to George Romero’s zombies in Land of the Dead)

The director Russell Mulcahy (of “Highlander” fame) also did a serviceable job and shot two particularly well done action sequences involving a scene that pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ with characters being attacked by zombie crows, and a sequence where the protagonists get attacked by a large group of smarter, stronger and evolved zombies.

Fans will also like the many scenes that pay tribute to both the previous films and the videogames.

THE BAD

The film introduces a large number of people the audience is supposed to care about, yet were all hardly developed to care if they lived or not. (Seriously, most of these characters get bumped off so quick, you don’t even have time to learn their names!) The only characters besides Alice you might find yourself caring about are the other two survivors from the previous film, Carlos and L.J, and even they are hardly onscreen as much as they should have been.

The film also drags a bit, and for those thinking they’re going to watch a film all about zombies, think again. The movie spends way too much time with the Umbrella Corporation and not enough time scaring their audience.

The movie is polluted with cheap jumper scares and has very few effective ones, making this film a very forgettable experience in my opinion.

OVERALL

If you’re a fan of the previous ‘Resident Evil’ films, then you will probably have a lot of fun with this one. However, if you’re like me and was not too impressed by the previous installments, then wait for DVD or avoid this film all together. Resident Evil:Extinction is a horror film that only disappointed me because it just didn’t live up to its full potential. There were many great ideas to work with, but the filmmakers and writer decided to take the half-assed route instead with the narrative and the thrills. Sure, there are a few notable scenes, but in the end, it just left an awful taste of undead flesh in my mouth.

I give this film a rating of 6 out of 10.

It’s September, which means it’s time for the kids to go back to school, time for the leaves to change color, and time for the vengeful vigilantes to come out and play. Death Sentence is a movie about an ordinary man (Kevin Bacon) who is pushed to limits when he exacts revenge on the gang members who killed his son. It is also the third directorial effort by the young James Wan. (The man who brought us the original SAW and the abysmal Dead Silence) After Dead Silence, I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to go out and spend money on yet another one of his movies in theatres, but after watching Death Sentence I can honestly say that James Wan is on the way to making a great film….he’s just not quite there yet.

THE GOOD:

Two Words. Kevin f*cking Bacon. (Oops! I guess that’s three.) Without the strong presence of such a great actor, Death Sentence would have lost my interest very early on. I felt the unbelievable sadness he carried with him because of the loss of his son, and I felt the uncontrollable rage he let out on the gang members. I was rooting for him, and I wanted the gang members to suffer.

Also, an almost unrecognizable Garrett Hedlund (from Troy and Four Brothers) played a very convincing villain as the gang’s leader. Sure his performance was a bit over the top, (as were most of the performances) but it was perfect for what this movie was trying to be; a gritty throwback grindhouse film.

This movie also has one of the best chase sequences I have EVER seen onscreen. It’s intense and incredibly effective as it is all done in one uninterrupted shot. This scene (as well as its engaging parking lot showdown) will definitely be something Wan will be praised for, for years to come.

THE BAD:

Death Sentence was entertaining for the first two thirds of the movie, but then it made a dramatic turn in the last half hour that made me want to get up and leave the theatre immediately.

After the initial shock, I tried to give the rest of the movie the benefit of the doubt, but it just got worse as it become more over the top and cheesier by the second.

In my opinion, what made the first hour of the film so good was that the audience could actually relate to Nick Hume’s (Kevin Bacon) character and to his awful situation. It’s believable that he would be able to push himself to the limit to avenge and protect his family. But then to make his character rapidly transform into a modern day Rambo in the last half hour was just pushing it. (I can only suspend my disbelief so far.)

Also, because Kevin Bacon is such a great actor, he managed to play the role straight even through the corny and over the top last act. This caused many unintentional laughs in the audience.

Now keep in mind, I wouldn’t be complaining about any of the cons in Death Sentence if it actually was a full-blown throwback to the 80’s vigilante genre. The problem is the film tries to be something so much more than it should be. The tone of the film always changed and it sent me on a tailspin of emotions. It was In The Bedroom meets Death Wish, and the combination does NOT mesh well.

OVERALL:

Death Sentence kicks off with a bang and ends with a whimper due to its lack luster finale. Now don’t get me wrong, I found it very entertaining, (especially the kills) but at the end I was disappointed. Not because the movie sucked, (because it’s far better than the crap I had to endure through this summer) but because it had the potential from being a mediocre film to being a great film. It’s definitely one to catch on DVD, and it’s also definitely an improvement for up and coming director, James Wan.

I give this film a rating of 6.5 out of 10

Last night I was invited to the sneak preview of Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and before the film had even started, I was nervous as hell. I had heard both good and bad things about this film, and I was so worried that it wasn’t going to meet my expectations. I think Rob Zombie has a growing talent when it comes to directing and if he failed with this project, it could be damaging to his budding film career. After watching the film, I had a sigh…..of RELIEF! Rob Zombie did us Halloween fans right! Yes!

THE GOOD:
My biggest reservation about the film before going to see it was Zombie’s decision to delve into the infamous Michael Myers’ childhood and how he became to be the legendary boogeyman that terrorizes Haddonfield. I always thought this was going to be a bad idea, because I always thought Myers should stay an enigma and I didn’t want to feel sorry for him. As I was watching the beginning, I realized that wasn’t Zombie’s intentions at all. True, Myers comes from a broken home. His mother is a stripper, (played by Sheri Moon Zombie) her abusive and crippled boyfriend (played by the great William Forsythe) lives with them, and his sister is a slut. Although, he doesn’t come from the best home, it’s apparent that his family is not responsible for creating the monster that lives inside him. It’s still a mystery as to why a young Myers (played brilliantly by newcomer Deag Faerch) snaps and becomes the unstoppable killing machine. You can’t relate to this character, nor do you feel sorry for him, and the unspeakable things he does to his family at the beginning are quite disturbing and gripping.

Fans will also like the fact that this movie is filled with genre favorites. We get cameo appearances from Clint Howard, Brad Dourif, Dee Wallace, Ken Foree, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, and even a dude from The Monkees!

But the best part about this film was Zombie’s ability to effectively fool the audience. After the origin of Michael Myers, the story follows the young Laurie Strode and her friends like it did in the original Halloween. The audience gets hit with a pang of nostalgia as Zombie takes us on similar paths and lets us witness similar death scenes. However, just when you think the film is going the same way as the original film, Zombie pulls the rug from right under the audience, and takes you on a completely different and terrifying path that made most Halloween fans in the theatre jump, scream and cheer.

Even though he changed quite a few things with his re-imagining of Halloween, Rob Zombie was smart enough to keep certain things the same. The score is dead on with John Carpenter’s legendary and unforgettable score from earlier Halloween films. Fans will appreciate the fantastic look of Michael Myers’ mask (It’s nothing like the horrible mask we saw in H20) and they will also appreciate the shots of the boogeyman lurking in the shadows. (These scenes had the audience applauding!)

THE BAD:
I can’t believe I’m going to write this, but the weakest parts in the film (which I thought would have been the strongest parts) were surprising the leads. Now don’t get me wrong, Malcolm McDowell did an awesome job onscreen. He was likable; he even got a few laughs, and was very sincere as Dr. Samuel Loomis. I just didn’t feel like he had put the same life and energy that the late Donald Pleasance once had. I know that McDowell had some pretty big shoes to fill, but I just didn’t believe him to be the true counterpart to Michael Myers.

Newcomer Scout-Taylor Compton as Laurie Strode was great when it came to her showdown with her killer brother, but before that, she was way too annoying for words. She had me PRAYING that Zombie would speed the film up and just get to the horror already. (Thankfully he did.)

Although, I had no problem with Tyler Mane’s portrayal as Michael Myers, a lot of fans will not like the fact that he looks superhuman and that he moves at a quick pace. The main reason why Michael Myers was so scary in the first place, was because he looked like an ordinary man and that he moved like one. Although, he’s super scary in this film, the creepiness factor is not there anymore.

Last but not least, Michael Myers’ origin scenes did run a tad too long for my liking, but considering the kickass second half of the film, all was forgiven.

OVERALL:
Finally, a horror remake done right! Rob Zombie created a chilling and disturbing companion piece to the original Halloween that fans will not want to miss. I personally want to thank the man for re-creating an unforgettable theatrical experience for people like myself who were too young to watch the original film in theatres years ago. I now have a memorable theatre experience I will be able to brag about to my children, (when I have them that is) just like my parents had bragged to me about their experience of first watching the original Halloween on the big screen. Well done Mr. Zombie! I am eagerly looking forward to your next project!

I give this film a rating of 8 out of 10.