David Carradine RIP

At the age of 72, actor and iconic star David Carradine has died in what some are calling at this time an apparent suicide. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Most will remember David as the shadowy "BILL" from Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. I will always remember him as I first knew him: as the wanderer Kwai Chang Caine from the Kung Fu television series.

He was a great actor.
He will be missed.

5 Things to like about the movie "STAR TREK"

I read the reviews of other movie critics. It is a time honored tradition with me. I read Roger Ebert's criticism of the movie STAR TREK and was slightly perturbed by his less than stellar review of it.

Ever since STAR TREK 2: The Wrath of Khan and TV spin offs like "Enterprise", I have been waiting for this series to redeem itself.

It has been a long wait. After reading Ebert's review, me and a friend went to see the new Star Trek film. I was astounded by how wonderful and fun it was, particularly because I had expected to be bored out of my mind with a wounded, cliched, over drawn plot and wooden acting by youthful and sexy actors new to the franchise. I was wrong and so was Ebert.

I am not an expert, Mr Ebert, but what we have on our hands is a great sci fi film. And here are my 5 reasons why anyone who has not seen it should:

1. The story line, while a bit predictable and self serving, was highly engaging. What do you expect with time travel? For history not to repeat itself. And it doesn't.

2. The Villian: Eric Bana plays Nero a Romulan who goes back in time to destroy Vulcan (and Earth) and avenge the death of his entire planet by killing anyone who gets in his way. A true to life Star Trek Villian if there ever was much like the late Ricardo Montalban's Khan. He runs throughout the film with complete tunnel vision with his only objective being vengeance.

3. The Characters: Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) a young man, half human and half Vulcan, who is as much conflicted with himself as he is conflicted with a young impulsive James Tiberius Kirk (played by Chris Pine). Both young men acted out the rivalry very well. Zoe Saldana plays Uhura very well. She moves between being the no nonsense, object of desire for Kirk and the tender love interest of Spock very well. Her gentleness brought out the humanity in a Spock, a character that is supposed to supress his emotions. Rounding out the cast are Anton Yelchin, Karl Urbin, John Cho and Simon Pegg as Chekov, Dr. "Bones" McCoy, Zulu, and (my favorite from the series) Mr. Scotty respectively.

4. JJ Abrahms. The guy who brought us CLOVERFIELD is apparently like Timex. He just keeps on ticking. He has taken the old and made it new. Hopefully there will be a sequel to this latest venture. I am actually interested in the characters again.

5. Leornard Nimoy. As a 129 year old Spock, the guy still has it.

Deforest Kelley, and James Doohan I think would have been proud of how this movie turned out.

As a fan, I know I am throughly satisfied. Mr. Ebert, this was not a C+ film. I give it an A.

Trailer: Away We Go

I love John Krasinski. I love writer David Eggers. I love director Sam Mendes. So when I saw the trailer for Away We Go, it was like a threesome from heaven. And throughout the trailer, there are some great additional cast members. This movie looks like the new indie sensation!

Public Enemies Trailor

5 movies worth renting or revisiting.

A lot of cinema from 2008 is now available for rental or purchase. And I predict that I will be doing a lot more renting this year. Truthfully, I think I am above the hype of it all, and so far I have not seen anything trailer wise to look forward too.

That said, here is my top 5 reasons to stay home with a rental.

5. Pineapple Express Very Funny film. I could not stop laughing. So much so, that I had too recommend the film to my biggest supporter, my mom. She is going to love the antics of James Franco and Seth Rogan, I am almost sure of it.

4. Jersey Girl Ok Ok. I liked it. It was not Kevin Smith's finest hour, but I do believe the film had a lot of heart. The little girl was adorable, and a liked the clever way Sweeney Todd was included into the plot.

3. The Midnight Meat Train A bloody good show. Atmospherically terrifying and definitely gross. I will never ride an El or Metra Train by myself again. Clive Barker is back in horror and this movie proves it.

2. War Inc. Bizarre characters and an even more plot, though not far fetched. This movie made me think about the nature of what runs our government and the real reasons behind the scenes of things.

1. Zack and Miri This was actually heartwarming. I actually cared what happened to Zack and Miri. The only thing I did not like was that the film seemed to end so abruptly. I mean, do they ever finish the porno? Of course, the movie isn't a Titanic quality star crossed love story. It was to realistic for that bullshit.

Well, thus ends my personal trip down memory lane. What is yours?

Friday the 13th: A Review

This movie, after all the glorious hype, is an automatic rental. Don't see it in the theaters. Rent it.

That is my ultimate recommendation. Why? Because it regurgitated the same old ideas over and over again with little zeal and even less originality.

Think back to a little movie called SCREAM: What are the 3 rules in order to survive a horror movie? 1. Don't have sex. 2. Don't use drugs or imbibe alcohol. Hell, the only rule "technically" not broken was 3 because no one ever used the words "I will be right back.". But 1 and 2 where broken within the first few minutes of the film.

I could give damn about single character in this film, though I found it odd that Whitney continued to survive, I also found it laughable that she looked like Jason's mother. Obvious plot twist alert.

So where did this leave me? Unamused, unprovoked and not scared.

Positives:

1. The new Jason is very tall, very sleek and wickedly strong. He doesn't walk after his victims, he runs. An unstoppable killing machine at its finest.

2. The music in the film was choice alt rock and one early eighties throwback.


Negatives
1. The saga of the token black character continues with blatantly obvious reverse racism used against his white friends. "What, because I am black, I am not allowed to like Green Day?" I will say the poor bastard did put up a fight. A laughable, predictable, and useless fight and was predictably enough left to die by his white counter parts.

2. The kill scenes are fun to watch, but you see them coming a mile away.

3. I thought Jason might become a more intelligent serial killer Ala' Hannibal Lecter with out the voracious appetite. I was wrong.

Bottom line, if it ain't broke don't try to fix it. But, if you do a remake, please for the love of all that is gross and bloody, REMAKE IT!!!!! Do a Rob Zombie and change up the genre a little bit. Don't be a Michael Bay, throw up on celluloid, and sell it to a hungry public like soilent green. That is just wrong.

Terminator Salvation Trailor

We have to keep up with the times people. Right or wrong, Christian Bale's rant has gotten more news exposure than this upcoming film. Well, I cry foul. We don't know what he was going through that day last summer or why all the sudden it is coming out now.

I frankly believe that enough is enough. Mia Sara said it best in Ferris Bueller's day off: "It's ok. Sooner or later everyone goes to the zoo." Leave Mr. Bale alone and let him move on with his life. Terminator: Salvation Coming to a Theater near you.