Author: Andy Labis

Air Force One

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:58 Long
A Review by:
– Stu Gotz

Air Force One
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Dean Stockwell
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Columbia Pictures
Kiddie Movie: Lots of violence so you might want to hire a babysitter, although the President’s twelve year old daughter seemed to handle the killings well.
Date Movie: Couple of spots she might grab your hand or jump in your lap.
Gratuitous Sex: Not at all.
Gratuitous Violence: Lots of quality kills.
Action: Yep, and suspense too.
Laughs: Some good one liners, but not rolling on the floor laughter.
Memorable Scene: The end rescue with the passengers still alive sliding….., I won’t ruin it too much.
Memorable Quote: A couple that go something like this: “The President will get his baseball glove back and play catch with his balls.” and “That pod was designed for a reason, General. He has no right to take a chance with his life.”
Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen
Produced By: Armyan Bernstein and Jon Shestack

I’ve got to say that 1997 has been a slow year for the action blockbuster. Of course there are a few exceptions like “Men In Black” (whose 90 minute or so delivery was short and to the point), “Face/Off” had a few slow, mushy moments, and “Con Air” was hokey but definitely fun! In seeing previews of “Air Force One” I had hoped this would be the defining movie of the summer. Well, I wouldn’t call it that, but it is one to see none the less.

What’s it about? The previews pretty much tell it all. AF1 gets hijacked and the President kicks some serious ass to save the day. If you’re like me you know how far fetched this scenario would be. Not so much the hijacking part, but the President as an ass kicker part I don’t buy. Think about it – I figure Bill couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag, George was an old man, Ronnie would have drooled on the hijackers, Jimmy was a lover not a fighter, Gerry’s trick knee would have given out, and Dick, hmm, well actually Dick would have found a way out because he was one slippery bastard – God bless his soul.

Anyway, I think you can see my point. But hey babe, this is the movies and movies is magic so anything can happen! With that, if you can buy the concept of shitty security on AF1 and the Pres as an ass-kicker, then I bet you’ll enjoy this movie.

President James Marshall prepares to overcome one of the Russian terrorists who have hijacked Air Force One. So what’s the good and bad of it? On the good side all the actors play their characters well. From Glenn Close as the VP Kathryn Bennett to Gary Oldman as the pretty viscous terrorist, Ivan Korshunov, all of the performances were convincing, if you could believe this sort of thing could happen to begin with. So, what else was good? The end rescue scene left an impression in my mind – totally far-fetched but great to watch on the screen none the less. The down sides of this movie? Well, simply put, the believability factor. If you’re a Doubting Thomas, nay-sayer type then don’t even spoil this movie for your friends by going to it and saying “Oh sure… That would never happen.” If I were your friend I’d kick your ass and stick it into the popcorn bucket.

Ahem… Air Force One is a suspenseful, action packed, well acted, and totally out of the realm of possibility movie that I highly recommend, give 4 out of 5 stars and I’m Stu Gotz

Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 1:49 Long
A Preview by:
– The Dude on the Right

Agent Cody Banks 2:Destination London

 

Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Frankie Muniz, Hannah Spearritt, Anthony Anderson, Daniel Roebuck
MPAA Rated: PG
Released By: MGM
Directed By: Kevin Allen
Produced By: David Glasser, Andreas Klein, David Nicksay, Guy Oseary, Dylan Sellers

I didn’t see the first one, although it did look fun in a kid sort of way, and this one looks to be about the same. Frankie Muniz is back as Cody Banks, kid spy. The basis for this story is that the bad guy has a mind-control device that he intends to use on all of the world leaders. Cody is brought in to get the mind-control thing before it’s too late, so he’s off to London, taking the identity of a student at an uppity boarding school. The out-of-place person is his new handler, Derek (Anthony Anderson), but he looks to add some fun to the movie.

Will Cody save the day? Will Derek make us laugh? Will Cody be able to have enough time to study for any tests he may need to take at school? Only watching the movie will tell, and depending on other things opening, I might try to catch this one.

That’s it for this preview! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Aeon Flux

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:33 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Aeon Flux Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Charlize Theron
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Paramount Pictures
Kiddie Movie: Leave them at home.
Date Movie: Leave them at home as well.
Gratuitous Sex: There is a scene and Aeon is in a bunch of skimpy and tight outfits.
Gratuitous Violence: Lots of killing, but only the PG-13 kind.
Action: Lots of running and chasing.
Laughs: Nah.
Memorable Scene: Nothing really.
Memorable Quote: None stand out.
Directed By: Karyn Kusama
Produced By: David Gale, Gregory Goodman, Gale Anne Hurd, Gary Lucchesi

The only thing I could come up with, as I sat there watching “Aeon Flux,” was that I’ll bet it looked a lot better on paper. The story was okay, Charlize Theron looked good, although I didn’t like her hair, but in the end, the movie just didn’t seem to click for me, and not having seen the animated series from which it was based, I don’t know if it was even supposed to. Anyway, here’s the basic story…

It’s 400 years from now and most of the human population was wiped out, well, about now, due to a way wicked disease. To save the world, some scientists came up with a cure, then built this walled-in city, kind of a Utopia, where all is supposedly well, although all really isn’t. Lately an underground movement has been afoot to overthrow the Goodchild family (they’re the ruling brothers, who helped develop the original vaccine). It seems the underground folk are becoming increasingly concerned that some citizens just seem to disappear, for no apparent reason, and it is time to take action. Spurring on this is Aeon’s, I believe her niece, being mistaken as a spy and killed by the government folks. Aeon now has nothing to live for but a mission, and as it turns out, her mission is to assassinate Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas), one of the ruling brothers. She’s ready to do the deed, but then starts finding out certain things, and suddenly she finds him more important to keep alive, and he quickly realizes that you can’t always trust your siblings.

As the story plays out, and I won’t ruin the “surprise” that explains the Utopian world, Aeon is now on the good side of Trevor, they have to escape, then get back in, she has to jump on an airship which holds all of the secrets of the world, and Sithandra (Sophie Okonedo), a dudette with hands for feet, goes from being Aeon’s ally, to Aeon’s nemesis, and back to Aeon’s ally, thanks to some weird telepathic powers that the underground warriors have developed.

So, what did I find wrong with the movie? I don’t know, maybe it was because Aeon was just too cold of a character. Her only emotion was really one of gloom, even in times of discovery, and her narration just proved droning. The action sequences were alright, but I suppose the other issue I had with the movie was that I wish movie folks would quit doing the “We shoot and kill lots of people yet since we don’t actually show them getting shot and killed and don’t show blood, well, we can still get the PG-13 rating to get the kids” thing and just make the movie an R movie. Aeon had skimpy outfits, but pretty much screamed to run around naked a couple of time, they could have had better quality kills by being R, and could have used dialogue that might be more appropriate, although maybe vulgarities don’t exist in a Utopian society. That, or maybe they should have really done this movie as an animated movie rather than live action, and just kept it true to the original roots of the movie.

“Aeon Flux” wasn’t horrible, but it seemed more like two hours rather than the hour and a half running time it actually had. It’s 2 stars out of 5 for “Aeon Flux.” Would have been better rated R.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Amelia

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 1:51 Long
A Blu-ray Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Amelia
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor
MPAA Rated: PG
Released By: Twentieth Century FoxHome Entertainment
Kiddie Movie: Maybe girls who want to fly, but it’s kind of slow.
Date Movie: My BFF fell asleep.
Gratuitous Sex: There are undertones of Amelia being a lesbian but it turns out she is a hussy. Sadly there isn’t too much hussy-dom
Gratuitous Violence: Nah.
Action: Nah.
Laughs: There is a chuckle or two.
Memorable Scene: Sadly it’s on the “Deleted Scenes” section of the Blu-ray.
Memorable Quote: “You missed it, though. It’s over there.”
Directed By: Mira Nair
Cool Thinks About the DVD: The Blu-ray extras give some in-depth looks at the making of, and are probably a better synopsis of the movie without sitting through the nearly two hour movie.

As I was watching the extras on the Blu-ray of “Amelia” there was a deleted scene that I liked. I thought it encompassed the spirit of Amelia Earhart, it was short, to the point, and funny, and there it was, on the “Deleted Scene” portion of the Blu-ray. I guess such is my end liking of “Amelia.” Let’s get to the story, first.

“Amelia” doesn’t give many people what they might want from an a movie about Amelia Earhart (played by Hilary Swank), namely the crazy theories as to what really ended up happening to Amelia. Sure, there is the ending, recreating the extent of what people seem to know, and it’s pretty simple in the end run, but this movie is really about the life of Amelia, her passion for flying, her love life, and some of the issues a woman might have, being strong-willed in the time when flying was supposed to be mostly for men. The problem is that the movie was so over the place, trying to tell so much of her story that for the most part I was just bored and wondered how they were going to bring the movie back to its core – Amelia Earhart. The movie at times would shift to more about George Putnam (Richard Gere), her husband, than Amelia, then it would shift to Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), the dude she had a fling with, and then you would learn something else about Amelia. As my BFF said to me as we were watching it, “This movie is just all over the place.”

The thing is, I wanted to like “Amelia,” I really did. It was one of those movies that when it came to the theaters I thought it would have been a nice to see on the big screen, I think both Hilary Swank and Richard Gere can be great on screen, so I was somewhat excited when I popped the Blu-ray into the player at the dude-pad and snuggled with my BFF, but when she fell asleep, and I kept looking at the counter on the Blu-ray player, I knew there was trouble. It was like the movie couldn’t figure if it wanted to be a straight biopic, if it wanted to be a nice period piece, or if it wanted to just look beautiful (and it did, so I will say, that for the beautifulness of the scenery, it’s a good film), but in the end my BFF had it right, the movie was just all over the place, and for me it didn’t stick to its core, what I thought would have really made the movie, and that was the spirit brought by Amelia Earhart, in the deleted scene “Arrival in Wales.”

I guess if you are looking for a movie that looks beautiful I would recommend “Amelia,” and it does give some looks at the life of the aviatrix, and it is a safe movie, being only rated PG, but things are slow, so be ready for it, and maybe you’ll like the movie more than I did. 1 ½ stars out of 5 stars for “Amelia.”

As far as extras, there are quite a few, many that actually give a better look at the life of Amelia Earhart more than the actual “making” of the movie, and like I said, there is one deleted scene, “Arrival in Wales,” that I thought was perfect, told the story, showed the spunk, and had the rest of the movie kept to the core of that scene, I think I would have loved the film.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes

DVD Rated – Unrated
It’s 1:05 Long
A Review by:
– Stu Gotz

Alvin and the Chipmunks:
The Chipettes
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Avlin, Simon, Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette, Eleanor, and Dave
MPAA Rated: Unrated, but it’s for kids.
Released By: Paramount Home Entertainment
Kiddie Movie: It’s definitely for them.
Date Movie: Only if she’s the mother of your children.
Gratuitous Sex: Umm, no.
Gratuitous Violence: Cartoonish.
Action: Nah.
Laughs: Mostly for the kids.
Memorable Scene: None.
Memorable Quote: None.
Cool Things About the DVD: It’s really just set for the six episodes which is actually probably perfect for kids anyway.

When The Dude on the Right handed me a copy of “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes” I gave him a raised eyebrow look. Before I could follow my look with a rude comment, the Dude cut me off and said, “Maybe have your kids watch it and tell me what they think?” So that is exactly what I did. Later that day I popped the movie into Mama Gotz’s in-headrest car DVD player (Hmm… How come she gets all the cool stuff, and I drive a truck?) and let the kids have at it on the way to and from Tae Kwon Do practice.

So what did the Little Gotz’s think of “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes?” I’ll get to that later. First let me tell you a little about the DVD. The DVD is 6 episodes of the mid-80’s TV show “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” For this special six-pack of special episodes, three female chipmunks mirror Alvin and the boys, with similar personality, dress, and body attributes. Brittany is like Alvin and Jeanette is… Well… Does anyone really know any of the chipmunks besides Alvin? There is a smart chipmunk chick and a chubbier one, the girl’s misadventures coincide with the boy’s misadventures, and if you’ve seen one episode, well, you’ve seen them all. Predictable mayhem occurs. Dave almost looses his wits and by episode’s end, all is well (just like in Star Trek).

So who the heck is this movie for, and why now? I think most people can recall the squeaky-voiced cartoon from the 80’s era of upturned-collared Polo shirts? For those who can’t, the Chipmunks have actually been around since the late 1950’s. Yes, they did exist before that Earl guy made the movie with them. Anyway, the squeaky boys are back (again), and this time they are joined by equally annoying-for-adults female chipmunks. Why? Personally I think it’s to cash in on the whole High School Musical, Hanna Montana, and iCarly craze. Right now kids, starting at far too young of an age in my opinion, are totally hooked on the High School Musical craze and such. This is all fine where and when it is age appropriate, but let me ask you, do you want your 6 or 7 year old coming home singing the Vacation song and wanting to dress like a tart? Not me! So maybe “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes” could be a more age appropriate DVD title to turn your youngerl kids on to.

They key to this though is will little kids like it?? The first day I had “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes” in Mama Gotz’s car DVD player our littlest one wanted to bring it into the house and keep on watching it when the car ride was over. I think that’s a good sign. After about a week I again asked the Gotz’ boys what they thought about “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes.” The 4 going on 5 year old gave me a double finger gesture. No he didn’t flip me the “bird.” He extended his thumbs, but I think that is a copyrighted gesture so I can’t quote him on that. Our oldest boy, now six, said he liked it a lot, though I did notice he tended to watch the episodes and pressed scene skip when the chipmunk music videos came on.

The bottom line, a.k.a. is it worth your money? As an adult I can deal with the chipmunks in small doses, such as I am. My 5 & 6 year olds both liked the episodes, but split their vote on the music videos with the younger Gotz liking everything. I think “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes” is a great age-appropriate alternative to the High School Musical and Montana stuff that is on TV, and in my opinion, also turning girls into tarts and boys into, well, not football players, so for me “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipettes” is money well spent. 4 stars out of 5.
I’m Stu Gotz. ‘nuff said.

Alvin and the Chipmunks

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 1:31 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Alvin and the Chipmunks
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Jason Lee, David Dross, Cameron Richardson
MPAA Rated: PG
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Kiddie Movie: It’s really for them.
Date Movie: Only if you’re bringing the kids.
Gratuitous Sex: Nope, but some skimpy outfits on the back-up dancers.
Gratuitous Violence: Cartoonish.
Action: Not really.
Laughs: Mostly for the kids.
Memorable Scene: Nothing really.
Memorable Quote: Nothing comes to mind.
Directed By: Tim Hill
Produced By: Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman

Maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s because I’m old, but you would think that with the advances in technology that our beloved Chipmunks, namely Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, would still have the chipmunk voice but you would be able to understand them a little better. Not so. And you would also think that they could write a story a little more creative than the Chipmunks being seduced by a dirty record company executive. Not so. Even so, I didn’t think “Alvin and the Chipmunks” was all that bad.

As I eluded, the story for “Alvin and the Chipmunks” is pretty simple. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are living in the woods when their pine tree gets chopped down for an office Christmas tree, and the boys come along for the ride. Seeking a life of ease, the boys then stowaway with Dave (Jason Lee), a struggling songwriter who is friends with the evil record dude, Ian (David Cross). Sure, Dave quickly accepts the fact that he has talking Chipmunks, especially when he finds out they can sing, but they are rambunctious creatures, messing up Dave’s pad, but all seems well when the boys have Ian record “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t be Late), and Dave does his best to keep the boys grounded as they enter the rock star world.

But Ian sees an opportunity to exploit the Chipmunks for financial gain, he splits them up from Dave as sleazy record company people do, gives them a life of excess, and works them until they become tabloid fodder.

Can Dave save the heroes from a life of booze, drugs, and cheap women? Of course he can, this is a children’s movie, and he does so just in the nick of time.

And, oh yea, of course the movie has a love story built in for no real reason, namely Dave trying to woo his ex-girlfriend, Claire (Cameron Richardson).

For the kiddies they will probably really like “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” and most of the kids in the theater when I saw it seemed entertained, although they did start to become distracted during the romantic dinner scene. For the adults, it’s not horrible. Jason Lee does a nice job as Dave, keeping him friendly enough in a quirky sort of way, and David Cross is good as the sleazy record dude. The CGI of the Chipmunks themselves is done fairly well, giving each of the boys their own character, but I still can’t believe they are so hard to understand.

There’s nothing special about “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” but it seems okay in a kids kind of way, and of course what would a kid’s movie be without a fart joke. It’s 2 ½ stars out of 5 for “Alvin and the Chipmunks.”

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Alpha Dog

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:57 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Alpha Dog
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Emile Hirsch, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Bruce Willis
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Universal Pictures
Kiddie Movie: Only if you want them on the wrong life path.
Date Movie: Both you and your dudette have bodies to ogle.
Gratuitous Sex: Nudity and sex!
Gratuitous Violence: Mostly hand to hand combat, but sadly one gun scene.
Action: Not really.
Laughs: There’s a chuckle or two.
Memorable Scene: Frankie trying to get Zack to leave the apartment.
Memorable Quote: I hope I got this right: “Have a period or something.”
Directed By: Nick Cassavetes
Produced By: Sidney Kimmel, Chuck Pacheco

I think knowing the ending of “Alpha Dog” before going in to see it made me feel even worse for Zack Mazursky, the brother of Jake, because up until the end, getting kidnapped was the greatest thing that seemed to have happened to him. Here’s the basic story…

“Alpha Dog” is a fictional look at a true Hollywood story about a kidnapping gone bad, kids gone bad, and parenting that is mostly questionable, except, for, well, that of Sonny Truelove (Bruce Willis), sort of, who supposedly has mob ties and supposedly sets up his son with drugs to sell, yet tries to get Johnny (Emile Hirsch) out of a sticky kidnapping situation, but Johnny doesn’t listen. Such are kids sometimes.

Anyway, Johnny and his group of friends, including Elvis (Shawn Hatosy) and Frankie (Justin Timberlake), enjoy their days by selling drugs, getting high, drinking a lot, and sleeping with hot girls. Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) owes Johnny money, and Johnny ain’t too happy about it, tries to beat up Jake, and now Jake is pissed. Jake and Johnny seem to go back and forth a bit, but Johnny doesn’t take it too well when Jake takes a dump on his living room carpet.

Meanwhile, Jake’s brother, Zack (Anton Yelchin) is a fifteen-year-old kid, not really happy at home with his over-protective mother, Olivia (Sharon Stone), looks up to his hoodlum brother, and decides to run away from home when he gets busted with having a bong in his room. So Zack is wandering around, Johnny and his crew spot him, and Johnny decides to kidnap Zack so that Jake will pay his debt. As things sometimes go when you don’t fully think about your plan, Johnny finds himself in a pickle, and now instead of just a person dealing drugs, he’s also a kidnapper.

Johnny assigns Frankie to take care of Zack, so of course Frankie invites some people over to party, the girls think it is cool that Zack is “Stolen Boy,” and Zack is having a pretty good time smoking pot, getting drunk, being “cool,” losing his virginity via a threesome in a pool, and figuring he would ride this out until his brother pays his debt, and all will be well. But little does Zack know that Jake, rather than just pay off his debt, intends to kill Johnny, Johnny is now freaked realizing kidnapping can lead to life in prison, and of course Johnny thinks his easiest course of action is to have one of his buddies kill Zack and leave him in a shallow grave, even though everyone and their aunt and uncle knows Johnny kidnapped Zack, and has partied with Zack.

I found “Alpha Dog” a really good movie, tapping into a world of people most of us wouldn’t have far to understand where the kids went wrong thanks mostly to some of the worst parenting out there. The sad thing about “Alpha Dog” is that it is based on some true events. Sure, I’m not exactly sure what was real, and what was Hollywood fantasy, but there were two scenes in the movie that really stuck in my head. One was Frankie, truly torn between his loyalty to Johnny and his liking Zack and wishing Zack would just go back home. In the scene, knowing the fate that awaits Zack, Frankie tries to get Zack to go to the corner store for him, possibly getting Zack out of the apartment long enough to keep him from getting offed. But Zack doesn’t to go, enjoying just relaxing and watching “Austin Powers” on the TV. The other scene is Zack, being driven to what he thinks is back home, talking to Frankie about how he thinks he might change his life, and maybe appreciate his mom more.

What works in “Alpha Dog” isn’t just a great story, but the performances by everyone were fantastic, and yes, especially Justin Timberlake. In the end it’s really a sad story, especially for Zack who, for a few days, enjoyed being cool, even impressing Frankie with his fighting skills, and losing his virginity with two cute dudettes. Then he finds himself dead, when sadly, if Johnny had just listened to his dad, Zack might have been able to learn to play guitar like he wanted to, and Johnny’s friends might have been able to avoid life, and even death sentences, for the kidnapping.

I liked “Alpha Dog,” but it might not be your cup of tea. It’s violent, it’s got sex, it’s really a sad story, but in the end I was gripped with the story and give it 4 stars out of 5.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Along Came A Spider

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:43 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Along Came a Spider
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Paramount Pictures
Kiddie Movie: Too adult. Leave them at home.
Date Movie:
Gratuitous Sex: Nah.
Gratuitous Violence: Some pretty gruesome killings.
Action: A good chase here and there.
Laughs: Nah.
Memorable Scene: The ending.
Memorable Quote: None.
Directed By: Lee Tamahori
Produced By: David Brown, Joe Wizan

Sometimes you go and see a movie and you leave going “Hmm, that was a pretty good movie.” Not “Wow,” not “Oh my God,” just “Hmm.” Such was the case of “Along Came a Spider” for me.

After seeing a series of movies that showed I’m too easily amused, it was good to see a movie that I could appreciate for just being a good action/drama. “Along Came a Spider” teams Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross, a good investigator brooding about the loss of his partner, with Monica Potter as Jezzie Flannigan, a secret service agent that let the girl she was protecting get kidnapped. Alex wouldn’t have anything to do with the kidnapping except that the kidnapper brings him in by leaving him some clues. And so the chase is on. Alex takes Jezzie under his wing because she feels like she screwed up but Alex sees her as a valuable ally because she could help profile the kidnapper (it was the teacher at the school where the little girl went – don’t worry, I’m not giving any important plot points away, this is part of the story).

Not the greatest of suspense films, there have been better, but “Along Came a Spider” does a good job of leading you through Alex’s investigative process and the relationship he develops with Jezzie. But the movie does have some flaws, like some too obvious foreshadowing of a couple of plot points, although also does a great job of mixing up how you might perceive the movie to end.

I can’t go into the story much more without giving too many things away. Freeman does a great job as Alex Cross, trying to put the pieces together, and Potter is good as the innocent secret service agent, but there is some lack of thrill that had it been there, it could have gone right up there with some of the great movies of this type. This one ends up being just a “Hmm, that was a pretty good movie” and with that a “Hmm” movie gets 3 stars out of 5 from me. Even so, if you’re looking for a nice thriller, go see “Along With a Spider” and you’ll get a “Hmm” too, or maybe a little better.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

All The Pretty Horses

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:54 Long
A Preview by:
– The Dude on the Right

All The Pretty Horses
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Miramax Films
Release Date: 12:25/2000
Directed By: Billy Bob Thorton
Produced By: Mike Nichols

Watch out ladies, here comes Matt Damon! The story looks the same, rich girl falls for commoner, commoner falls for rich girl, rich girl’s family won’t let them get together, commoner doesn’t care.

This one’s got Matt Damon as a ranch hand, Penelope Cruz as the rich girl, and they like each other. The problem for Matt is that he is in Mexico where he went for fun and adventure and now finds himself in jail. She promises not to see him again as long as they don’t kill him and let him go and he goes back looking for her.

Do I really need to go into this story anymore? Probably not, but Matt Damon has been coming into his own as an actor so this might just have potential.

Alien: Resurrection

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:49 Long
A Preview by:
– The Dude on the Right

Alien: Resurrection
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: 11/26/1997
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Produced By: Bill Badalato, Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill

Back for round 4, “Alien Resurrection” has that deep mystic with one of the scariest monsters to keep hitting the big screen. From what I can gather the story line kinda goes like this – Sigourney Weaver is back as Ripley, sort of. With all of the cloning stories going around, seems like this is the perfect outlet, so Ripley is a clone of Ripley, except supposedly mixed in her DNA is some Alien DNA so Ripley is just confused. The underlying problem seems to be there is a newborn Alien on a ship, and in the tradition of mama Alien, does some pretty cool damage when killing the victims. Winona Ryder plays a, hmm, a mercenary, enigmatic mechanic, bad-ass? Personally, I don’t care what Winona plays because I’ve always liked her and will probably go to see the movie just for her, who supposedly buffed up for the role. Like previous Alien films, this one no doubt will have some quality kills, that whole scary spaceship setting, and might even head for earth. Should be a winner because the Alien series has always been full of some pretty cool action, even if the story lines sometimes weren’t the greatest.