I'm Not There Movie Review by Derek_Fleek

I'm not there Movie Review by Derek_Fleek


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“I’m Not There” stars Marcus Carl Franklin, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, and Ben Whishaw. It’s directed Todd Haynes (Safe, Far from Heaven) who wrote the screenplay with the help of Oren Moverman (Face).

The film follows the life of Bob Dylan with six different characters portraying the artist. The six characters are all different looks at the way Dylan lived his life, portraying many different forms of personalities that are all reminiscent to a legend who grows up to care about absolutely nothing. None of these characters are referred to as “Bob Dylan” in the film. Each have their own pseudonyms.

“I’m Not There” is an ambitious, unique, and strong disposition towards honoring a folk music legend. Everyone wants to know if Cate Blanchett lives up to all the acclaim that she received for her depiction of Bob Dylan. Let me answer that question by saying she gives the performance of her career looking sufficently natural puffing on a smoke stick. Not to give the impression that she steals the show from all the other A-list performances. It’s an all around well-acted film with Cate Blanchett giving the most accurate impersonation of them all, pin-pointing Dylan’s moves and voice to near perfection.

From the star’s rise to fame, reaching of fame and near downfall from fame, the film tries to truthfully follow the real life experiences of this famous poet. Although convoluted at times, I was thoroughly engaged. Even non-fans of the music can admire the style in which they honored this folklore. A manner in which a female actress portrays this musician most accurately is just an amazing feat. Although Richard Gere gives the most forgettable performance in the film, it just might be from the near impeccable performances by Marcus Carl Franklin, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw and most of all Cate Blanchett.

When I come across a respectful piece of work from a director I’m not familiar with, it makes me wonder what he has up his sleeve in the future. This was a great movie. A well-scripted, tightly-edited, and somewhat tarnished film that deserves all the praise one could give. To put in more simple terms, it’s a flawed masterpiece. 4.5/5 stars

Written by Derek Fleek
http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/Derek-Fleek

Shooter Movie Review by star757

Shooter Movie Review by star757


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This movie started out very good. I really enjoyed the first half. It starts with two soldiers in Africa, one played by Mark Wahlberg, who are sharpshooters trying to help a convoy get out. When things start to get bad they are left, cut off, and have to get out on their own. Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) is shown three years later living in the woods of Wyoming, alone with his dog and guns. He believes in conspiracies and wants nothing to do with the gov't. until he is approached by former Colonel, played by Danny Glover. There is a plot to assasinate the president and Swagger is the only one who can help. They want him to plan how he would do it, so they'll know how to stop it from happening. He decides to help, but everything goes bad from there. The president isn't assassinated, but an Archbishop from Africa, and the whole thing is pinned on Swagger. From here he's on a race to get away, find out what really happened, and prove he's innocent. Along the way he has help from his former friend's wife and an FBI agent. What really happened? Why was it pinned on Swagger? Will he be able to escape and prove his innocence? This movie is action packed and keeps your interest. I found it interesting, but it gets a little long. There is a lot of violence and killing which I thought there was just too much. Also, it starts to get political and I don't really like that from a movie. A good action packed, interesting movie.

Night of the Living Dead Movie Review by Derek_Fleek

Night of the Living Dead Movie Review by Derek_Fleek


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“Night of the Living Dead” stars Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne and Judith Ridley. It’s written and directed by George A Romero (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Diary of the Dead)

A group of strangers trapped in a farm house must fight flesh eating zombies in hope that a rescue team will find them. Theory is that a satellite returning from Venus was contaminated with radiation that could have the capacity to mutate human beings. Anyone who dies during this crisis will returns as zombies, including those who get bitten by one.

Do yourself a favor and don’t just watch this movie, listen very carefully. The dialog creates not only an interesting film, but also a film that stands on its own as what occurs during misguided fear. After four decades, “Night of the Living Dead” not only lives up as the greatest horror film of all time, it is also one of the top 20 greatest films ever made. Given the shoe-string budget this movie was made with, Romero managed to create a well-rounded classic. From the hollow sound to the scratchy picture, it all makes for low-quality perfection.

This is a historical monument in film-making made back in the day, when zombies were scary. This is one of those rare films where you can actually feel the fear caping your inner thoughts. Most of the dialog relies on the imagination of the viewers. This might make it hard for this generation to be throughly entertained, considering this generation has a hard time using their imagination. I had a grand time picturing the occurrences being explained, rather than actually seeing them happen. This film has style and substance.

I have no complaints about George A. Romero’s directorial debut. This launches the career of one of the most talented film-makers of all time. Although his latest work hasn’t been the best, he created a film that will be praised for years to come and deserves every blood-drenched bow as a courtesy from horror fans. If you haven’t seen this yet, you haven’t seen classic horror. 5/5 stars

Written by Derek Fleek
http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/Derek-Fleek

Diary of the Dead Movie Review by Derek_Fleek

Diary of the Dead Movie Review by Derek_Fleek


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“Diary of the Dead” stars Joshua Close, Scott Wentworth, Michelle Morgan and other unknowns. It’s written and directed by the master of horror George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Bruiser, Monkey Shines). Although he isn’t the first to make a zombie film, he is the first to create the horror sub-genre known as “zombie apocalypse”

A group of film school students encounter real flesh eating zombies while shooting their movie. The cameraman Jason is determined to get everything on tape to show the world what really happened and what our society resorts to when panic strikes.

Some people might find that the problem with this film is there isn’t enough zombies and too much filler. Personally, I would’ve liked a zombie movie to have been made. But I don’t think Romero was trying to make a zombie movie as much as get a powerful message through, which he does in the last scene. What I didn’t like about it is the acting and how awfully written the script is at times. There are moments that shine, but I was expecting better writing and directing from The Master of Horror. This is Romero in rare, rusty form.

Was this trying to be a spoof, a horror movie, or a social commentary? I can’t quite tell. It works better as a social commentary than anything else, raising the question “Are we really worth saving?”. It is hard to tell if Romero was actually putting effort into making all of this seem real. It managed to feel more artificial than concrete the majority of the time, thanks to the scripted dialog and the not-so-good acting. The beginning and the ending are sharp and definitely show what George A. Romero is all about. It is the middle that drags, slowly improving in suspense and gore along the way. It’s as if he forgot what he was doing ten minutes in and remembered in the last frame.

I thought the ending was really well done and made me think long after if was over. It also has many redeeming qualities such as jaw-dropping kills, a good dose of gore, and a sometimes taunting score. It’s almost enough to win me over, but it doesn’t quite do the job. Being a fan of the slow moving dead from the classic 1968 Night of the Living Dead, I would like more zombies and less political double talk. Lets hope the next entry in the series will be a zombie movie. 2/5 stars

Written by Derek Fleek
http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/Derek-Fleek

27 Dresses Movie Review by armchaircritic

27 Dresses Movie Review by armchaircritic


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We've all heard the phrase "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" to describe a woman that has been to everyone's wedding except her own. In 27 Dresses this saying forms the basis of this romantic comedy.

Katherine Heigl plays Jane Nichols. She's the overefficient personal assistant to George (Edward Burns) at a outdoor oriented catalog clothing purveyor. Jane has been to no less than twenty-seven weddings as a bridesmaid, and her closet is stuffed with the hideous dresses. Seriously, Jane could be a professional bridesmaid, and she is often roped into called upon to be the maid of honor at these affairs. The film starts as she is attends two weddings on the same night as she hops back and forth in a taxi (how NY!).

The conflict comes as she loses her Day Runner in the cab, and a newspaper reporter, Kevin, that just happens to cover the weddings section happens upon it. He tries to ask her out, but she would rather pursue an interest with her boss, who only sees her professionally, and ineptly wonders aloud "Who should I take to this function?" as Jane stand idly by hoping in anticipation. The second plot twist is that Jane's sister, Tess comes into town, and faster than we can say "sisterhood" Jane's boss is head over heels with Tess, who he hardly knows, and isn't as compatible as he thinks he is with.

Stop this bus, I want to get off! Ok, I'll grant you this is all predictable with a capital "P." This is the overdone romantic comedy formula film, and we're not breaking any ground here. However, 27 Dresses does have redeeming features aplenty.

First of all, Katherine Heigl is excellent. Maybe I'm just a fan of her work from "Grey's Anatomy," (ironically a show I haven't reviewed, but faithfully watch, and know a thing or two about the setting and plot line). Then, unlike many films that fall under the category of romantic comedy, this one actually has some humor in it. Let's agree that most bridesmaid dresses give new meaning to the word hideous, and would never be worn outside of a wedding. To have an entire closet of these montroscopies, that she models is quite amusing to watch as we see the various themes of weddings she has attended (pictured in this post are the dresses from the Caribbean and Indian weddings). Finally, while predictable, 27 Dresses just provides some solid entertainment. For two hours of diversion, it nicely fits the bill.

Overall Grade: B+
Reviewed by Jonas
This review is provided by The Armchair Critic, bringing you the most opinionated reviews from the world of entertainment

The Forbidden Kingdom Movie Review by Derek_Fleek

The Forbidden Kingdom Movie Review by Derek_Fleek

“The Forbidden Kingdom” stars Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michael Angarano. It’s directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King, Stuart Little 1 & 2, The Haunted Mansion) and written by John Fusco (Hidalgo).

An American teen who is overly familiar with marital art films, stumbles upon an ancient legendary stick that belonged to the legend known as the Monkey King. The stick sends him back to ancient China to bring the stick back to its rightful owner. Along the way he encounters friends, foes and falls in love.

Take Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon choreography, Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master character, and throw in a touch of The Neverending Story. That is the winning formula for The Forbidden Kingdom. An exciting, fun-to-watch, martial arts crowd-pleaser. It’s silly, but light-hearted and rarely heavy-handed. Everyone wants to know how well the fight scenes were. They were spectacular and very seldom were they mishandled. I like how the movie starts off in a violent and desolate world and shortly takes us to a much brighter world full of beautiful scenery, Kung Fu Masters and gorgeous women.

Although Jackie Chan and Jet Li show that age doesn’t faze a true Kung Fu Master, the real surprise here is Michael Augarano. I was really impressed by his Kung Fu skills once he conquered them. I also enjoyed the villain who uses her long white hair as a weapon. Goofy, smile-inducing antics are performed when these graceful fighters defy gravity, but it’s the fight scenes on-ground that are the most engaging and well-executed ones. Not to mention the scene where Jet Li and Jackie Chan square off is one of the best fight scenes I have seen in a while.

Overall, the storytelling drags a bit and it is a little scatterbrained. But does this really matter? It all comes down to the final showdown and the sight of these two great fighters in action. That is what everyone wants and that is what everyone gets. As far as entertainment goes, this one delivers with energy to spare. 4/5 stars

Written by Derek Fleek
http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/Derek-Fleek

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EliteXC Destiny


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EliteXC Renegade


2 Disk Deluxe DVD Synopsis: FROM THE STREET TO ELITE. See history in the making as street fighting legend and internet sensation Kimbo Slice makes his professional cage fighting debut at EliteXC Renegade! Set to take on Miami's finest... hard-hitting slugger Bo "Red Rum" Cantrell. Featuring: Brazilian giant Antonio "Big Foot" Silva versus top-ranked heavyweight Jonathan Wiezorek, former "Crocodile Hunter" bodyguard Kyle Noke versus Dr. Seth Kleinbeck, submission master Jake Shields versus Randy Couture-trained Mike Pyle, and to crown the first ever EliteXC lightweight champion, "Bad Boy" Nick Diaz goes head to head with young-gun KJ Noons. Let the battle begin!

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What were some of your favorite Saturday morning rituals when you were growing up? Some dreamed of a chance to be in the “Peanut Gallery” of Howdy Doody. Some begged their parents for a dog just like Lassie. Many wore cowboy hats to watch The Roy Rogers Show. In the 1950s, television was new and exciting, full of imaginative shows for children. Looking back, these shows had a significant impact on the children of the first TV generation and helped to shape the medium as it increasingly became a part of our culture. On May 6, 2008, Shout! Factory will bring a sumptuous collection of the best kids’ TV programs from the infancy of the genre to every home through the DVD release of Hiya, Kids!! A ‘50s Saturday Morning. The 4-DVD box set is packed with 21 complete episodes culled from some of America’s iconic television classics, including Kukla, Fran And Ollie, Howdy Doody, Lassie, Annie Oakley, Flash Gordon, Time for Beany, The Paul Winchell Show, The Roy Rogers Show, Captain Z-RO, The Rootie Kazootie Club, Winky Dink And You, Super Circus, Andy’s Gang, The Cisco Kid, Sky King, The Magic Clown, Kids And Company, Junvenile Jury, The Pinky Lee Show, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Each DVD from Hiya, Kids!! is designed like a Saturday morning programming block from the era, with shows for the very young first on the menu. As the older siblings “wake up,” the programs become more and more “sophisticated.

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Night of the Living Dead DVD 40th Anniversary Edition Synopsis: Chaos descends upon the world as the brains of the recently deceased become inexplicably reanimated, causing the dead to rise and feed on human flesh.

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A group of film students are making an independent horror film when they become trapped in a world being consumed by flesh-eating zombies. In an obsessive, unflinching eye, one filmmaker documents each death on camera. As the lucky survivors take final refuge, the film continues to roll, recording every detail for future generations… if any survive.