Movies

The story of two young boys who try to make their way through life with their father. Their mother has passed rather recently and the family tries to make a new life in a new home.

One of the two boys has an extremely active imagination and through which is often visited by dead Saints. He has studied documentation for any Saint he can get his hands on. He realizes that he often times sees things that are not there which is why he goes to get his older brother when a duffel bag full of money lands next to the fort he built by the train tracks.

The question arises of how to spend it all without telling their dad about it and while ensuring that none of the money (British pounds) becomes useless as the conversion to Euros is only days away.

The younger boy wants to use all of it to help those in need while his brother begins to research an investment portfolio.

I cannot say that I was not disappointed. Throughout the movie I just thought they could have done more with the story. Aside from the two boys, character development was a little weak. While I understand that the movie was centered around the two of them, I was hoping for a little more involvement from their father. It is not until the very end of the movie that we finally learn anything about it and at that point, why bother?

The ending overall was good. In previews I had a good idea what to expect and from that I was left touched. The very very end of the movie though, while symbolic, was probably unnecessary.

I liked the movie, sure. I do not think it was nearly as good as I had expected, though. I feel bad putting a "Don't Watch" on this movie, but I feel it's most appropriate.

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Sin City is based on Frank Miller's graphic novels by the same name. I have never read any of the books, but I like many others have now seen the movie.

An important point: Remember, you're watching an adaptation of a comic book. The things you see are not intended to be an accurate portrayal of things as we experience them in real life. Use your imagination and have fun watching Sin City.

I will try to give you a quick timeline of my thoughts throughout the movie, that should be the best approach to understanding this film a little more.

The opening credits roll and names flash on screen and all I can think is that this cast is amazing. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Rutger Hauer, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Madsen and Josh Hartnett are all cast members in Sin City.

The first scene flashes a woman in a brilliant, red dress with red lipstick set in a black and white film. Throughout the movie, this black and white film, creators highlighted certain objects in their full color. The effect was a stark contrast against the background which created for stunning aesthetics. The style is similar to that used in Chinatown.

The dialogue was cheesy and over-acted. I am pointing that out as a movie strength. It bothered me at first, then I realized what I was watching. Take a comic book in your hands and bend the tips of the pages with your hand and release them in rapid succession the way you would as a kid to see a series of pictures in animation. That is essentially what Sin City is, a moving comic book. If you have ever read one, you know the writing is often corny and overly dramatic, but it makes sense on paper. When read aloud it seems odd as it is not colloquial. This was not a difficult point to get past, and only added to the uniqueness of the film. Only a few times did I get flashbacks to years ago when I watched Dick Tracy.

The action was fun. Does that sound weird? It was though. Sure when guys would get hit they would fly further than humanly possible, but remember it is a comic book.

The story, for lack of a better term, revolves around your usual scenario of following a series of characters and showing important intersection points between their existence. The effect is four separate vignettes that comprise one story; they are different, though the same.

My favorite was the second, the one involving Marv (Rourke) in his search to find the man who killed Goldy (King), his beloved hooker.

My least favorite was the last, it seemed to serve only in making the movie longer. It was so slow and nearly made me fall asleep. In this one Hartigan (Willis) must confront the Yellow Bastard in his attempt to find Nancy, the young girl from his past.

The movie is over the top in gratuitous nudity and excessive blood and gore. The sound effects as bodies are dismembered, coupled with the rest may be a reason not to take your children to see Sin City. In no way was it too much for me. I rather enjoyed it.

The movie as a whole was good, not great. I think the experience of seeing a movie made in a mold not used often was more entertaining than the movie itself. See it to see it, nothing more. I do not anticipate seeing this movie again. I do not see any "rewatchability" potential in Sin City. Having seen it once is enough.

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One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys, is a movie experience you won't forget.

Tim (Kieren Culkin) and Francis (Emile Hirsch) are best friends, doing their best to cause trouble without getting caught. Under the watchful eye of Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster), the boys plot to unleash the ultimate prank, involving a man-eating cougar, their school's statue and a lot of cough medicine. While the boys imagine their exploits in a comic book called the Atomic Trinity, Francis begins his growth to adulthood with Catholic schoolgirl Margi Flynn (Jena Malone).

Four young boys from unhappy working class homes find comfort in their friendships with each other. Each has three friends with which to get in trouble and escape reality through the form of their secret identities. These four boys are incredible super heroes with extraordinary powers. Well, in their comic book they are at least.

Jena Malone plays the slightly disturbed young girl that becomes one of the boys' girlfriend. Contragulations to her for being 100% type cast to play the strange young girl with questionable morals (see also: Saved!). I think if I saw a movie in which she played a wholesome character I would not be able to take her seriously.

Aside from that, this movie was good; one I'm glad I finally got around to seeing.

A similarly themed (and better) movie you will enjoy is Sleepers.

If you like Kieren Culkin movies, see Igby Goes Down.

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is based upon the novel by Chris Fuhrman, whose cancer kept him from seeing it published. The movie is dedicated to his memory.

Buy The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys $15.95

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Though I am currently unable to say what exactly drew me to this movie in the previews, I made it a point to see this one in the theater. It is safe to now say that I wish I had not done so.

When her husband does not come home, a woman deduces that he must have fun off with his secretary to Sweden or someplace; thus leaving her with the sole responsibility over their four daughters. The four daughters range in age from one in middle school to a final year college student. Kevin Costner plays a former baseball star and current drunk who now works for a radio station in Detroit (101.1 WRIF). He, having associations to the family, learns of this husband's disappearing act and offers his support...in form of courtship of the mother. She, now bitter towards the entire world (especially her daughters), parries his advances.

The only thing I took any enjoyment in was the fact that it was to be set in Michigan. Beyond that, this movie brought nothing to the table. I know that many people see Kevin Costner's name near a movie and start their bad reviews on the spot, but he was actually good in this one. His character, however, was 100% unnecessary. The makers of The Upside of Anger did a fantastic job of making his character useless. If you are not left with an empty feeling regarding Costner in this one, I am amazed.

I have so many complaints with this movie, but I will not let on any specific spoiler information in this medium. That is, if I even knew where to begin venting them all.

The only "Upside" to this movie was when it ended.

Despite my feelings towards this movie, it is still getting good reviews. Ok, I will concede that there were a few parts at which I laughed. In no way did those parts save this sinking ship. I would love to pick the brain of someone who actually enjoyed it.

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A young woman has 20 minutes to rescue her boyfriend from the mob's clutches in this stylistic German thriller. Filmed in hyper-kinetic visual style, the story is told from three different perspectives, each with a different outcome.

Franka Potente is Lola. We are taken for three turns on a wild ride as she attempts to save her boyfriend. Pretty simple really, all she needs to do is come up with 100,000 marks in 20 minutes. Ok, so maybe that is not so simple. The movie derives its name from the fact that, due to a lack of other modes of transportation, Lola must run.

The three different views come from slight variations in timing and action. What I liked most about the film is the idea that there is no "fate"; there is no written script for our lives. We see through Lola that even the smallest event can have an entirely life altering affect on not only yourself, but also on others around you. In each of the three versions, Lola encounters the same people; people she runs past as she attempts to save Manni, her boyfriend. As she passes a few specific people we get a small glimpse of how their lives turn out. Sure the point can be made that by running past an old woman and bumping into her by accident or running cleanly past her will not directly be the difference between two polar opposite outcomes in her life, but the message has a broader meaning.

I cannot recommend this movie to anyone in any given movie-watching situation. I think that if you are in the mood for something more out of the ordinary or maybe something slightly artsy then giving Run Lola Run a try is worth it. I was not in either of these moods, but hey, I will watch anything once.

Buy Run Lola Run $14.96

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Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Volume Three Disc One

From the Main Menu select "Episodes". Here choose 5-9 from the top middle of the screen. Located to the Right of episode 5 (The Cloning) and the Right of episode 6 (Broodwich) there is what appears to be a sock hanging out of Carl's dresser drawer. Highlighting it and pressing Enter takes you into a bizarre version of the opening of the show.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Volume Three Disc One

From the Main Menu select "Episodes". Automatically episode one is selected (Frat Aliens). If you press to the Right two times you will see that nothing is selected. If you press Enter at this point you will see home video footage as a sound effect is recorded. You can also access this egg by highlighting episode three (Kidney Car) and pressing to the Left.