REVIEW: Pineapple Express [2008]

“You’ve been served” The Apatow machine churns out another one. I don’t think Pineapple Express could fail even if it tried because the pairing of Seth Rogen and marijuana seems to be a match made in heaven. Billed as an action stoner comedy, Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg have crafted a tale around the titular strain of weed that allows for drug-induced confusion and paranoia due to the fact our two heroes are being hunted down by hitmen. Shortly after Dale Denton (Rogen) sees a murder by a drug…

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REVIEW: Монгол [Mongol] [2008]

“Never betray your Khan” Genghis Khan, sympathetic king of the people? If Sergei Bodrov is to be believed: yes. His tale of Khan’s ascent to power from childhood, Монгол [Mongol], tells of how he kept his ideals and the laws of Mongolia intact to unite a country from greed. After a battle, he takes an even share as those fighting under him; he respects his men and their families above survival. “Fight your enemy until the end” becomes one of his rules, and he himself lives by it. Sure, as…

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REVIEW: The X-Files: I Want to Believe [2008]

“Don’t give up” Wow, six years later and Chris Carter decided that his old show “The X-Files” still had relevance. I’ll admit to having loved the show when it first aired, diligently watching each episode for the first five or so seasons to see where the mythology arc would lead. Yeah, the one-off shows were fun, the occasional monster/killer/paranormal weirdness, but when they continued the alien conspiracy tale, my ears and eyes stayed glued. Black Oil, Krycek, and Cancer-Man made up the ultimate trifecta in 90’s television for me. With…

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REVIEW: The Perfect Game [2008]

“They’ve never seen real grass” The film The Perfect Game is a great story of the underdog defeating adversity at home and in public. This young team of Mexicans band together against all odds to form a Little League team in Monterey to be entered into the 1957 competition against the powerhouses of 12-year old baseball Americans. Not only must they overcome a novice at best skill at the game—helped enormously by their ex-Major League towel boy turned coach—but also the bigotry and racism of a segregated America not yet…

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REVIEW: American Teen [2008]

“A lonely sock” Documentaries have never been my genre of choice. I go to the movies to escape from reality and embed myself into a world unlike my own, or at least skewed enough to make me look upon my life and see what can be improved from the new experiences and ideas culled from the viewing. However, with American Teen I could not have been more engrossed in the trials and tribulations of senior year of high school. Watching this film, you will find a piece of yourself in…

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REVIEW: The Dark Knight [2008]

“Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough” What do you do when your film is hyped up as the best comic book movie of all-time? What about when your star dies of an accidental drug overdose after completion, attributed by some to prescribed depression medication acquired due to the toll his character took on him? Well, you just have to ride the wave and hope it all turns out good. I mean just those two aspects alone were going to drive people to the theatres on Friday night, the real question…

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REVIEW: Step Brothers [2008]

“A combination of Fergie and Jesus” I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d ever utter these words about a Will Ferrell vehicle, especially one with Adam McKay as collaborator—besides that Pearl video The Landlord on the internet last year—but here it is. Step Brothers is an absolutely hilarious film. From end to end, I don’t remember the last time I’ve laughed this hard, without stop. This is what Ferrell needs to do, no more of those bio-spoofs of idiots that fall flat due to their tired joke. He is…

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REVIEW: Bande à part [Band of Outsiders] [1964]

“Everything that is new is thereby already traditional” When it comes to a film by Jean-Luc Godard, it may be better for you to go in with eyes wide, ready to go on a journey of surrealism and cerebral craziness instead of one tied to a strict plot. Bande à part [Band of Outsiders] is a perfect example of this as the story itself, loosely based on an American pulp novel, is very slight and acts only as a framework for the events occurring. Two classmates learning English strike up…

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REVIEW: Hellboy II: The Golden Army [2008]

“Which Holocaust shall be chosen?” Guillermo del Toro goes behind the camera again to continue the saga of everyone’s favorite demon on Earth who works for the government to fight evil in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Having already worked on a sequel in his career (Blade II), I had high hopes for this one to improve upon a solid first installment. Being that he was the second director in as many films for that vampire series, he was able to come in with a fresh eye. Here, however, he…

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REVIEW: Hellboy [2004]

“She took his picture” You gotta love Guillermo del Toro. The man knows how to play the system, staggering his Spanish language tales of wonderment with the oft-Hollywood big-budget action flick. The beauty of it is, however, that del Toro never compromises his vision when tackling a comic book adaptation. Looking at a film like Blade II shows that he carries his style with him wherever he goes, improving on a pretty solid first installment and showing that he can handle the work. That film helped land him the duties…

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REVIEW: Roman de gare [Crossed Tracks] [2007]

“The Magician and the Moth” Roman de gare is a very complex film that begins almost too convoluted, but ends on a perfect note of closure. A story about a man on a journey for research on his next book becomes a visualization of the same suspense aspects he is manifesting in his head for the novel. We as an audience are hard-pressed to decide whether this man is truly a writer, a teacher who has left his school and family behind, an escaped serial killer magician, or, yes, God…

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