Underworld: Evolution (2006)

 

**This review contains spoilers**

The Story- Selene (Kate Beckinsale) searches for answers with Michael (Scott Speedman), after Viktor’s death. Meanwhile, Markus Corvinus (Tony Curran), a vampire elder, and the first-ever vampire, awakens from his hibernation, assisted by Singe’s (Erwin Leder) blood. A determined and enraged Markus pursues Selene and Michael with plans to free his brother, William (Brian Steele), the first-ever and most powerful werewolf, from his centuries-old prison.

Andreas Tanis (Steven Mackintosh), a vampire and a historian, reluctantly helps Selene. Tanis warns Selene about the severity of William’s possible rampage, and Selene holds half of the key to William’s prison. Eventually, Markus corners Selene and Michael, but Alexander Corvinus (Derek Jacobi), the forefather of all vampires and Lycans, and Markus and William’s father, makes one last desperate attempt to tip the scales in Selene’s favor……

My Thoughts- Viktor was a liar, a false idol, and a ruthless leader, so who could possibly be worse? Enter Markus. Markus is completely nuts, more vicious, and he’s willing to kill anyone during his relentless mission to free William from his prison. 

But Markus’ evil mindset is rooted in pain. Yes, he’s delusional for believing he can control William, but William is his brother. On top of that, his father turned his back (“You are unwelcome in my presence!”) on him. A solid performance from Tony Curran, complete with cold stares, and Curran brings the believability for a violent and obsessive maniac. 

As bad as Markus is, you could say William is far worse. They did a good job of playing up the fact that William can’t control himself, the mindless and extremely dangerous werewolf, with an insatiable hunger for destruction. William himself, and anyone who’s been bitten by William, is incapable of reverting back to their human body. A good little caveat that adds another strong layer to William’s character. During the opening and towards the end, you’ll see why a bite from William has disastrous consequences. 

Derek Jacobi’s performance is mainly centered Alexander Corvinus’ prestigious aura and his strong presence. Jacobi confidently plays the wise and heavily flawed forefather. Yeah, it’s a selfish choice to allow William and Markus to wreak havoc, but the all-powerful forefather is conflicted, because he doesn’t want to murder his own sons. 

Steven Mackintosh’s Tanis is a real hoot. The disgraced historian, living a life of luxury and debauchery in exile, with lavish decor, women, and Lycan bodyguards? The jokes write themselves. Mackintosh is good for a few laughs, as the jumpy and shameless opportunist, who’s determined to survive by any means necessary, even if that includes trading UV ammunition designed to specifically kill vampires with Lucian. 

Selene gets a big power-up to fight Markus, drinking a dying Alexander Corvinus’ blood, still containing the last drops of his “legacy.” Nasty double back to back deaths for William and Markus. First, Michael rips William’s head off, and Selene finishes off Markus, with one hard blow, knocking Markus straight into spinning helicopter blades, ending Markus’ plans to start a new hybrid race. Cutting off half of Viktor’s head, and chopping Markus into pieces (with the big assist from the helicopter blades)? Selene always definitively finishes the job.

Michael’s miraculous recovery is my only gripe for the big finale. I understand the irony they were going for. Remember, in the previous film, Selene saved Michael from Viktor, when Viktor was close to murdering him. In Evolution, Selene was struggling against William and William’s group of infected werewolves, but Michael springs into action to save her. Still, the timing of Michael’s arrival was a little bit too convenient for me. 

Still, it’s a feel-good ending, packed with more than enough thrills. The simultaneous fights between, Markus, Selene, William, and Michael, Markus’ reaction to William’s death, and that enormous moment of relief between Selene and Michael, when they realize the madness is over for now. And of course there’s the cool moment, when Selene is finally able to safely stand in the sunlight after so many years. 

Director Len Wiseman gets carried away with the slow motion shots, and I’ve always wished they would’ve done more with Michael in this one. They made a big deal about Michael being a hybrid in the original, but in Evolution he’s more of an afterthought, or he’s just Selene’s trusty sidekick. But you also have to remember, we’re dealing with TWO hybrids in the sequel, because Singe’s blood, the blood of a Lycan, revived Markus.

Underworld: Evolution is a good and entertaining sequel. The dark and snowy atmosphere adds a nice aesthetic throughout the movie, a perfect fit for an Underworld film. Lots of fast-paced and hard-hitting action sequences (the fight between Markus, Selene, and Michael on the road, while Selene is driving the truck is my personal favorite), a handful of gnarly deaths, tons of bloody and gruesome violence, and there’s a refreshing spark for introducing new characters, including Andreas Tanis, Markus, William, and Alexander Corvinus. Evolution’s stylish gunplay, easily the best in the entire series, is terrific. Another strong final showdown to end the movie, and they delivered a satisfying conclusion (an emotional Selene standing in the sunlight is a great visual). 

The sequel picks up right after the conclusion of the events in the original. It’s an immediate and smooth transition, and there’s a highlight reel during the early stages, recapping all of the big events from Underworld (2003). The highlight package and the numerous flashbacks covers everything, so you don’t necessarily need to watch the first film to know what’s going on. 

A big upgrade in the villains department, featuring the terrible duo of Markus and William, two seemingly unstoppable forces. Markus is the only vampire throughout the movie, who has the ability to use a man-bat form, and the hulking white wolf form is exclusively for William. The forms for the first-ever vampire and the first-ever werewolf should feel special, and Markus and William should be the only ones, who are capable of using those forms. 

Underworld nails the rich lore for Markus, William, Alexander Corvinus, and the fine details in the sequel. I loved the snowy opening, starting off in 1202 A.D., with Viktor in full control during his reign, and you get to see a little bit more of Amelia. Viktor was NOT the original vampire. That title belongs to Markus. And there’s another bizarre twist, because a dying Viktor accepted Markus’ bite for immortality in exchange for Viktor’s army to stop and capture William!

There’s a lot of noticeable changes for the main characters, and Evolution ties up loose ends from the previous film. Now we know the exact reason why Viktor killed Selene’s family, and why he decided to spare and turn Selene. And Kraven got what he deserved for his treachery. 

It’s revealed Alexander Corvinus (using the alias Lorenz Macaro), in effort to contain the war between vampires and Lycans, leads and uses a top secret team/clean up crew to remove dead bodies. Corvinus’ team erases any and all forms of evidence, so you could point directly to him as the reason why humans don’t know about the existence of vampires and Lycans.

Selene is still a scrappy and confident ass-kicker, but they also put a lot of effort into humanizing her here. I had a lot of trouble buying into Selene and Michael’s relationship in the original. In Evolution, there’s a more concentrated approach to flesh out the bond between Michael and Selene. 

Michael was basically a puppy, who had to be protected by Selene, and led around by the hand from place to place in the original Underworld. Michael is more confident and fierce in Evolution, but he’s also struggling to accept his new life as a hybrid on the run. Michael almost goes into his full transformation during the scene at the tavern, and he’s about to attack one of the cops. But he sees his reflection in the mirror, realizes he’s becoming a monster, and snaps out of it. 

Enhanced powers for Selene, and Michael finds his footing as a hybrid. Michael and Selene will have bigger problems (Selene is now on the hook for killing TWO vampire elders), and more seemingly insurmountable challenges to deal with going forward. Two films in, and there’s still a good amount of momentum for another Underworld sequel. The follow-up sequel is a crucial film in any series. After Evolution, it’s clear there’s still a lot of gas in the tank for Selene’s new adventures.

Rating- 7/10

Deja Vu (2006)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- ATF Special Agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) risks his career and his life to stop a ferry bombing on Fat Tuesday, while simultaneously attempting to rescue Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton). Under the false pretenses of buying her car, a terrorist named Carroll Oerstadt (Jim Caviezel) kidnaps Claire and plans to use her vehicle to house a bomb intended to destroy the ferry.

After the tragic explosion on the ferry and Claire’s death, FBI Special Agent Paul Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer) recruits Doug to join his team. Doug receives help from Paul, Dr. Alexander Denny (Adam Goldberg), Gunnars (Elden Henson), and Shanti (Erika Alexander) through Snow White, a complex surveillance system that’s capable of capturing past events and time travel.

Defying stern orders from  FBI Special Agent Jack McCready (Bruce Greenwood), Doug travels to the past with Denny’s help to stop the ferry bombing and save Claire. But a few unexpected developments complicates Doug’s plans.

My Thoughts- Doug Carlin is a rebel with a big heart. His partner, Larry Minuti (Matt Craven), Claire, Claire’s father (Enrique Castillo), and everyone on the ferry boat. There’s no denying that Carlin has fierce levels of compassion for helping others. 

Denzel brings the intensity to Carlin, when it’s necessary or the genuine emotional reactions for Claire and Larry. It’s heavily implied Larry would still be alive, if he didn’t chase after Oerstadt as a direct result of Doug sending a note to the past. Doug is someone, who comes off as a down to earth guy, with some unusual methods and habits, and Denzel easily delivers another good performance in the leading role here.

Jim Caviezel’s Carroll Oerstadt is everything a villain is supposed to be. I’ve always loved the interrogation scene with Denzel. That cold blank stare on Caviezel’s face, and the cocky smirk, when he tells Doug he’s determined to win. And notice how Oerstadt pulls the tape recorder closer to him, when he details how he murdered Claire. Oerstadt realized Doug deeply cared about Claire and the victims. He wanted to twist the knife by moving the tape recorder closer, while making sure to maintain eye contact with Doug. 

What’s scary about Oerstadt is, he truly believes he’s doing the right thing, motivated by “destiny.”  Oerstadt is obviously still bitter about being rejected by the Army and the Marines. He believes he’s a patriot, but in reality, he’s a coward and a hypocrite, who doesn’t have the guts to make the sacrifices he rambles on about. Carroll is completely nuts and delusional, but he’s also a cerebral antagonist. Truly a good performance from Jim Caviezel, because it’s easy to believe Carroll Oerstadt is a sadistic and deeply disturbed man.

Time travel films are tricky. You’ll always run the risk of the story becoming too wonky, if you constantly jump back and forth between timelines too much, but Deja Vu only has ONE time travel scene. 

Deja Vu is one of the few films I can think of, where time travel is presented as something that could be realistic. It’s not as simple as just punching in numbers on a computer, and bam! You’re almost instantly transported to your destination in time. Denny stresses the risks and dangers of time travel, including the possibility of death. Time travel also requires a lot of power, whether it’s just a note, or an actual human being (Doug) in the machine, so the scenes showing an entire grid losing power helps to add a tad bit of realism to the movie.

Deja vu and time travel are two elements that go hand in hand. Deja vu would explain why Doug has an obsession with saving Claire. You have to believe Doug traveled through time more than once to try and save Claire and foil Oerstadt’s plans. The evidence is all over Claire’s apartment, and Doug just can’t shake the feeling of knowing or having a connection with Claire in the past. 

The clever chase scene, where Doug is trying to track down Oerstadt’s hideout and hopefully save Larry is one of the big highlights of the movie. Weaving in and out of the past and present, while Doug follows Oerstadt using the Goggle Rig works as a unique chase sequence, and a refreshing spin on how time travel can be used with different methods.

The ending? I have to admit I’ve never been too crazy about Doug emerging to ride off with Claire after the bomb explodes underwater. I can understand why they wanted to go for the big happy ending, and it ties in with the deja vu theme throughout the movie. But Doug from the previous timeline dying without the appearance of another Doug would’ve had a stronger emotional impact. Doug successfully saved Claire, everyone on the ferry, and he killed Oerstadt, so mission accomplished, right?

But this is a time travel movie, so of course that means more opportunities for a number of scenarios and possibilities. I’m not a big fan of the ending, but I also wouldn’t call it a plot hole. Just going off of Denny’s explanations about time travel, it’s possible Doug finally closed some kind of loop, when he killed Oerstadt and saved the ferry. Everything reset to normal, so that would explain why the final version of Doug during the closing moments of the movie wasn’t familiar with Claire, and he genuinely had no idea who she was.

Certain events and moments in Deja Vu are a bit too convenient. After he travels to the past, Doug lands in a hospital right next to a group of surgeons, who are seemingly in the middle of open heart surgery? And Doug arrives in the ambulance moments before Oerstadt is about to cut off Claire’s fingers. 

Deja Vu is predictable, but it’s still an entertaining sci-fi action film. It’s heavy on the action, and Deja Vu delivers its fare share of thrills. Denzel Washington brings his usual commanding presence to this one. A solid supporting cast with noteworthy performances from Val Kilmer, Bruce Greenwood, and Adam Goldberg. There’s also some good humor here, especially the banter between Golderg, Henson, Alexander, Doug, and Doug’s K-Y Jelly line and Oerstadt’s reaction to it. And she’s basically limited to a damsel in distress role, but Paula Patton still manages to make the most of her appearances throughout the movie. 

Deja Vu is set during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There’s a nice encouraging message for the people of New Orleans before the credits start rolling. There’s also a noticeable effort to showcase the customs and lifestyle in New Orleans. Doug riding a streetcar as a means of helping with his process to solve crimes, and Claire’s jazz inspired funeral are two good examples.

The opening scene of the movie does a great job of building sympathy for the ferry victims. The little girl dropping her doll in the water, the happy Navy sailors enjoying themselves, and it’s easy to see and feel the overall joyous mood on the ferry. It’s all snatched away from them in an instant, when the explosion happens. No time to react, no time to run for safety, or say any goodbyes.

Rating- 7/10

The Marine (2006)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers. No character deaths, or major reveals**

During a mission in Iraq, a Marine Sergeant named John Triton (John Cena) disobeys a direct order to save a kidnapped comrade from a brutal execution. Triton rescues the Marine, but he receives an honorable discharge from his Colonel after the mission.

At home, John is having trouble adjusting to the real world. John takes a job as a security guard at an office building, but John’s temper gets the best of him one day. John throws a disgruntled and bitter ex-boyfriend through a window on the lobby, and John is fired for his actions. John’s wife, Kate (Kelly Carlson) suggests a road trip to help John relax and forget about any problems from real life for a while, and John agrees.

John and Kate stop at a gas station to refuel. Here, the happy married couple are forced to deal with a gang of deadly jewel thieves. During a tense conversation, Rome (Robert Patrick), the leader and the mastermind of the group, tries to come up with an excuse to get rid of a suspicious police officer.

The crew includes Morgan (Anthony Ray Parker), Bennett (Manu Bennett), Vescera (Damon Gibson), and Rome’s girlfriend/sidekick, Angela (Abigail Bianca), and they’re closely watching the conversation between Rome and the police officer, waiting for the right moment to make their next move. Morgan panics at the sight of law enforcement, so he shoots and kills the officer, who’s talking to Rome. The crew kidnaps Kate for collateral, and John is knocked out by a fire extinguisher to the back of the head before he has a chance to save Kate.

Rome leads the crew through a swamp with Kate as their hostage. Rome tries to figure out a plan for stolen diamonds from a recent heist, but John refuses to give up on the rescue mission for Kate. John receives the green light to pursue Rome and his crew from a detective named Van Buren (Jerome Ehlers), and he won’t stop until Kate is safe. John is determined to tear through every member of Rome’s crew one by one, but an unexpected revelation from an unlikely traitor could jeopardize John’s rescue mission……..

Kudos to John Cena for a strong effort in the leading role. John Triton is an ass-kicking machine, who won’t quit in The Marine, and John Cena is a capable leading man. Some will say Cena is too robotic in the leading role, but Triton is a man with a three step process: Hunt, fight, and destroy. That’s it. Cena has the build and look of a tough guy, so the Triton character is a perfect fit for him, because you’re not asking Cena to go above and beyond with a versatile performance. And if you’re familiar with his WWE career, you should know Cena’s character is known for overcoming insurmountable odds and heroic comebacks.

Robert Patrick delivers a solid performance, but the Rome character is too bland. Basically, Patrick’s character is limited to spitting out a few lines of devilish and witty dialogue every now and then, but we’re  SUPPOSED to believe he’s this cerebral bad guy? Kelly Carlson is a cute face, who screams for help a lot, while kicking and fighting the bad guys during a handful of failed escape attempts, and that’s it.

The members of Rome’s crew are generic goons for the most part. Abigail Bianca’s Angela is supposed to be this lethal psycho with a mean streak, but when it’s all said and done, Bianca is just eye candy. And there’s no other way to say this, but Anthony Ray Parker’s Morgan is a paranoid “black man,” who feels the need to pull the race card every five minutes. There’s a good chance you won’t have any middle ground for this character. Parker’s shtick might pull a few cheap laughs out of you, or his routine will reach a “too annoying” point after ten minutes.

The Marine is a mindless fun action flick, if you don’t over-think the story. If you analyze The Marine step by step, you’ll probably hate this film with a burning, white hot passion. You’ll wonder why a detective would trust and allow a civilian to track down murderous jewel thieves. You’ll question the competence of a cop, who can’t arrest an unarmed man, and there’s no way you’ll buy into Triton’s miraculous escapes from big explosions.

For me, The Marine is a fun film for action junkies. Yeah, the final battle is underwhelming, and it’s hard to ignore the “been there, done that” twist. But The Marine delivers enough hard-hitting fight sequences, and over the top thrills for me to look the other way. On top of that, the one hour and thirty-three minutes runtime feels like a breeze, because The Marine maintains a hectic fast pace. The Marine receives a lot of hate as a preposterous mess, but I’m going with a bare minimum guilty pleasure pass for this one.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

The Marine (2006)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

During a mission in Iraq, a Marine Sergeant named John Triton (John Cena) disobeys a direct order to save a kidnapped comrade from a brutal execution. Triton rescues the Marine, but he receives an honorable discharge from his Colonel after the mission.

At home, John is having trouble adjusting to the real world. John takes a job as a security guard at an office building, but John’s temper gets the best of him one day. John throws a disgruntled and bitter ex-boyfriend through a window on the lobby, and John is fired for his actions. John’s wife, Kate (Kelly Carlson) suggests a road trip to help John relax and forget about any problems from real life for a while, and John agrees.

John and Kate stop at a gas station to refuel. Here, the happy married couple are forced to deal with a gang of deadly jewel thieves. During a tense conversation, Rome (Robert Patrick), the leader and the mastermind of the group, tries to come up with an excuse to get rid of a suspicious police officer.

The crew includes Morgan (Anthony Ray Parker), Bennett (Manu Bennett), Vescera (Damon Gibson), and Rome’s girlfriend/sidekick, Angela (Abigail Bianca), and they’re closely watching the conversation between Rome and the police officer, waiting for the right moment to make their next move. Morgan panics at the sight of law enforcement, so he shoots and kills the officer, who’s talking to Rome. The crew kidnaps Kate for collateral, and John is knocked out by a fire extinguisher to the back of the head before he has a chance to save Kate.

Rome leads the crew through a swamp with Kate as their hostage. Rome tries to figure out a plan for stolen diamonds from a recent heist, but John refuses to give up on the rescue mission for Kate. John receives the green light to pursue Rome and his crew from a detective named Van Buren (Jerome Ehlers), and he won’t stop until Kate is safe. John is determined to tear through every member of Rome’s crew one by one, but an unexpected revelation from an unlikely traitor could jeopardize John’s rescue mission……..

Kudos to John Cena for a strong effort in the leading role. John Triton is an ass-kicking machine, who won’t quit in The Marine, and John Cena is a capable leading man. Some will say Cena is too robotic in the leading role, but Triton is a man with a three step process: Hunt, fight, and destroy. That’s it. Cena has the build and look of a tough guy, so the Triton character is a perfect fit for him, because you’re not asking Cena to go above and beyond with a versatile performance. And if you’re familiar with his WWE career, you should know Cena’s character is known for overcoming insurmountable odds and heroic comebacks.

Robert Patrick delivers a solid performance, but the Rome character is too bland. Basically, Patrick’s character is limited to spitting out a few lines of devilish and witty dialogue every now and then, but we’re  SUPPOSED to believe he’s this cerebral bad guy? Kelly Carlson is a cute face, who screams for help a lot, while kicking and fighting the bad guys during a handful of failed escape attempts, and that’s it.

The members of Rome’s crew are generic goons for the most part. Abigail Bianca’s Angela is supposed to be this lethal psycho with a mean streak, but when it’s all said and done, Bianca is just eye candy. And there’s no other way to say this, but Anthony Ray Parker’s Morgan is a paranoid “black man,” who feels the need to pull the race card every five minutes. There’s a good chance you won’t have any middle ground for this character. Parker’s shtick might pull a few cheap laughs out of you, or his routine will reach a “too annoying” point after ten minutes.

The lone twist in The Marine is a real head-scratcher. Remember Detective Van Buren? Apparently he’s in cahoots with Rome and his crew, and he used John to lead him to Rome’s hideout (some old broken down lodge in the swamp). Here, it’s revealed Van Buren is the mysterious partner, who spoke with Rome on the phone throughout the movie. Van Buren holds a gun to John’s head, and he demands his “cut” from the diamond heist, but Rome turns the tables on Van Buren. Rome shoots Van Buren to death, and Rome escapes (again) with Kate and Angela, leaving John alone.

But it’s not over yet! John turns the tables on an arresting officer, and he steals his boat. Eventually, John catches up to Rome and Angela at a marina. John kills Angela (finishing off the remainder of Rome’s crew) by throwing her out of a speeding truck with Rome as the driver.

Rome steers the speeding truck (with a handcuffed Kate inside) into the water, so now John is free to slug it out with Rome one on one. John wins the fight, when a pile of flaming debris crushes Rome, and John rescues Kate from the truck. John gives Kate CPR, but a charred Rome returns to finish what he started. But a resourceful John uses a chain to choke out and kill Rome.

The Van Buren twist? Yes, it’s a surprise, because I can honestly say I didn’t see it coming, but the “dirty cop” twist is so clichéd, so there’s no real shock factor to Van Buren as a bad guy here. The big showdown between Rome and Triton is kind of underwhelming for a few reasons. First, Triton’s duels with Rome’s henchmen (i.e. the fight with Morgan at the lodge) were more entertaining, and it’s not even close, so Triton’s previous bouts undermine the big finale.

And to add insult to injury, Rome’s demise is tamed, when you compare his death to the deaths of the other bad guys in the film. Vescera’s body is devoured by alligators, and moments before the fight with Rome, you’ll see Angela thrown out of a speeding truck, and she flies into the windshield of a bus. That’s a shocking death. Sorry, but Rome is the primary antagonist, so he’s supposed to suffer the most brutal death.

The Marine is a mindless fun action flick, if you don’t over-think the story. If you analyze The Marine step by step, you’ll probably hate this film with a burning, white hot passion. You’ll wonder why a detective would trust and allow a civilian to track down murderous jewel thieves. You’ll question the competence of a cop, who can’t arrest an unarmed man, and there’s no way you’ll buy into Triton’s miraculous escapes from big explosions.

For me, The Marine is a fun film for action junkies. Yeah, the final battle is underwhelming, and it’s hard to ignore the “been there, done that” twist. But The Marine delivers enough hard-hitting fight sequences, and over the top thrills for me to look the other way. On top of that, the one hour and thirty-three minutes runtime feels like a breeze, because The Marine maintains a hectic fast pace. The Marine receives a lot of hate as a preposterous mess, but I’m going with a bare minimum guilty pleasure pass for this one.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Desperation (2006)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers. No character deaths or major reveals.**

Mary (Annabeth Gish) and Peter (Henry Thomas) Jackson are taking a road trip to New York. During a stint on the back roads of the Nevada desert, Collie Entragian (Ron Perlman), the town Sheriff in Desperation, forces the couple to stop for a missing license plate. A simple trip to return the car to David’s sister takes a turn for the worst, when Collie finds a large bag of marijuana in the trunk. Without hesitation, Collie arrests Peter and Mary for possession with the intent to sell and distribute.

In Desperation, Peter and Mary are horrified at a desolate landscape, including scattered dead bodies and deserted buildings. At the holding cells in Desperation’s police station, Mary meets a young David Carver (Shane Haboucha), his father, Ralph (Matt Frewer), his mother, Ellen (Sylvia Kelegian), and Tom Billingsley (Charles Durning), an elderly resident of Desperation. Eventually, Collie captures Johnny Marinville (Tom Skerritt), a famous writer, who’s looking for inspiration for his next book. Johnny joins the other prisoners in the holding cells.

After a while, the prisoners realize they have one thing in common with each other: Collie abused his powers as Sheriff to arrest everyone. No phone calls, no lawyers, nothing. Help from the outside is a long shot, but Johnny has an ace up his sleeve. Unbeknownst to Collie, Johnny made a phone call to his assistant, Steve Ames (Steven Weber) for a helping hand.

During the night, Steve arrives in Desperation with a hitchhiker named Cynthia Smith (Kelly Overton). Steve and Cynthia search the city for Johnny and the others, but an endless trail of mangled corpses complicates the rescue mission. With some help from an old roll of reel film, David learns the truth about Collie: Collie is possessed by Tak, an evil entity, who was released from the mine in Desperation years ago.

Tak uses his powers to control bloodthirsty dogs and panthers, so he can use them as weapons. Although, human bodies can’t sustain Tak’s powers, so Tak is forced to switch vessels frequently, but Tak is running out of human bodies to possess. Tak kidnaps Mary, and with guidance from God, and his sister, Pie (Sammi Hanratty), David leads an all-out assault to stop Tak once and for all.

It’s a toss up between Skerritt and Perlman for the best performance here. Perlman’s hokey performance as this sadistic Sheriff with a dark sense of humor is fun to watch. Skerritt is spot on as this remorseless jerk with an ego, but the Johnny character has a (predictable) change of heart towards the end. Shane Haboucha delivers a competent performance as David, and the rest of the supporting cast ranges from decent to mediocre.

Do you believe? It’s a reoccurring question throughout Desperation. David puts all his faith in God to guide him through Desperation, so he can lead the others to fight Tak. As a non-believer, David’s devotion to God infuriates Ellen (Ellen is still upset over Pie’s death in Desperation), and Johnny won’t accept a cruel God.

The battle of beliefs bounces back and forth, but the religious side of Desperation never overwhelms the story. There’s an even balance of spooky horror, the fight to stop Tak, and David’s mission to convince everyone to have faith, so you don’t have to worry about any muddling problems.

Desperation isn’t a terrible film, but it’s nothing to brag about. Unfortunately,  Desperation suffers from the usual problems in a Stephen King adaptation that’s made for TV: an overall so-so cast, an overlong runtime (the commercial breaks provide some relief on TV), and tacky special effects (i.e. Tak in a bodiless form towards the end). With all that said, director Mick Garris provides a chilling and eerie ghost town atmosphere for Desperation, and you’ll see a few nasty and cringeworthy moments (the decaying bodies of Tak’s victims, a slot machine that dispenses blood, etc.). Also, without Perlman and Skerritt, Desperation could’ve been a lot worse. It’s not Brian De Palma’s Carrie (or The Mist), but if you’re a fan of Stephen King and Stephen King adaptations, Desperation is worth a try.

Rating: 6/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Desperation (2006)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

Mary (Annabeth Gish) and Peter (Henry Thomas) Jackson are taking a road trip to New York. During a stint on the back roads of the Nevada desert, Collie Entragian (Ron Perlman), the town Sheriff in Desperation, forces the couple to stop for a missing license plate. A simple trip to return the car to David’s sister takes a turn for the worst, when Collie finds a large bag of marijuana in the trunk. Without hesitation, Collie arrests Peter and Mary for possession with the intent to sell and distribute.

In Desperation, Peter and Mary are horrified at a desolate landscape, including scattered dead bodies and deserted buildings. At the holding cells in Desperation’s police station, Mary meets a young David Carver (Shane Haboucha), his father, Ralph (Matt Frewer), his mother, Ellen (Sylvia Kelegian), and Tom Billingsley (Charles Durning), an elderly resident of Desperation. Eventually, Collie captures Johnny Marinville (Tom Skerritt), a famous writer, who’s looking for inspiration for his next book. Johnny joins the other prisoners in the holding cells.

After a while, the prisoners realize they have one thing in common with each other: Collie abused his powers as Sheriff to arrest everyone. No phone calls, no lawyers, nothing. Help from the outside is a long shot, but Johnny has an ace up his sleeve. Unbeknownst to Collie, Johnny made a phone call to his assistant, Steve Ames (Steven Weber) for a helping hand.

During the night, Steve arrives in Desperation with a hitchhiker named Cynthia Smith (Kelly Overton). Steve and Cynthia search the city for Johnny and the others, but an endless trail of mangled corpses complicates the rescue mission. With some help from an old roll of reel film, David learns the truth about Collie: Collie is possessed by Tak, an evil entity, who was released from the mine in Desperation years ago.

Tak uses his powers to control bloodthirsty dogs and panthers, so he can use them as weapons. Although, human bodies can’t sustain Tak’s powers, so Tak is forced to switch vessels frequently, but Tak is running out of human bodies to possess. Tak kidnaps Mary, and with guidance from God, and his sister, Pie (Sammi Hanratty), David leads an all-out assault to stop Tak once and for all.

It’s a toss up between Skerritt and Perlman for the best performance here. Perlman’s hokey performance as this sadistic Sheriff with a dark sense of humor is fun to watch. Skerritt is spot on as this remorseless jerk with an ego, but the Johnny character has a (predictable) change of heart towards the end. Shane Haboucha delivers a competent performance as David, and the rest of the supporting cast ranges from decent to mediocre.

Do you believe? It’s a reoccurring question throughout Desperation. David puts all his faith in God to guide him through Desperation, so he can lead the others to fight Tak. As a non-believer, David’s devotion to God infuriates Ellen (Ellen is still upset over Pie’s death in Desperation), and Johnny won’t accept a cruel God.

The battle of beliefs bounces back and forth, but the religious side of Desperation never overwhelms the story. There’s an even balance of spooky horror, the fight to stop Tak, and David’s mission to convince everyone to have faith, so you don’t have to worry about any muddling problems.

Who’s the hero? Well if you guessed David, you’re wrong. Years ago, Johnny crossed paths with Tak during the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, Johnny witnessed a possessed victim arm a bomb in the bathroom of a bar, but Johnny didn’t warn anyone about the looming explosion. Instead, Johnny ran from the bar to save his own skin, leaving everyone else to die in the blast.

During the big showdown, Johnny believes in David and his faith in God, but his conscience kicks in at the last second. Johnny won’t allow David to risk his life in the fight against Tak. On top of that, Johnny takes advantage at a second shot of redemption for Vietnam. Johnny hugs David good-bye, and with the remaining explosives, Johnny marches into the mine alone to confront and destroy Tak. In the mine, Tak pulls Johnny into a deep hole. Johnny injures his leg, and he’s unable to stand. After the fall, Johnny sacrifices himself by using his last ounce of strength to fire a gunshot as the trigger for the explosives.

Predictable. It’s the only word you can use to describe this finale. You could see Johnny’s change of heart coming from a mile away, and you knew he would sacrifice himself as the lone combatant to fight Tak, because Johnny needed redemption for Vietnam and his actions in Desperation ( long story short, Johnny was a real jerk to everyone). Still, Desperation delivers a satisfying finale. The timeless formula for a small band of unlikely heroes rising to the occasion to defeat a seemingly unstoppable evil power works in Desperation, and Johnny’s one-liner (“I hate critics!”) before the big explosion brought a good laugh out of me.

Desperation isn’t terrible, but it’s nothing to brag about. Unfortunately,  Desperation suffers from the usual problems in a Stephen King adaptation that’s made for TV: an overall so-so cast, an overlong runtime (the commercial breaks provide some relief on TV), and tacky special effects (i.e. Tak in a bodiless form towards the end). With all that said, director Mick Garris provides a chilling and eerie ghost town atmosphere for Desperation, and you’ll see a few nasty and cringeworthy moments (the decaying bodies of Tak’s victims, a slot machine that dispenses blood, etc.). Also, without Perlman and Skerritt, Desperation could’ve been a lot worse. It’s not Brian De Palma’s Carrie (or The Mist), but if you’re a fan of Stephen King and Stephen King adaptations, Desperation is worth a try.

Rating: 6/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1