Gibson shines perfectly, almost as if eight years from being behind the camera, was nothing. Edge of Darness, is a grim and emotionally charged thriller that brings us the inevitable nature of drama in all its glory. Martin Campbell works it well with thrills and mystery at every turn taking us to the edge of our seats with precision and gut wrenching emotion.

“You decide whether your hanging on the cross or bangin’ in the nails!” thats the signature and marketable line for Martin Campbell’s well paced and suspenseful remake of the BBC series, Edge of Darkness. Where most studios are looking for their version of Taken, some version of a story with an angry father hell bent on chaos and destruction to find the truth, find his daughter or right some wrong. Darkness is definitely that but more. Its a thriller first, drama second and top notch pace of human exploration third.

Where fall 2009′s Law Abiding Citizen struggled to really take you into the trauma and loss of a man’s only family instead it brings you a sort of over the top revenge tail, Darkness is film that really goes psychological and fits all of the character and acting strengths of Mel Gibson perfectly.

Getting to the point, I really loved this film and its pace, its ability to make you uncomfortable at times but its sole ability to make you care and feel remorse for a man who’s only daughter, his only family left is taken from him. Well paced thrillers are hard to find nowadays for reasons that vary but typically, and this is just my opinion, because they fail to really captivate and harness any real gravity to each scene and grip you into the psychology of the characters involved.

In ‘Darkness the first 20 minutes are very uncomfortable and draw us into a lovely father-daughter relationship to quick and violent untimely demise. Campbell shows a great ability to blend Howard Shore’s tempant and eerie score  with Gibson’s pain and loss through every scene as he tries to unravel the mystery of his daughter’s death. Gibson plays Tom Craven, a respected Boston cop, who when his daughter Emma is killed, goes on a vendetta to unwrap the truth of her mysterious demise. Every scene is edited perfectly together to bring the audience closer to whats larger at work while focusing on how the emotion of one man is tested at every turn.

Without giving too much away, Craven begins to unravel a cover-up that has people involved who are about as devious as you can get. One of the roles that deserves some mentioning is Danny Houston’s Jack Bennett, a creepy purveyor of Northmoor, the private weapons company that Emma Craven worked at. Huston has this ability to just stare at you and make a scene really uncomfortable, especially when he asks Gibson’s Craven about his daughter being murdered saying, “how does it feel?” I felt like he was asking me the question about the movie and how I felt.

The film is capable, wrenching and as mentioned, well paced. Every moment makes for Gibson to do what he does best. Another honorable mention in the movie is Ray Winstone, who plays a shady CIA officer, brought in to control the situation and federal secrets from becoming known, he is 100% intriguing and complements Gibson really well.

To conclude, Edge of Darkness, really does take us to the edge, the deep disheartening feeling of losing someone close to you and the secrets, lies and conspiracy surrounding that. I liked Edge of Darkness not just because Campbell made a clear cut thriller or because of Gibson. I liked it because the movie gives us the reality of this situation, the inevitable nature and predicament of a man who truly has nothing to lose. Its grim and depressing and the true nature of that beast, is what makes drama work perfectly.

Sure there will be those critics who will find similarities to Taken, Man on Fire or Bronson’s Death Wish and thats fine it should be characterized as in that vein but that doesn’t make the film bad or good. Ultimately, I recommend this film highly and think that most of you will find a well paced, real thriller with some nice social commentaries and sweet moments wrapped in the sheets of very uncomfortable situations, something that the British really know how to encompass into a story and film. Also I am glad Gibson is back and this is a perfect return.

Total Score: 9 out of 10

To Save a Life is a Christian film focusing on high school basketball star Jake Taylor, played by Randy Wayne.  He and his best friend Roger Dawson (Robert Bailey, Jr.) have been friends since childhood, but he and Jake grow apart as Jake spends more time with his new girlfriend Amy.  By their senior year, Jake’s the most popular guy in school, is at all the best parties, and is headed to Louisville on a basketball scholarship.  Roger is constantly picked on and is generally unnoticed.  Roger causes an incident at school and it causes Jake to look at his life and question his goals and priorities.  Jake decides to start going to church and cut out a lot of the partying, but he gets opposition from his friends, girlfriend, and father.  Jake also begins hanging out with the kids that he attends church with, which causes his social standing to drop.  Jake also questions his decision to attend Louisville.  Jake’s life begins to unravel and he searches for something or someone to believe in.

To Save a Life is not your typical “preachy” Christian movie.  There is a little profanity and a lot of focus on issues facing all teens.  Teen pregnancy, suicide, teen drinking, and cutting are addressed in this film.  This film also does not offer easy conclusions to the problems the charactes are facing.  The film also sports a very experienced young cast. The actors portraying Jake and Roger have several film and TV credits.  Also, former child actor Arjay Smith (The Journey of Allen Strange, Malcolm In the Middle) has a small role.  To Save a Life is honest, sad, gritty, and hopeful.  It’s a film that speaks to the problems that several teens face, regardless of religion.  Check this film out if it comes to your town or when it comes to DVD.

To Save a Life gets a 7 out of 10

Michael Cera is Nick Twisp, a pansy who adores Frank Sinatra, but has grown tired of his virginal existence. The object of his desire comes in the form of Sheeni Saunders (played by newcomer Portia Doubleday), a sweet looker, who loves all things French and whose dream is to someday live in Paris; she believes most people live stunted lives. This propels Nick to want to be a better man.  To change his life, Nick creates a supplementary persona known as Francois Dilinger – a devilish sexpot, with black halos in his eyes, he is a figment of his imagination that inspires him to be bad – he throws his records at him: “you’re not gonna get this girl by sitting around listening to records. It’s time to rebel Nick; it’s time to be bad”.  Nick is the most multi-dimensional character, the adults in his life are a mirth of clichés – his Dad is unemployed (Steve Buscemi), but has a 25 year old budding cosmetologist girlfriend (Ari Graynor); his Mom is a tramp, when her latest boyfriend (Zach Galifianakis) dies, the Cop (Ray Liotta) who tells her the news spends the night with her.

Youth in Revolt seems to revel in the insanity of love and angst often too much, bringing down much of the film’s second act, as it moves far too leisurely in its natural direction. Still it redeems itself with an opus of comedic moments: a thanksgiving dinner where Shenni’s parents are unknowingly drugged by a stuffed mushroom appetizer that her brother (Justin Long) prepared.  Director Miguel Arteta (Chuck & Buck) smartly loads the film with infectious gimmick and exuberance, that includes a vividly shot road trip sequence that has Nick borrowing his friend Vuay’s (Adhir Kalyan) Grandmother’s car, as well as a sexually animated drug trip scene that perfectly symbolizes the films lunacy.

Michael Cera’s stock and trade has always been playing the model teen.  Even though he is further painting his career into a corner with this film, perhaps it will be his swan song to the genre because this is his most comically startling performance – as Francois he truly is a fiendish delight to watch.  In contrast, this is Portia Doubleday first major film role, she flawlessly lends sweetness to essentially a selfish bad girl, who’s on the brink of love – she’s an element that works completely.

Youth in Revolt’s sugary teenage dream must be given into to truly be captivated by it. Be sure you stay for the end credits to see the complete fantasy.

3 ½ /5 stars

Sunshine Cleaning debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.  It took a little while for the film to get distribution, but I think it was worth the wait.  In Sunshine Cleaning, Amy Adams plays the role of Rose Lorkowski, a former high school cheerleader turned single mom working a dead-end job as a house cleaner.  She is also involved in an affair with her high school sweetheart, a married cop named Mac.  Mac is portrayed by the versatile actor Steve Zahn.  Mac suggests that Rose enter the business of cleaning crime scenes because it is profitable.  Around this time, her slacker sister Norah (played by Emily Blunt) is fired from her latest job, so they go in business together. In the beginning, the sisters are amateurish and have to overcome their gag reflex at the sight of blood and dead bodies.

Eventually, they become a solid team, and begin to develop a bond.  Amy Adams is a lot less perky in this film than she was in Enchanted, but she still has a very likable quality.  Emily Blunt is equally excellent as Norah, the flaky sister that still lives with their dad, portrayed by veteran actor Alan Arkin.  The English-born Blunt delivers a decent American accent, and as the film progresses, you begin to see the layers of her character and the events that have shaped her.  Alan Arkin also has some great scenes with Jason Spevack, who plays Amy Adam’s son.  The film has an excellent supporting cast, including Clifton Collins, Jr. as Winston, the one-armed owner of the shop where Rose and Norah buy their cleaning supplies.  Winston also helps them learn all the rules and regulations so they can become a legitimate business. 

24‘s Mary Lynn Rajskub also delivers a superb performance as Lynn, a woman who develops a unique relationship with Norah.  The premise may sound dark and morbid, and there are certainly lots of gruesome shots, but the overall message of the film seems to be one of hope and fighting for your dreams.  As Rose, Amy Adams undergoes a metamorphosis from a timid person trapped in a bad situation to a strong, confident person who begins to take ownership of her life and deal with situations.  Personally, I enjoyed her a lot more in this film than I did in Doubt. I felt that her nun character in that film was simply a toned-down version of her princess from Enchanted. Amy Adams plays a regular working class woman, but she still retains some of the charm and determination that she has become known for. Also, the relationship between Adams and Blunt is conflicted and resembles the interaction of real-life siblings.

My only complaint is that I would have liked to have seen more of Carl, the rival crime scene cleaner portayed by Kevin Chapman.  Sunshine Cleaning, like the name implies, is a feel-good film about people who clean up dead bodies.  That premise may sound absurd, but it works.  This is an indie film, so it may not come to theaters near you, or it may have already left your city.  I highly recommend everyone checking this out, even if you have to wait for it on DVD.  It’s one of my favorite movies of the year so far.

Total Score: 7 out of 10

Bolt (3D Version)

Ever since I was a child, Disney has always been synonymous with bringing the best quality animation to every one of their movies. They combined that animation with creative storytelling, music and laughter. That tradition carries on even today and its seen in its most recent form with BOLT.

The film, which was produced by Walt Disney Animation Films, marks Disney’s 48th animated feature and while the studio has gone along way from the classics like Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Now CGI laden films have taken over for the hand-drawn process and Disney just adapted. Pixar helps but this a movie that shows me that they can do movies without Pixar’s help.

BOLT, follows none other than man’s best friend, a dog. This small, white German Shepherd, gives the audience a vision that not only is a dog a man’s best friend but much more, that dogs are brave, loving and caring, loyal animals. What would have to be this year’s “dog movie”, BOLT, will send every kid to a pet store wanting their heroic canine to play fetch with.

Our film opens with this sentimental moment as a young girl, Penny (Miley Cyrus) sees Bolt (John Travolta) at a pet store and instantly forms that connection that creates the bond that forms the entire movie. We are then thrust a few years later where find that Bolt and Penny are actors and that the dog has lived his entire life on a TV show as a superhero dog.

As a result, he thinks that his superpowers, and events on film, are real. When he is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he embarks on a cross-country journey to reunite with Penny, “his person”. Throughout his struggle, Bolt beleives that everything in his life was real and that he can use his powers to get back to Penny and destroy the evil Dr. Calico w/the green eye. On his journey he teams up with a stray cat named Mittens (Susie Essman) and a “Magic-box” loving (TV), Bolt obsessed fanboy hamster named Rhino (Mark Walton). As Bolt journey’s across the country he finds through the help of his friends that he doesn’t need his superpowers to be a hero.

I certainly enjoyed this movie. As a fan of animated films, this movie truly made me smile and get lost into the film. Though to some, this movie, may lack the same emotional connection that Wall*E may have brung but that is where I think it has its brilliance. The movie’s emotional drive came in the simplest form, love. A girl’s love for her dog and a dog’s love for his master or “person”. Bolt teaches that we do not need to rely on all the extraneous abilities and talents we might have because in any tough situation, love, is what gets us through it.

Lastly, perhaps the 3D experience made this movie that much better. As Disney’s first ever, production, to be filmed in 3D from its inception, I felt immersed from the beginning. Also unlike other 3D films, such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, this movie didn’t rely on “gadgety” actions to heighten the 3D experience it used it as a vehicle to bring the audience into the world of BOLT in such a fantastic way. I truly enjoyed the movie in this capacity and would recommend it to almost anyone as it made going to the movie fun again!

Finally, Rhino the hamster rocks! Bolt is the Bond of all dogs and Mittens is truly a cat. I leave you now to crawl up with my kitty, Tabatha. So love your pet and they will love you back thats the best message ever! Maybe they should force Michael Vick to watch this movie?

Starring: Miley Ray Cyrus, John Travolta, Nick Swardson, Susie Essman, Malcolm McDowell, James Lipton, Randy Savage, Mark Walton

Directed by: Chris Williams

Rated: R

Sex Drive

Rating: “R”

Runtime: 109 min

Starring: Josh Zuckerman, Amanda Crew, Clark Duke, James Marsden and Seth Green

Director: Sean Anders

Release Date: October 17, 2008

For all of those who loved SuperBad, Sex Drive is the movie for you. I would go as far as saying that it is the new SuperBad. This instant classic is about a guy named Ian who met a girl named “Ms. Tasty” online. As he debates whether or not to drive the 8 hours to Knoxville, TN to meet her, Ian”s friend Lance convinces to go and they set out on their own road trip. One problem though, Felicia, Ian’s best friend since childhood, who he has strong feelings for, joins them on their quest thinking that Ian is going to visit his ailing grandmother. Let the games begin! From here on out it is nothing but hysterical misadventure as they overcome obstacles such as jealous boyfriends, car troubles, hitch hikers, and great cultural connection with a sarcastic Amish man played by Seth Green. With their minds set on getting to Knoxville, you will then see how Ian”s “sex drive” drives them, and will surely make you laugh until tears leave your eyes and your sides hurt.

The Good - Great cast and humor. Will become an instant classic to today”s comedies.

The Bad - About 3 or 4 possible endings, they just needed to use the very last scene and it would have been good.

The Ugly - Some of the situations they found themselves in, but that is what made the movie hysterical.

Shia, Shia, Shia……..what have they done with my Shia? Until Robert Downey Jr. came along this year, Mr. LaBeouf was my favorite actor. His name alone was enough to draw me in. Combine director D.J. Caruso (did a great job on Disturbia) with LaBeouf and throw in an awesome initial trailer, and I’m in. Unfortunately for me, that trailer showed all of the interesting/good parts of the film.

The first 2/3 of the film was okay for me, but that last 1/3 really disappointed me. I just felt like we’ve seen this plot point so many times before and done in more interesting ways that this movie was just a rehash of a rehash of a rehash. Many times when I was watching, I expected Shia to turn into Will Smith who has tackled this subject so many times, its become second nature (iRobot, Enemy of the State).

The action sequences are the main reason to see the film but D.J. Caruso uses the shaky cam here way too often and to very disorienting effect. I had to close my eyes numerous times because I had no idea what was going on or where the characters were in the scene.

For me the things that let me down most about the film were the antagonist of the film (a twist that has been done far too often) and the Steven Spielberg, “War of the Worlds” ending. There was a point for me that they could have ended the movie on and I would have enjoyed the film quite a bit more, but sadly the film continues and has to wrap everything up in a nice shiny bow.

The Good: Billy Bob Thornton

The Bad: Skynet/Hal/iRobot villian, Cookie-cutter ending

The Ugly: Michelle Monaghan’s facial contortions throughout the movie. The awful shaky camera which looked like a film school dropout’s handy work.

Ghost Town

Director: David Koepp

Starring: Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Greg Kinnear, Billy Campbell

Rated: PG-13 for some strong

language, sexual humor and drug references

Genre: Comedy

Theatrical Release: September 19, 2008

Synopsis: Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais), is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni). That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle with spirited result. (Written by Studio Approved Synopsis)

Ghost Town could have easily been mediocre. The premise of one person being able to see dead people while everyone else looks at them like he/she are crazy has been done numerous times before (Ghost immediately comes to mind) but Ghost Town actually makes it interesting and with talented comedians like Gervais and Kristen Wiig, you will be laughing throughout the film.

The acting in the film is great, Gervais plays curmudgeon to perfection here. He actually loves his job for the very fact that he can stop people from talking to him by inserting various dental items into their mouths. The tagline for the film is actually “He sees dead people… and they annoy him.” Most of the humor comes from his hatred of being annoyed by people (dead or alive). Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesomeness of Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live, any scene she’s in is hilarious.

Ricky Gervais is a huge star in the British comedy world, but hasn’t yet made the same impact here in America, which is unfortunate, but my hopes are he continues to make good movies like Ghost Town and gain popularity here in the states. If you like Extras or The Office (UK) then you will feel right at home with this comedy.

In lesser hands, this could have been a paint-by-numbers generic ghost comedy (Ghost Dad, Over Her Dead Body, etc.) but with Ricky Gervais, you can be sure this one won’t vanish anytime soon.

The Good: Ricky Gervais and Kristen Wiig

The Bad: Anytime Gervais isn’t on camera

The Ugly: The Dentist’s Tools (cringe) that Gervais uses as he works on his clients.

A tale of desperation, suspicion and sex all for the sake of casual laughter and ironic snickers, this movie is truly a winner…with the typical Cohen dialogue and goofy characters this movie isn’t Fargo but is better than Intolerable.

A film that its stars Clooney and Pitt do not have the on-creen magic as they did in the Ocean’s films but they still brought interesting people to the screen. To me the movie was basically the laughable opposite of Traffic...or even Crash...taking the cross path situation and making a farce about it.

Perhaps my favorite lines consisted of Pitt constantly referring to a set of top secret data as “that classified shit!” Or the perfect confusion portrayed by JK Simmons, as a CIA “higher-up” acting confused and irreverent towards the lives of the other goofy people in the story.

The film follows CIA analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) who arrives at a top-secret meeting. Unfortunately for Cox he is being fired. His wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) is put out, though not particularly surprised; she is already involved with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a married federal marshal, who happens to be uber positive, a nympho and a run freak!

Elsewhere in the Washington, D.C. Hardbodies Fitness Centers goof Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) is old and ready for some plastic surgery confiding in her “can-do” go to co-worker/friend Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt). When a disc containing material for Cox’s memoirs falls into the hands of Linda and Chad, the duo are intent on exploiting the find to better their lives. This leads all the characters into a series of darkly hilarious encounters…that ultimately end in nothing but confusion.

As I mentioned I really enjoyed the movie it was delightfully funny certainly not the expected follow-up post “No Country‘ and definitely not an Oscar bid film. This movie succeeds where it should and Pitt delivers as another quirky cartoon character. Still he is no “pikey” he makes the movie with laughable stupidity. Ultimately this is worthy of being a Cohen movie but certainly no Lebowski but up there with Raising Arizona and Millers Crossing.

Director:Fred Wolf

Starring: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis

Screenwriter: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith

Producer: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Allen Covert, Heather Parry

Rated: “PG-13″

Theatrical Release: Aug 22, 2008 Wide

Synopsis: In this Columbia Pictures’ comedy, Anna Faris charms as Shelley Darlington, a Playboy Bunny who teaches an awkward sorority about the opposite sex – only to learn that what boys really like is what’s on the inside.

Shelley is living a carefree life until a rival gets her tossed out of the Playboy Mansion. With nowhere to go, fate delivers her to the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta. Unless they can sign a new pledge class, the seven socially clueless women will lose their house to the scheming girls of Phi Iota Mu. In order to accomplish their goal, they need Shelley to teach them the ways of makeup and men; at the same time, Shelley needs some of what the Zetas have – a sense of individuality. The combination leads all the girls to learn how to stop pretending and start being themselves. –© Sony Pictures

The House Bunny is a nice little comedy, with a pretty decent cast. Anna Faris is one of the Hollywood’s best comedic actors and she was hilarious in this movie. The film is written by Legally Blonde screenwriters Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, so while not as good as Legally Blonde, I think if you enjoyed that movie, you will enjoy this.

Anna Faris is the shining star in this, so Faris haters need not apply here. Although I have no idea how you could possible hate this impossibly cute comedic wonder. She has a natural talent for physical comedy, and her portrayal of the dim-witted blonde is perfect. The rest of the cast turns in pretty go

od performances (the other standout was Emma Stone who you can catch in The Rocker).

Story wasn’t anything original, pretty much a female version of Revenge of The Nerds and other similar comedies.

The one thing that might offend people is the way female personality is treated in the movie. At the start of the film the “nerdy” girls all have individual identities but are socially inept. Anna Faris’ character (who isn’t the brightest bulb in the shed, but has nice boobs) comes in and helps them become more popular by dressing them up and applying makeup to the nerds. Now it’s all fine and dandy that they got these makeovers (in fact I really enjoyed the nerds after the makeover :D) but it’s at the expense of their individuality. It’s almost like saying “ok girls, the way to popularity is conformity to the MTV idea of what pretty is.” That being said, I normally don’t look too deeply into things like that and I had a good time at The House Bunny. Good comedy, fun story, and good cast/acting.

This is one bunny I’d love to have at my house.

Director: Mark Pellington

Starring: Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell, George Lopez, Adrianna Barraza, Cheryl Hines, Richard Benjamin and Morgan Lily.

Release Date: August 15, 2008

Rating: PG

From director, Mark Pellington, this is a project that is seemingly contrary to his repertoire of films such as Arlington Road and the Mothman Prophecies. His newest endeavor, Henry Poole Is Here, takes a turn and explores the idea of faith vs. no faith. The film is seemingly a lecture on the power of faith and demerits a more scientific view on things.

The film takes on a personal religious tone than that of the Passion of Christ and is something the will resonate with anyone regardless of belief. This tale of a single man whose medical death sentence is reversed in part by a neighborhood of believers who find an image on the side of Henry’s house that looks like the face of Jesus Christ.

The film succeeds in the area of the story’s structure. Our main character Henry is plagued by this Christ formation on his new house’s side wall and the nuisance of his neighbors who intrude as much as they can on his life trying to get a touch or a feel of the face they believe to be the savior. Henry desires to be alone and unbothered as we find him moving into this quaint suburbia neighborhood. Poole is obviously bothered and in some sort of frame of mind to where he wants nothing more than to be alone. Wilson’s ability to bring this closed depressed character to the screen is surprising at best and uncomfortably brings to mind his very own brother’s depression, which probably offered some inspiration into him embodying this character.

The film tries to balance the faith vs. science topic but ultimately becomes an argument that the pro-religious will rally on. The film is deeply spiritual, embodying hope, love and living in the moment. Henry faces a choice to except this miracle of the face of Christ appearing on his house and believe in its impact upon his interesting neighbors. This proves to be hard for him as we questions his own problems and refuses to believe.

Henry ultimately finds his way through the help of his warm and caring neighbor Millie, a little girl who hasn’t spoken since her father walked out of her life. Millie, records people’s conversations and plays them back, this intrigues Henry and it is the catalyst in which his love interest and he meet as well as springs him into analyzing his own faith.

The movie has some humor but in a more subtle way. The story is fairly simple but this is film that makes a great alternative to the action heavy, crude humor movies we have seen this summer. The film is graceful and is deeply personal. I believe this is a great movie for those who like indie films but also those who are seeking a film that brings you emotional connection.