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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Ten years after the events of THE PHANTOM MENACE, not only has the galaxy undergone significant change, but so have our familiar heroes Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) as they are thrown together again for the first time since the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo. Anakin has grown into the accomplished Jedi apprentice of Obi-Wan, who himself has transitioned from student to teacher. The two Jedi are assigned to protect Padmé whose life is threatened by a faction of political separatists. As relationships form and powerful forces collide, these heroes face choices that will impact not only their own fates, but the destiny of the Republic. |
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"...has just enough charm (not to mention a sense of its own
ridiculousness) to stay afloat." Inspired by the legendary Egyptian warrior, "The Scorpion King" is set 5,000 years ago in the notorious city of Gomorrah, where an evil ruler is determined to lay waste to all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus (The Rock), to eliminate the visionary. After infiltrating the enemy camp, Mathayus discovers that the sorcerer is in fact a beautiful woman (Kelly Hu). Rather than eliminate her, he takes her deep into the desert badlands, knowing that the ruler's henchmen will stop at nothing to rescue her and bring her back. Seriously wounded in the ensuing battle, Mathayus must find the strength to lead his scrappy band of allies back to Gomorrah for a final confrontation. |
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"...an adventure with heart and brains." Based on the legendary flagship character of Marvel comics, this is the story of Peter Parker, a student living with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben after the death of his parents when he was very young. He's an avid student with a much-less-than-stellar social life and a knack for bad luck. When a freak accident miraculously grants him incredible spider-like abilities, in effect, it makes him into the amazing Spider-Man. Peter will find that there's a thin line between an ordinary man and an extraordinary hero; and he'll have to be the one to cross it. |
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Thriller Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan follows up THE SIXTH SENSE and UNBREAKABLE with his new feature film, SIGNS, a thriller set in Bucks County, Pennsylvania focusing on the mysterious appearance of a five-hundred-foot design of circles and lines carved into a family's crops. Mel Gibson stars as Graham Hess, the family patriarch, who is tested in his journey to find the truth behind the unfolding mystery. Joaquin Phoenix is Merrill Hess, brother to Graham and a former minor league baseball star. |
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Thriller and Science Fiction/Fantasy Based on the short story by Philip K. Dick, MINORITY REPORT is set in a 2054 Washington D.C. judicial system in which killers are arrested and convicted before they commit murder using a psychic technology. Tom Cruise is the head of this Precrime unit and is himself accused of the future murder of a man he hasn't even met. |
| LAGAAN:
Once upon a time in India Lagaan is the story of a battle without bloodshed fought by a group of unlikely heroes led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), an enigmatic young farmer with courage born of conviction and a dream in his heart. He is helped by Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), the beautiful English girl who came to India and lost her heart, and Bhuvan's pillar of strength, Gauri (Gracy Singh), the young and perky village girl who dreams only of a home with the man she loves. The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne) has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Bemused by the protest, Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to agame of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan's team wins, the tax is repealed, but if they lose, the tax will be tripled, which will drive the village into poverty. Left with no choice, the challenge is accepted and Bhuvan begins training the men for the game of their lives. |
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MIB
II: This summer they are back, in black Agents J and K (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) are back for more battles with alien rabble-rousers who take the form of a host of estrogen-charged extraterrestrials. These aliens are led by an archnemesis played by Lara Flynn Boyle. Of course, the notorious worm creatures from the original film will return to wreak havoc as well |
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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in this third installment of the popular sci-fi action saga as a cyborg from the future once again becoming involved in the affairs of twentysomething John Connor and his first battles with the SkyNet machine network |
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 Box Office: $127.084 million |
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MOVIE OF STREET KILLERZ >>>2 Fast 2 Furious Review
& VSH.
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| The surprise success of
"The Fast and the Furious" can be credited to
souped up cars, street racing, bad acting, and an attractive young
cast, which some audiences found to be exciting while others saw it as
a deplorable mess.
My opinion of the film lies somewhere near the middle, seeing as though I was able to watch it several times after my first viewing, but there is nothing in it of substance. The sequel is now being released in theaters after only a short two-year wait, and it's sad to say that the lack of quality is continued in the new Miami-set sequel, "2 Fast 2 Furious." Although the sequel sports better cars, a heavy hip hop soundtrack, and a dull cast, the film as a whole adds up to a trashy yet colorful auctioneer that is more shallow than its predecessor for many reasons. Only those with a car gene in their body could appreciate this type of cinematic mediocrity. Perhaps what annoys the most about the first film is that the characters got too involved in themselves, rattling off their love of cars, speed, and racing over and over again. However, I have a slight appreciation for that type of energy upon seeing the sequel; there is honestly so little to value that even the most irritating aspects of its predecessor look kind of impressive, in retrospect. Painting in by the numbers are the characters, as paper thin as the catch-the-bad-drug-dude plot, who never surprises us with anything at all. Paul Walker, the star of both "Furious" films, is predictably boring and his character Brian is nearly thrown out of the window. Honestly, he was a rather likeable character beforehand, but here, alongside heaps of garbage there's nothing redeemable or likeable (besides maybe his car). As a matter of fact, the entire sequel seems to have done the same with the first film; set in different location, starring mostly new characters and revolving around a different, yet equally crappy, premise, it stands alone. Usually sequels build upon previous installments to better themselves, but "2 Fast 2 Furious" seems to be pretty bad all on its own. I actually expected more substance coming from a director like John Singleton, who's responsible for films like "Baby Boy," "Poetic Justice," and "Boyz N The Hood." I'm impressed by Singleton's ability to convey the inner voices of his characters in these mentioned films, and so I thought he could bring a more dramatic core to the endless amount of car racing and chasing; but that isn't the case. I can recall reading in an article of some sort in which Singleton said he was going for a purely fun film by directing "2 Fast 2 Furious" after doing so many heavy dramas -- which is fine -- but he didn't accomplish his goal. Fun may be seeing cars fly across the streets at high speeds, gunfights or a colorfully captured Miami vibe, but if in the end there isn't much to remember, nor complement, was it really worth seeing? I'll admit that there were moments where I enjoyed the film a decent bit, but the underlying fact was that there was not much to this film. At least "The Fast and the Furious" had a homegrown flavor equipped with real garages and hangouts rather than the dolled-up whereabouts the characters stroll though. The intent may have been to have the mood be something lighter than in the first film and more fun, but why? Car racing may adequately be portrayed by overly stylistic camera work to some people, but the heart and drive of the racers on top of that is what makes the movie worth seeing. What "2 Fast" got wrong was the fact that more elaborate or pretty settings and cars can't truly capture the essence of the sport of street racing. I may not be able to say that I've been in or seen a street race before, but the original film helped capture that spirit and share it with its audience. The sequel merely rides on a half-tank, more full of itself than the subject at hand. "The Fast and the Furious" is far from being the most profound of sports movies, but one thing I did take out of the theater with me was adrenaline from the action sequences and understanding of its characters. This paper-thin sequel provides barely any of the previous while empty on the latter. I don't care about the characters nor do I give much credit to the actors that played them. One thing I argue in defense of "2 Fast 2 Furious" is that the car stunts and chases are improved and more visually and realistically stimulating than in the first film (due to the presence of stunt drivers opposed to computer-aided visuals). The sunny, colorful summer-drenched locales that fill the film give it a spunky feel, but it is the lack of story and character structure that leads it to be running on near empty by the end. |
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