The Small Town Critic » action

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, PECKER, WATCHING THE DETECTIVES, SALVAGE (2006), SALVAGE (2009), 2012, APACHES…

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:15:23 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): Nothing brand new here, but I just can't get the energy up to go see WANTED II... I mean, SALT... THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO: Quirky autistic hacker chick fights crime and has a lot of sex in Sweden. High brow yet boring. 2 out of 5 PECKER: Photog's quick fame ruins lives of loved ones. Semi-autobio of John Waters. Clever allegory for artistic expression. 3&1/2 out of 5 WATCHING THE DETECTIVES: A girl (Lucy Liu) uses wild pranks to woo a nerdy boy (Cillian Murphy). Well-written indie rom-com. 3&1/2 out of 5 SALVAGE (2006): Girl relives her death at the hands of a serial killer over and over. Above par indie horror with a great twist. 3 out of 5 SALVAGE (2009): Mother searches for daughter during invasion by soldiers hunting a murderous mutant. Good tension, lame BBC plot. 2 out of 5 2012: John Cusack tries to save family from the apocalypse. Worst disaster movie ever. Roland Emmerich should take up bowling. 1 out of 5 APACHES: Sinister 1977 British public service film about irresponsible brats dying in farming accidents. Brutal and brilliant. 4 out of 5 Thy Twitter has spoken.

INCEPTION (2010) ***** movie review by COOP

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:35:51 +0000

Every few years or so, a film comes along that changes the way you look at cinema... One that incites scholarly debates, spawns books dedicated to analyzing it and inspires lesser filmmakers to shamelessly imitate it. Critics have to watch a lot (a whole lot) of bad movies to find these diamonds in the rough. I had a sneaking suspicion “Inception” might be a “crown jewel” in the rough, but often when I get that feeling I shuffle out of the theater with nothing but lumps of coal in my pocket. Not this time...

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): PREDATORS, BLOOD AND BONE, THE WHITE RIBBON, THE BROOD, ECLIPSE…

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:23:49 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): All I can think about is how jazzed I am about INCEPTION tomorrow... PREDATORS: Cheesy fun that honors and expands upon the original. Quite satisfying, but does it warrant more sequels? Maybe. 3&1/2 out of 5 BLOOD AND BONE: Michael Jai White plays badass, honorable ex-con fighting in underground circuits. Another Lionheart remake. Bah. 2 out of 3 THE WHITE RIBBON: In a pre-WWI German village, a cruel act reveals an underlying evil. Masterful allegory on the rise of fascism. 5 out of 5 THE BROOD: Shrink invents therapy to manifest rage in flesh of patients. Mediocre Cronenberg film still tops most horror efforts. 3 out of 5 ECLIPSE: Better than the first two due to bigger battles and neat vamp backstories. Romance scenes still terminally cheezy. 3&1/2 out of 5 Thy Twitter has spoken. -Coop

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): A-TEAM, JONAH HEX, MACABRE (2009), GALAXY OF TERROR, NECROMENTIA, IN AMERICA…

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:52:44 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): Yep, I've been slackin'. Maybe it's the weak summer box office releases getting me down. At least I've been watching a lot of low-budget horror... an unapologetic passion of mine. Groovy... IN AMERICA: Fine acting, but ultimately pretentious Oscar-bait about modern Irish immigrants. Includes an AIDS subplot? Ick. 2&1/2 out of 5. NECROMENTIA: Ripoff of HELLRAISER in theme and visuals, but told backwards. Terrific atmosphere and creep factor. Inept story. 2 out of 5 GALAXY OF TERROR: Goofy, gory Corman shocker. Flimsy storyline with some neat H.R. Giger visuals and monsters. Worst ending ever. 2 out of 5 MACABRE: Better than average, ultra-gory killer family story out of Indonesia. Creepiest lead villain in Asian movie history. 3&1/2 out of 5 JONAH HEX: Cool comic book premise gets railroaded into cinematic hell. Everything sucks, especially Jonah's face makeup. 1&1/2 out of 5 A-TEAM: Sloppy... but great actors/characters have undeniable chemistry. Nice action. Better than THE LOSERS. Murdock rules. 3&1/2 out of 5...

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): GET HIM TO THE GREEK, BITCH SLAP, THE CALAMARI WRESTLER, TALES FROM THE SCRIPT, Uwe Boll’s RAMPAGE…

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:47:37 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): Got some high-rated exploitation (and one documentary) this time around! All of these movies are terrific, especially Uwe Boll's surprisingly powerful RAMPAGE (who would have expected that one?)... RAMPAGE: Uwe Boll knocks one out of the park. Hyperviolent domestic terrorist shocker delivers. Hell freezes over. 4 out of 5 BITCH SLAP: Fun, hyper violent, tongue-in-cheek exploitation about 3 sex bombs killing each other over loot. 3&1/2 out of 5 THE CALAMARI WRESTLER: Japanese wrestler dies and reincarnates in a mansized rubber squid suit. New camp classic. 4 out of 5 TALES FROM THE SCRIPT: A little bitter, but a must-see doc for anyone even remotely interested in screenwriting. 4 out of 5 GET HIM TO THE GREEK: Russell Brand = comedic genius. Best drug freak out scene of all time. Can't stop giggling. 4 out of 5

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): SPLICE, EXAM, D.E.B.S., DISCTRICT B13: ULTIMATUM, VALHALLA RISING…

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:00:58 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): SPLICE: Frankenstein redo with icky scruples, laughably repulsive monster and jerk hipster protagonists. Uncool. 2 out of 5. EXAM: 8 job hopefuls locked in a room with ticking clock and menacing set of rules. Cool concept, sloppy plot. 3 out of 5. D.E.B.S.: Lesbian evil mastermind seduces crack agent of an all-girl superspy team. Spoof undermines message. 1 out of 5. DISTRICT B13: ULTIMATUM... Cliche, low on action. Huge insult to the original which set action standards. 2 out of 5. VALHALLA RISING: A bloody, trippy, grimy, violent, slow and pretentious allegory for the death of religion. 2 out of 5.

Strategies for women to convince their men to go see “CHICK FLICKS”… by COOP

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:43:15 +0000

For many of you couples, this is probably a common argument: He wants to see the new Bruce Willis action movie while she'd rather see the latest romantic comedy starring Julie Roberts. Now this may not apply to all guys. Girls, if you have a boyfriend/husband who likes most romantic comedies and Victorian Era dramas, then hold onto him. You've bagged yourself a sensitive, modern guy there. Since that description doesn't apply to the majority of men, here is some advice for women trying to convince their significant other to see the latest “chick flick” (don't worry tough guys... this benefits you too). Firstly, don't ever... EVER use the word “cute” to describe a movie. As soon as guys hear a movie is “cute” or “sweet” or any other adjective that conjures images of babies and puppy dogs, they immediately...

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): THE CRAZIES, [REC]2, FROM PARIS WITH LOVE, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE, NINJA ASSASSIN, LEGION…

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:54:55 +0000

Coop's most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): THE CRAZIES (2010): Great first half, effective scares (pitchfork!) but ignored much of what worked in the original. 3 stars [REC]2: Creative continuity/action/camerawork, but "Exorcist" twist undermines the mythology of original. 2&1/2 stars FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: Travolta = over the top and action scenes = outrageous, a must see for action fans. 3&1/2 stars HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Better than AVATAR in story and intent. Total pleasant surprise. Take kids now. 4&1/2 stars SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE: Sub-par comedy. Baruchel unlikably insecure. Cop-out ending. Title ironically true. 2 stars. NINJA ASSASSIN: Good gore. Bad CGI shurikens. Rain = ok. Lead actress sucks. Sho Kosugi rocks. Lame plot. 2 stars. LEGION: Amazing concept. Angels + weapons = BOOM. Weak execution. All characters unlikable. Wings clipped. 2&1/2 stars.

IRON MAN 2 (2010) ***1/2 movie review by COOP

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:00:12 +0000

The first “Iron Man” movie defied expectations to become one of the most critically acclaimed and popular superhero films of all time. “Iron Man 2” retains many of the qualities (special effects, performances, humor, etc.) that made the first one great, but overall the film suffers from a minor case of “sequel-itis”. The story picks up where the last one ended... Billionaire genius Tony Stark impulsively reveals to the world he is the armored superhero known as Iron Man. Months later the world is largely at peace due to...

THE LOSERS (2010) ** movie capsule by COOP

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:49:18 +0000

An obnoxious rip off of "The A-Team". There, I said it. It starts off promising enough. An elite 5-man military team lead by Col. Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) get betrayed by their handlers in an appropriately shocking and tragic double-cross. Disgraced but fortunately presumed dead, the team goes underground in Bolivia to live below the radar. A sleazy and mysterious woman named Aisha (Zoe Saldana who is now so overexposed and overhyped I can no longer root for her) locates the team and offers them the chance to get revenge on the ultra-powerful mastermind named Max (Jason Patric) who...

KICK-ASS (2010) ***** movie review by COOP

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:54:58 +0000

We've all heard the urban legend about the kid who put on a red cape and jumped out of his bedroom window after watching “Superman” back in 1978. While that story may or may not be true – and I'm honestly afraid to look it up to find out – it presents us with a cautionary tale that we are all merely human. Trying to live out foolish fantasies of superheroism could easily shorten our already limited lifespan. This is also the basic premise of the Mark Millar/John Romita comic book “Kick-Ass”, criticized for its portrayal of youth engaged in graphic violence and it's cavalier approach to the subject. The film adaptation shares...

THE BOOK OF ELI (2010) *** movie review capsule by COOP

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:41:31 +0000

Here's a movie with an ambitious story and message that almost pulled it off. Denzel Washington plays a cat-eating, machete-wielding post apocalyptic badass named Eli who walks the Earth (like Caine in "Kung Fu") and carries a book that is supposed to save the remainder of the planet's population 33 years after nuclear war. He runs afoul of Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the honcho of a wild west-style town who has been searching for the book for years with plans to use it to control the masses rather than save them. When he learns that Eli possesses it, he stops and nothing to get it...

DAYBREAKERS (2009) **1/2 movie review by DARK SIDE

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:54:27 +0000

With vampires en vogue at the moment, Hollywood has been struggling to figure out how to cash in on the latest horror movie craze. Understanding that not all viewers are enraptured by the “Twilight” phenomenon, studios have been struggling to develop vampire-themed properties that show potential for larger appeal. “Daybreakers” attempts a big-budgeted stab at making vampires marketable to the action-horror crowd, but the filmmakers don't seem to realize when they're flogging a dead horse...

SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009) *** movie review by COOP

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:11:07 +0000

Like any other venerable, once-popular property, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes was bound to get a Hollywood redo sooner or later. Since I never much cared for the stuffy, British “Sherlock” films of the past, I welcomed the idea of a more stylized, updated version of the eccentric detective. Despite my usual dislike of the overrated English director, Guy Ritchie (better known as Madonna’s ex-husband), I felt his modern panache would mix well with the Victorian Era mystery genre. While all the right ingredients seemed present, the end result...

AVATAR (2009) *** movie review by COOP

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:14:24 +0000

The most highly anticipated film of the year, “Avatar” marks director James Cameron’s first feature film since 1997’s “Titanic.” The notoriously meticulous filmmaker has painstakingly prepared this film, utilizing the largest motion picture budget to date. An estimated $300 million went into the making of this science fiction epic which boasts revolutionary 3-D imagery and supposedly “photo-real” special effects. Given Cameron’s exceptional track record for delivering some of the most successful mega-budget blockbusters of all time, “Avatar” has a lot to live up to...

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (2009) ***1/2 movie review by COOP

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:17:03 +0000

The film gets off to a quick start as Clyde (Gerard Butler) watches as two thugs break into his house, render him immobile and kill his wife and little girl within the first 2 minutes of the movie. Months later, hotshot prosecutor Nick (Jamie Foxx) calculates that the offenders will get off unless he cuts a deal. Distraught, Clyde waits 10 years and then gets his revenge on the two killers in very creative ways. He allows himself to be caught and informs Nick that his revenge is not complete. Suddenly, Nick's friends, colleagues and anyone else responsible for the miscarriage of justice start dying in a series of...

Belated ZOMBIELAND (2009) ***** movie review by DARK SIDE

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:10:09 +0000

“Zombieland” is an R-rated “Ghostbusters” for the new millennium. This crowd-pleasing film has won over jaded audiences and critics from coast to coast, taking most of its inspiration from a source I did not anticipate… blockbuster comedies from the 1980’s. It has elements that put it in the same category as “Vacation” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” resurrecting a tone and atmosphere I thought was long gone from the films of today. For this reason, I’m giving it my highest recommendation, not only to horror fans, but to those who miss the heyday of actors like Chevy Chase and Bill Murray. Set months after the destruction of the world, neurotic college student Columbus (Jessie Eisenberg) has survived the zombie apocalypse by following his own set of obsessive/compulsive rules...

COOP gets an email from cult B-director Albert Pyun! First footage from TALES OF AN ANCIENT EMPIRE!

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:04:20 +0000

If you don't know the guy then you probably didn't frequent the same video stores I did in the 80's and 90's. Pyun's direct-to-video releases were infamous for their high-entertainment value despite being made on the extreme fast and cheap. His most outstanding quality: Pyun has an uncanny ability for creating kick-ass action scenes. His best film of all time was ironically his first. The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) CLICK HERE FOR THE TRAILER has gone down in history as one of the best fantasy movies of the 80's. It tells the story of...

CIGARETTE GIRL… Memphis indie movie premiere (2009) by COOP

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:20:23 +0000

I met Tupelo native Mike McCarthy at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi a little over two weeks ago and I found myself surprised to realize I’d heard of the guy. I caught his ultra low-budget film “Superstarlet A.D.”years back which was released by shlockmeister/producer Lloyd Kaufman, famous for his “Troma” brand of low budget exploitation flicks. I wasn’t a fan of the film, but I got a clear grasp for McCarthy’s style and obsessions. McCarthy spends his time in Memphis soaking up the hip Midtown scene and planning feature film projects. He fetishizes pin-up girls, rockabilly music and indie film… precisely all the ingredients that make up his latest opus, “Cigarette Girl.”...

GAMER (2009) **** movie review by COOP… Surprise, Mikey! He liked it!

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:00:57 +0000

Color me shocked. What looked like a loud, obnoxious, superficial action flick in the previews actually succeeded in making a meaningful (yet disturbing) social statement. Harkening back to the exploitative B-movie action films of the late 80’s and 90’s, “Gamer” begins as a sleazy, violent bloodbath with seemingly no redeeming cinematic value. Just as I started to turn my brain off, the story surprised me with some plot devices and story concepts way ahead of its time...