Alan Rapp

Still Needs More Sledge Hammer

  • Title: Burn After Reading
  • IMDB: link

I was pretty mixed on Burn After Reading when I saw it in theaters (read that review).  The film works better for me a second time but it’s still a bit of a mixed bag and could have been vastly improved with simply increasing the dose of Sledge Hammer.

Although I like the film more on DVD, there’s simply not enough here to justify plopping down the cash to add it to your collection, though it would make a nice rental.

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Death Race on DVD

  • Title: Death Race
  • IMDB: link

If you missed Death Race in the theater you didn’t miss much.  If you miss it on DVD, well, the same could be said.  The movie is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.  Unless you’ve ot nothing left in your Netflix cue or you simple want to fast-forward to all the stunts you probably want ot wait until this turkey (created by the director and producer who gave us Event Horizon) hits cable.

“What we trained to do, very hard in the film, we tried to ground it in reality as much as possible”
—producer Jeremy Bolt

I was less than impressed with Paul W.S. Anderson’s remake of Death Race 2000.  The film follows a group of convicts who race around the prison yard in armored suped-up cars with machine guns, all for the camera.  For more on the plot of the film itself read the original review.

Reading the review and watching the film and features show you just how large the disconnect was with the people involved in making the film and the final result.  “Grounded in reality as much as possible.”  Yeah, like Hancock.  Death Race isn’t a total waste but it’s more of a cable flick to check out a 2am than something you’re going to want to put money down for – unless you simply want a mindless action flick you can get wasted to with your friends and laugh at, stare at the tame T&A, and enjoy the stunts.  I think that’s actually the target audience for the film.

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This Week in Comic Book Film

Will Eisner‘s iconic comic hero (Gabriel Macht) who returns from the dead to fight crime in Central City hits the big screen thanks to longtime pal Frank Miller.  Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Jaime King, Paz Vega, Stana Katic, Eric Balfour, and Dan Lauria also star.  Check out the official site.  We’ll have the review when the Spirit hits theaters on Christmas Day. 

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This Week in Film

Director Ron Howard gives us a new film based on the true events of David Frost’s (Michael Sheen) post-Watergate interviews with former President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella).  Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, Toby Jones, Matthew Macfayden, and Rebecca Hall also star.  Check out the official site.  After weeks in limited release the film opens wide on Christmas day, and we’ll have the review!  Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.

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This Week in Film

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story about a man who ages backwards (Brad Pitt) and the unusual story of his life is adapted for the big screen by director David Fincher and screenwriter Eric Roth.  Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning, Jason Femyng, Julia Ormond, Spencer Daniels, Patrick Holland, and Peter Donald Badalament II also star.  Check out the official site.  We’ve seen it and we’ll have the review when the film opens in theaters everywhere on Christmas Day.

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