3 Razors

National Treasure 2 on DVD

/ / Home Video
  • Title: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
  • IMDB: link

“Gates, people don’t believe that stuff anymore.”
“They want to believe it.”

The arrival of a mysterious man (Ed Harris) with proof that their ancestor Thomas Gates (Joel Gretsch) was a member of the group which assassinated President Lincoln leads Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), Patrick Gates (Jon Voigt), Abigail Chase (Diane Krueger), and Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) on the chase to prove the existence of another treasure and clear Thomas Gates’ name.

Although not as good as the first film (read that review), there’s still quite a bit of fun to be had in this sequel which involves trips to Paris, London, Mount Vernon, and secrets buried deep inside of Mount Rushmore.  Like the first film this one includes plots and conspiracies, rival treasure hunters, and clues and secrets which must be found and deciphered.  Plus we get the gang once again breaking into places they shouldn’t including the Oval Office, Buckingham Palace, and even kidnapping the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood) to ask him about a President’s Book of Secrets which just might hold the answer’s Gates is searching for.

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The Forbidden Kingdom

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Forbidden Kingdom
  • IMDb: link

“I’ll kill you witch!”
“Not if I kill you first orphan bitch!”

forbidden-kingdom-poster

Based on one of the four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West, this new adaptation tells the story of a Jason (Michael Angarano) a young boy from Boston who finds himself thrust into a magical world and charged with returning the golden staff to the Monkey King (Jet Li) thus freeing him from his stone prison and freeing the land from the tyranny of the man who turned him into a statue, the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou).

Along the way to seek the wizard, um, I mean Warlord, Jason encounters companions who journey with him to help him on his quest including a drunken master (Jackie Chan), a beautiful girl hell-bent on revenge (Yifei Liu), and a monk (Jet Li). Together this small band of rebels travels through forests and deserts across the yellow brick road to reach the fortress, take on the Jade Army, led by the Warlord’s assassin (Li Bing Bing), and defeat Cobra Kai, um, I mean release the Monkey King.

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Leatherheads

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Leatherheads
  • IMDb: link

“The game of professional football has come of age.”

The year was 1925 and professional football was a joke and losing money fast.  Out of money and options Dodge Connelly (George Clooney), the owner, captain, and marketer of the Duluth Bulldogs, comes up with a plan to save the sport by offering college stand-out and war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) a spot on the team.

The film has both big jokes and a sly wit.  Dodge, it turns out, is the game’s best promoter, and does what it takes to make his meal-ticket into a star even at the cost of his own glory.  Although the film takes pleasure in Dodge’s loosing influence over the team and the sport, if you watch closely you will also notice Dodge slowly helping out and making sure it’s Carter’s play which gets celebrated.

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The Ruins

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Ruins
  • IMDB: link

the-ruins-poster

Scott Smith adapts his own novel for the screen, and maybe he should farm himself out for other projects because if he can do this good a job with a screenplay about a some dumb kids and a plant think what he could do for the countless other horror scripts out their which need some serious help.

Two couples (Jonathan Tucker and Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore and Laura Ramsey) on vacation in Mexico learn there are more things to be afraid of than the local water.

A chance encounter with a German (Joe Anderson) leads the group on an expedition of a recently uncovered Mayan temple deep in the jungle.  Despite the distance the group makes it to the temple only to find themselves attacked by a local tribe and quarantined for their exposure to the forbidden locale.  Surveying the scene and searching for the archaeological team leads some of the members into the temple and to uncover the reason why the locals fear the place and will make sure nothing leaves the area.

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What’s the Count?

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: 21
  • IMDB: link

“In Vegas you can become anyone you want.”

21-movie-poster

The movie centers around Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a promising mathematican at MIT who has been accepted to Harvard Medical School but lacks the funds to enroll.

Ben is approached by one of his professors (Kevin Spacey) and offered a unique opportunity to join a team of talented students (Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts) who count cards in Vegas during the weekend.  At first Ben refuses the offer, but the temptation is strong, especially when the girl he has lusted over for months, Jill (Bosworth), begs him to join the team.  And after all Ben can always stop after he earns enough for school.  Yeah, right.

When the film deals with temptation, it works amazingly well.  Ben is thrust into a world, despite his intelligence and talent, he is ill-prepared for.  He becomes disconnected from his best friends (Josh Gad, Sam Golzari), lies to his mother (Helen Carey), and becomes completely infatuated with winning and the new lifestyle which comes with it.

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What’s the Count? Read More »