Michael Caine

Journey Double Feature

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Journey to the Center of the Earth / Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
  • IMDB: link / link

Journey Double FeatureRe-released together as a two-disc set on both DVD and Blu-ray, 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island star Josh Hutcherson as a young protagonist who discovers truth behind the writings of Jules Verne while looking for missing members of his family.

Of the two films, the first (co-starring Brendan Fraser and Anita Briem) featuring the group’s discovery of a secret world in the center of the Earth holds up better than its sequel (co-starring Dwayne “It’s Okay to Call Me The Rock Again” Johnson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán, and Michael Caine) and the discovery of a secret island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Family friendly, the effects of the two films and the magical settings of each might provide enjoyment for younger viewers and even interest them in Verne’s original works (not a bad thing), but adults aren’t likely to come back to either film too often.

[New Line Home Video, Blu-ray $19.98 / DVD $12.97]

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1994 – On Deadly Ground

/ / Home Video
  • Title: On Deadly Ground
  • IMDB: link

On Deadly GroundReleased 20 years ago today, On Deadly Ground is a clusterfuck even grading on a curve for a Steven Seagal film. Not only does Seagal star but he also directs for the only time in his career in this bizarre tale of a mystical martial artist turned environmental activist (and some sort of official investigator?) who saves the day, I shit you not, by blowing up an oil refinery in Alaska.

Insane doesn’t come close to explain the script by Ed Horowitz and Robin U. Russin, or Seagal’s directorial choices which include a bizarre Native American vision quest, torture, mercenaries from New Orleans (like you’d recruit or an Alaskan job), and the film’s villain (Michael Caine) literally being drowned in his own wealth. And all without an once of fun, logic, or sanity.

Somehow the film has managed to stay in-print on DVD both as a single film and part of Triple Feature with two more of Segal’s lesser films (Fire Down Below and Out for Justice) which would be a pretty cruel gift to anyone other than your mortal enemy.

[Warner Home Video, $14.00 / $14.98]

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The Top Ten Movies of 2013 (so far)

/ / Top Tens & Lists

The Top Ten Movies of 2013 (so far)

Over the first-half of this year, movies have given us sequels, love that has stood the test of time, super-villains, heroes, young women on the wrong side of the law, baseball, magic, and dinosaurs. There have been plenty of disappointments to be sure, but we’re going to look on the positive side for the purposes of this list. Although I’ve been able to most the movies that intrigued me I will mention I have yet to see Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado About Nothing, The Place Behind the Pines, or the surprisingly well-received Mud so I can’t speak to whether or not either would have been good enough to make the final cut. Halfway through 2013 here’s a look back at the top ten movies (so far).

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The Top Ten Movies of 2013 (so far) Read More »

Do you believe in magic?

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Now You See Me
  • IMDB: link

Now You See MeWho better to center a glitzy over-the-top heist caper on than masters of misdirection? Director Louis Leterrier offers us a tale of four talented but struggling magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco) brought together be forces larger than themselves to become the most sought after magic show in the world. And in their free time they also rob banks.

Those looking for an example of what separates a good movie from a great movie need look no further than the script by Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, and Edward Ricourt. That, along with the film’s talent cast and a slick look balancing real sleight of hand with CGI effects, gives Leterrier all the necessary ingredients to offer us what could have been the coolest movie of the Summer. Despite a great set-up, however, Now You See Me eventually runs out of gas with an over-complicated final act, a questionable late twist, and a prolonged epilogue that draws out events well beyond what is necessary. The film’s biggest weakness is not allowing itself to play the magician or be willing to leave the audience with any questions about what they have seen.

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Do you believe in magic? Read More »

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
  • IMDB: link

journey-2-the-mysterious-island-blu-rayAlthough Journey 2: The Mysterious Island returns only a single character from 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth the sequel feels very much like a retread of the same adventure. Once again we get the teenager on a quest to find a lost family member with the help of an older authority figure in the middle of a Jules Vernian landscape come to life.

In an attempt to bond with his stepson, Hank (Dwayne Johnson) agrees to take a trip to find Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island after Sean (Josh Hutcherson) deciphers a code sent from his grandfather (Michael Caine) who went missing a few months ago. The pair enlist the help of a Pacific helicopter pilot (Luis Guzmán) and his daughter (Vanessa Hudgens) and soon the foursome find themselves stranded on the island no one, other than Sean, really believed existed.

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