‘Face/Off’ Download and Reviews

October 20, 2009 by Paul Wall  
Filed under Action, Crime, Drama

“Face/Off” Movie Details

Face/Off tagline: In order to catch him, he must become him.
Face Off - DVD Cover

Face/Off DVD Cover

Actors:
  • Matt Ross
  • John Travolta Sean Archer/Castor Troy
    Nicolas Cage Castor Troy/Sean Archer
    Joan Allen Dr. Eve Archer
    Alessandro Nivola Pollux Troy
    Gina Gershon Sasha Hassler
    Dominique Swain Jamie Archer
    Nick Cassavetes Dietrich Hassler
    Harve Presnell Victor Lazarro
    Colm Feore Dr. Malcolm Walsh
    John Carroll Lynch Walton, Prison Guard
    CCH Pounder Dr. Holllis Miller
    Robert Wisdom Tito Biondi
    Margaret Cho Wanda
    James Denton Buzz
    Loomis
    Directors: John Woo IMDB Rating: 7.2/10 out of 95,515 votes

    “Face/Off” Movie Review

    “Face Off” Plot Summary

    A revolutionary medical technique allows an undercover agent to take the physical appearance of a major criminal and infiltrate his organization.

    Wow….this one is good

    This one has a tough job of convincing the audience that the main characters, Travolta and Cage, could swap faces via plastic surgery and still be convincing as one another. It works! Woo has a certain style down-the long flowing robes, slow mo shootouts, orchestral hype in the background, furious shoot outs, explosions, etc. Essentially a more stylish Bruckheimer movie if ya think about it

    I have always liked the Bald guy and Gina Gershon here the most from the supporting cast, and enjoyed the way both the leads got to ‘understand’ the others’ family, way of life, friends, etc. You have to like how Castor gets Travolta’s girl to learn knife fighting, for example, or seeing the camaraderie of Cage’s group. Good shootouts and action, sometimes the conceits here are quite far flung, but you can live with that as an audience. I sure did, and so give this…*** outta ****, it’s quite good

    Face Off - Movie Still 1 Face/Off Movie Still 2 Face Off Movie Image 3 Face/Off Screen Image
    Click here for more “Face/Off” Posters and other “Face Off” Movie Goods

    Read more

    ‘Duplex’ Download and Reviews

    September 22, 2009 by Paul Wall  
    Filed under Comedy

    “Duplex” Movie Details

    Duplex tagline: Alex and Nancy finally found their dream home…And then they moved in.
    Our House (Duplex) - DVD Cover

    Duplex DVD Cover

    Actors:
  • Yevgeni Lazarev
  • Ben Stiller Alex Rose
    Drew Barrymore Nancy Kendricks
    Eileen Essell Mrs. Connelly
    Harvey Fierstein Kenneth
    Justin Theroux Coop
    James Remar Chick
    Robert Wisdom Officer Dan
    Swoosie Kurtz Jean
    Wallace Shawn Herman
    Maya Rudolph Tara
    Amber Valletta Celine
    Cheryl Klein Ginger
    Tim Maculan Terrence
    Jackie Titone Bartender
    Mr. Dzerzhinsky
    Directors: Danny DeVito IMDB Rating: 5.7/10 out of 17,988 votes

    “Duplex” Movie Review

    “Our House (Duplex)” Plot Summary

    A young couple has a chance to move into a gorgeous duplex in the perfect New York neighborhood. All they have to do is bump off the current tenant, a cute little old lady. add synopsis

    DeVito does it again

    From the twisted mind of Danny DeVito comes this story in the style of ‘War of the Roses’. Here, a nice NY couple finally find their dream home only to discover that they have a built in tenant. Not exactly what they were looking for but it really can’t be that bad can it? The little old lady that lives upstairs turns out to be a nightmare and a half. In a variety of scenarios, most comical and some just plain, outright strange, the nice couple turn into psycho landlords and the nice old lady turns into the crazy bat upstairs. In the end, the twist comes as a true surprise. A hilarious, laugh out loud movie, this was really enjoyable and a must watch. DeVito has done it again and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next!!!8/10

    Our House (Duplex) - Movie Still 1 Duplex Movie Still 2 Our House (Duplex) Movie Image 3 Duplex Screen Image
    Click here for more “Duplex” Posters and other “Our House (Duplex)” Movie Goods

    Read more

    ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ Download and Reviews

    September 8, 2009 by Paul Wall  
    Filed under Adventure, Family, Fantasy

    “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” Movie Details

    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban tagline: Something wicked this way comes.
    HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban - DVD Cover

    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD Cover

    Actors:
  • Rupert Grint
  • Daniel Radcliffe Harry Potter
    Richard Griffiths Uncle Vernon
    Pam Ferris Aunt Marge
    Fiona Shaw Aunt Petunia
    Harry Melling Dudley Dursley
    Adrian Rawlins James Potter
    Geraldine Somerville Lily Potter
    Lee Ingleby Stan Shunpike
    Lenny Henry Shrunken Head
    Jimmy Gardner Ernie the Bus Driver
    Gary Oldman Sirius Black
    Jim TavarГ© Tom the Innkeeper
    Robert Hardy Cornelius Fudge
    Abby Ford Young Witch Maid
    Ron Weasley
    Directors: Alfonso Cuaron IMDB Rating: 7.7/10 out of 102,035 votes

    “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” Movie Review

    “HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban” Plot Summary

    It’s Harry’s third year at Hogwarts; not only does he have a new “Defense Against the Dark Arts” teacher, but there is also trouble brewing. Convicted murderer Sirius Black has escaped the Wizards’ Prison and is coming after Harry.

    Best of the three

    Although this film isn’t all that I’d hoped it would be, I believe that it was the best of the three ‘Harry Potter’ films so far, thanks largely due to director Alfonso Cuaron. In ‘Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban’, the trio are now thirteen and beginning their Third Year at Hogwarts, under the fear of an escaped criminal who played a part in the deaths of Harry’s parents and seems to be stalking the school, preying on Harry

    The child acting in this film has improved slightly with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint probably faring the best in comparison to their young co-stars. Although he is lumbered with a Ron who has once again been reduced to a comic character, it’s a sign of Grint’s abilities that he does well without looking embarrassed or too clownish. Dan Radcliffe was still very poor, obviously struggling to portray Harry’s darker emotions in a manner that isn’t wooden and awkward and and this was very apparent in the scene where he makes an atrocious effort to cry when he finds out his godfather had betrayed his parents to their deaths. while Tom Felton was let down by poor scripting of Draco

    The adult cast were excellent. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were perfectly cast. Lupin was soft yet stern when needed and you could feel there was a parental rapport between him and Harry, and I couldn’t imagine anyone other than David Thewlis in the role. And Gary Oldman was great in depicting Black’s determination, mingled with an hysterical madness due to his incarceration in the hellish wizarding prison Azkaban. As for Michael Gambon, who was recast in the role of Dumbledore, I felt he was an improvement. Richard Harris was a gifted actor but his Dumbledore had a cold, aloofness to him whereas Gambon was able to portray the warm, eccentricity of the character without diminishing the power and wisdom of Dumbledore. And the rest of the regular cast, such as Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith, were perfect although we expect no better from them now!One of the best aspects of this film is how it no longer pandered to kiddies like the previous two films did. There was a darker, moodier edge to the story and the characters. The wizarding world no longer seemed like a perfect haven and the characters had grown beyond being innocent children; this reflected the book itself since many feel PoA was a turning point in the series where it finally felt like Harry Potter- boy and book- were growing up. The Hogwarts’ setting differed from the previous films yet not only was it definitely more faithful to the books but finally it felt as if the castle was in Scotland rather than perpetually sunny Disney Land and this enhanced the mood being set in the film. The clock was a nice touch, linking to the theme of time in the actual storyline, as was the bridge in being a place for Harry to mull over his problems. Also, in many ways, this film could have ended up a muddled mess in regards to the ending but Cuaron handled the Time Turner scenes well

    However, there were flaws to the film, which let it down. The characters of Hermione and Draco were poorly scripted so they seemed like two completely different characters from the ones we know and love in the books. Although Watson as an actress has improved since CoS, the main problem with the script is that Hermione is being portrayed as being too cool and cocky compared to the bookworm who has no interest in fashion that we know Hermione to be in the books. Steve Kloves, the scriptwriter who admits he’s responsible for the change, really needs to learn heroines don’t need to be cool Buffy types to be admired; part of why Hermione is so popular as a character in the books is that she appeals to girls who are bookish themselves and easily identify with her. And as for Draco, he comes across as too much of a cowardly, weak girlie-boy rather than an insidious, vicious brat who can be a threat to Harry when he chooses to. Also, there was no telling of what Black did to Snape in school that left him so bitter in his hatred and I wished they’d included the scene where he let slip what Lupin was, especially as this animosity between him, Black and Lupin plays a larger role as the books go on. And speaking of Lupin, the werewolf CGI was atrocious. He looked like an emaciated rat rather than the wolf-like creature who leaves even the more powerful wizards quivering in fear. I wished there was more in the ending too as I would have loved to see Vernon’s face when he found out who Black was. Kloves needs to learn how to round the Harry Potter films off properly as this was also a sticking point in CoS.At the end of the day, there were scenes left out, some of which we didn’t mind skipping but others (an explanation to Harry of James Potter’s friendship to Black and Lupin) were sorely missed. It was a great film but it could have done with being made longer or skipping on non-essential scenes (less of the Knight Bus and Hermione punching Malfoy in a manner that makes her out to be a thug) to make way for scenes which are more important. I think I was disappointed because I was expecting something along the lines of RotK but it’s still great viewing. I’d give it a seven-and-a-half out of ten with the hopes Cuaron will return to the helm again although preferably not with Kloves as the scriptwriter. I think Cuaron would be excellent working with a script produced by someone who has a better handle on the darker aspects of the books and a deeper understanding of the HP characters.

    HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Movie Still 1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Movie Still 2 HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban Movie Image 3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Screen Image
    Click here for more “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” Posters and other “HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban” Movie Goods

    Read more