Rye's Talk

Postal

A decent movie based off an obscure videogame from the mid-90's, full of crude humour and extreme violence.
Uwe Boll is actually quite underrated as a director as he makes something actually enjoyable after quite a poor opening 20 minutes. Boll also makes a small cameo as himself before being attacked by the man who created the original game in a small in-joke towards his reputation as a movie director.

Star Trek

It may be a last attempt to resurrect a dead franchise, but it looks like the final nail on the coffin. Full of miscastings and Batman and Robin style costume design, this will be summer 2009's equivalent of Die Hard 4.0.
JJ Abrams already killed off one movie franchise with M:I-3, and this looks to follw suit


Post-viewing review

I was finally talked into seeing this by my brother, who is the biggest Trekkie that I know, and it was actually decent. Some of the castings weren't as horrible as I thought, but Chris Pine as Kirk stood out like a sore thumb as one of the most irritating characters of the last decade. The costume design for the Starfleet uniforms are Batman & Robin standard, but the story and most of the acting is quite good. Despite all the good points, I'm still not that impressed with Abrams' directing. The box office success of this movie will no doubt bring about a sequel however.

Bloodsport

Decent martial arts movie, if a little cheesy at times. Van Damme's stunts and skills make it worth watching, but the violence does get pretty brutal at times.

Star Trek

It may be a last attempt to resurrect a dead franchise, but it looks like the final nail on the coffin. Full of miscastings and Batman and Robin style costume design, this will be summer 2009's equivalent of Die Hard 4.0.
JJ Abrams already killed off one movie franchise with M:I-3, and this looks to follw suit


Post-viewing review

I was finally talked into seeing this by my brother, who is the biggest Trekkie that I know, and it was actually decent. Some of the castings weren't as horrible as I thought, but Chris Pine as Kirk stood out like a sore thumb as one of the most irritating characters of the last decade. The costume design for the Starfleet uniforms are Batman & Robin standard, but the story and most of the acting is quite good. Despite all the good points, I'm still not that impressed with Abrams' directing. The box office success of this movie will no doubt bring about a sequel however.

Slumdog Millionaire

An excellent insight into local life in the slums of India, this movie is anything but heartwarming and feelgood. Danny Boyle deservesw all the recognition he's received for this frightening tale that takes a look into certain subjects and ways of life in Mumbai (poverty, abuse, slavery). Worthy of all awards it has won so far. Another top British movie from Boyle, who was shunned by the Academy and other film guilds for some spectacular past works (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later etc.). Watch the end credits for a superb take on traditional Bollywood song and dance routines.

Valkyrie

A good start to the new year for the movies, Valkyrie is an interesting piece of wartime history that could have seen the war end earlier than expected. Performances were pretty good, although Tom Cruise was missing a German accent which was clearly audible in trailers and adverts for the movie. Still, a decent insight into the plans of the conspirators within the Reich and worthy of some recognition, despite being shunned for awards.

Watchmen

Quite possibly the ultimate superhero movie, the graphic novel that was once considered unfilmable by many has been adapted fantastically to the big screen.

Although not quite a pach on the book, Zack Snyder does a fantastic job of adapting the story of retired superheroes in an alternate 1985 New York City where the US won the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon has been elected for a 5th term in office. The heroes are captured on screen fantastically, but unfortunately the release of the movie comes too late for Jackie Earle Haley to be considered for the awards as the dark anti-hero Rorschach. The 162 minutes flew by, feeling more like a 2 hour movie, and although some subplots of the book weren't included (Tales of the Black Freighter being relelased as an anime straight to DVD), it's a fantastic adaptation and could very well cement Snyder's position as the king of graphic novel adaptations.

Punisher: War Zone

Exactly how the Punisher should be portrayed, Ray Stevenson (from TV series Rome) is perfectly cast as Frank Castle, who gets on the wrong side of the law after killing an undercover FBI agent attempting to bring mobster Billy Russoti (Dominic West from 300) to justice. Russoti is horribly wounded in the process and is brought back from the brink of death as the disfigured Jigsaw. With the help of the Punisher Task Force, Castle stands against Jigsaw and his new gang (complete with crazy younger brother Loony Bin Jim) and to try and make up for his mistake beforehand while bonding with the deceased agent's family.

Some of the accents may seem like cheap Godfather knock-offs and some action scenes get a bit repeitive, but the performances of Stevenson, West, Doug Hutchison and Colin Salmon keep up the fun factor in this no holds barred, extremely gory thriller.

Quantum of Solace

The first direct sequel to a 007 movie, this is one of the best movies of 2008. Daniel Craig is on top form again, but there's less time for his Bond girls (Kurylenko and Arterton), as well as M and Felix. The story is as fast paced as the action sequences and although it isn't as good as Casino Royale, it's well worth a watch. This is a movie that could lead to the 007 franchise to become even darker and aimed more at adults with each new installment.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Hellboy 2)

Definitely on a par with the original movie, Del Toro scores another hit which is probably tied with Dark Knight for second place in the best summer movies category. Ron Perlman puts in another top notch performance as Hellboy, and Selma Blair is given more time as his girlfriend. The movie belongs to Luke Goss, as the evil prince, Doug Jones as the Merman and Seth MacFarlane as the voice of the German smoke-man.

True Romance

Another great film penned by Tarantino, this tells the story of a escort girl Alabama and comic book store worker Clarence (Patricia Arquette and Christian Slater) who find true love in each other after she is set up with him by a friend of his. Deciding to flee after Clarence has a run in with one Alabama's pimp Drexl Spivey (Gary Oldman), they take a suitcase with half a million dollars worth of raw, uncut cocaine with them to Los Angeles to try and sell it, despite having a mob from Detroit (led by Christopher Walken) as well as the LAPD on their tails. They find Clarence's friend Dick (Michael Rapaport) who helps them find a buyer for their cocaine through a friend high up in the movie industry.

A huge cast and Tarantino's story makes it another modern classic.

Natural Born Killers

An ultra-violent modern classic, it goes all out with the bloodshed, especially in telling the backstories of the two main characters who, despite being evil personified, we're made to feel sympathy for in the second half of the movie after spending the first half murdering everyone who gets in their way. When in prison for most of the second half of the movie, the TV media glorifying their brutal mudering spree are shown as the real villains of the story as they look for ratings, little knowing that the situation will turn against them when taking their endorsement of the killers one step further.