Rambo: Live For Nothing or Die For Something

The film features Sylvester Stallone(John Rambo), Julie Benz(Sarah), Matthew Marsden(School Boy), Graham Mctavish(Lewis), and Paul Schulze(Michael Burnett). Sylvester Stallone, wrote, directed, and produced the film, along side Kevin King, John Thompsoon, and Avi Lerner(IMDb.) Rated-R. John Rambo lives in Thailand, and spends his days fishing, catching snakes, and working on his boat. One day a group of Christian missionaries approached Rambo, and ask him to take them up the Salween River, to Burma, to provide aid to the Karen people.

One of the missionaries, Michael, insist to Rambo that traveling to Burma to provide aid would help make a difference, and feeling that no difference would be made unless weapons were brought to the location, Rambo basically tells Michael, he would not help him.

After Michael unsuccessfully tried to convince Rambo, Sarah tries to convince him, but Rambo tells Sarah to go home. Late in the evening, Rambo walks out to his boat, and finds Sarah waiting for him. Consequently, the two debate back and forth while standing in the rain, until Sarah convinces Rambo, to take her and the missionaries to Burma. After taking the missionaries to Burma, about ten days later, Rambo is visited by Arthur Marsh, who asked Rambo to lead a group of mercenaries up the river once again, to find the missionaries.

This film has plenty of action with a high body count; let the bodies hit the floor indeed. It's beer and pizza time, as this this film follows the motif of quintessential guy movies. The script is not fancy, not deep, not anything that a Rambo movie is not suppose to be, but there is a measure of depth in this film, being based on the significance of the harsh conditions of Burma.

This is the type of movie that Al Bundy would scratch himself to while drinking beer. Impactful, vivid and graphic, the battle scenes left movie-watchers shaken. Some of the key lines, were dramatic to the point of being cheesy, but these lines did not affect the aim of the film at all, from a production standpoint.

Stallone does not bring back the "one man against a whole army" notion. Rambo had help, but the help did not negate Rambo's ability as a soldier, as he was still capable of killing the bad guys skillfully. As a byproduct of a life of war, Rambo has a negative attitude about the fate of the world, but one is capable of sensing, there is compassion left in John Rambo, because he accepted no compensation for initially taking the missionaries to Burma.

The story line is simple; the movie has a good pace, and it is very entertaining. Based on the reviews circulating on the Internet , the fans and critics seem to have embraced this film. According to Movies.com , the fans gave Rambo an A- and critics gave it a B. Stay tuned to Movieporium.blogspot.com.

There Will Be Blood: I'm An Oil Man

The film features Daniel Day-Lewis(Daniel Plainview), Dillon Freasier(H.W Plainview), Paul Dano(Paul Sunday/Eli Sunday), and Ciaran Hinds(Fletcher Hamilton). Paul Thomas Anderson, (Boogienights, Magnolia) wrote, directed, and produced the film with Joanne Sellar, and Daniel Lupi. The film has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including, best picture, best actor, best director, and best screenplay(IMDb). Rated-R.

Daniel Plainview is sitting alongside his assistant when a young man named Paul walks in, and offers to tell Mr. Plainview about a place where oil can be found for a fee. After negotiations, the two settle on price, and Mr. Plainview and His son H.W visit a farm belonging to the Sunday family under the pretense of looking for a good hunt. As father and Son are so called hunting, H.W steps in oil and runs to tell Mr.Plainview, then negotiations begin with the owners of the farm, during which Mr. Plainview develops vigilance for Eli Sunday.

Daniel Plainview is a morally repugnant man. His gift for usury grants him power as a negotiator. Plainview is also a public relations guru which ties into is prowess in usury. Often it is hard to detect if Plainview can actually feel compassion toward anyone, with the exception of his son, and even that seemed questionable at some point. In the opening scene, Plainview is introduced as a lone silver miner willing to overlook his safety for a find, "There she is" Plainview said, as his leg was broken.

Vengeful, manipulative, misanthropic, selfish, and maniacal, embody who Daniel Plainview is, but at one juncture, Plainview breaks-down into tears, and shows himself to be lonely and yearning for a real friend. A very telling scene explains Plainview as a person, as he mentions, he does not like people, and that he sees the worst in them, but most of all, how he does not wish for anyone else to succeed.

The first 5-10 minutes of the film consist of barely any dialogue, but the communication within the scenes were still conveyed well. The story is so dynamic, so many elements are at work; there is religion, avarice, betrayal and vengeance. Conventional is certainly not what this film is. Plainview is a detestable delight, and the events of his life constitute a story that very much reflects the unpredictability of life.

In certain films, the layout is clear, and movie-watchers can sense how the film will end, but due to the rich story line, the formulaic layout found in most films, is nonexistent in this film. Although the story was multifaceted, the story was relatively easy for movie-watchers to follow. Plainview was a man searching for oil, and in his search for oil, he lived quite a dramatic life.

Other aspects of the film, the cinematography, and the script, inspired by Upton Sinclair's Oil, were all great, including the very unique music provided by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. The producers of the film had difficulty finding funding, but with a budget of 25 million, the movie was shot in New Mexico and Marfa, Texas in 60 days. The acting, oh the acting! Daniel Day-Lewis won the golden globe for best actor, and deservedly so. Even off the camera Lewis stayed in character, and Paul Dano was great in his roles as Paul/Eli Sunday. The actor who was suppose to play Eli was fired and Paul Dano ended up playing the role as Eli Sunday as a twin brother. This film is 158 minutes long, and do not leave your seat for anything. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.

Top Five Money Makers of 08

These are the films that may possibly earn in the top five in no particular order. Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull, this movie franchise has a strong following, and the franchise is still making money, proving people have not forgotten about Jones' hat and leather jacket. Harrison Ford still looks like the Indiana Jones people are familiar with. The man is in great shape, plus what would the franchise be without Ford. Spielberg is directing, and Lucas is writing, awesome. Shia Labeouf(Transformers), and Cate Blanchett(Elizabeth) are also starring in the film. Just recently I watched Raiders of The Lost Ark, and I noticed how ancient the special effects were, with current special effects this film should be more visually appealing than the previous ones. On account of the strong following, and good performance history this movie has, it could generate between $250-$300 million domestically. May 22, 2008 is the release date of the film.

The Dark Knight, which is the sequel to Batman Beginnings, has created a lot buzz, and is one of the top searched trailers on the Internet. Actor Christian Bale, and director Christopher Nolan return, and hardcore fans are pleased. I was not sure of Heath Ledger as the joker at first, but after I saw the latest trailer, I constantly greeted people by saying "evening commissioner". Ledger is awesome as the joker! The rejuvenation of the franchise as created a following because this batman seems realistic while maintaining its comic book allure. Batman Beginnings earned about $205 million, but Dark Knight, has a well known villain in The Joker, and that alone may attract more people to see the film. Additional Batman gadgets such as the new motorcycle all contribute to the buzz surrounding this movie. I think people really want to see this film, and it may earn $200-$220 million domestically. July 18, 2008 is the release date of the film. "Its all part of the plan,'' The Joker.

Iron Man, Finally someone thought to make this movie. The suite looks very much like the iron man suite from the comic books. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, nice, a bad boy, playing a bad boy, good casting. This film unlike the ones above is not a sequel, so there is no previous box office figure to provide a very rough estimate of how much the movie will earn. Iron Man and Hulk, however, were both financed for a total of $525 million according to a MotleyFool article. For Marvel to break even, both films have to earn over $1 billion combined. Iron Man may not be as popular has Batman, but based on the trailers, it's still difficult not to feel excited about this movie. With the promotion for this film being very strong, an educated guess of $150- $200 million domestically is fair. May 2, 2008 is the release date of the film.

The Hulk, the first film had mixed reviews. The People who I spoke to, said the film was "OK" some said " it sucked", some said "it was good". Others said the hulk looked "too computer like." Some said it "lagged too much." However one felt about the movie, there may still be hope for the sequel, because the first film grossed, $132,177,234 domestically, and $245,360,480 worldwide. However, the budget for the first film was $137 million, according to boxofficemojo.com. The real excitement is Ed Norton, yes sir! This super actor will do just fine as Bruce Banner. The Hulk is one of most well known super heroes, and because the Hulk is such a fixture of popular culture, people will most likely see the sequel, although the first film had mixed reviews, and educated guess of $120- $190, million is a fair estimate. June 13, 2008 is the release date of the film.

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince, the Harry Potter Franchise has earned well. The previous film, Harry Potter and The order of The Phoenix, earned $292,004,738 domestically, and $938,465,035 world wide. With a consistent earnings history, well beyond S240 million, this film will easily earn $ 250-300 million. November 21, 2008 is the release date of the film. These are my top five for 2008. Time will tell if I am right or not, but here are four honorable mentions: Sex and The City, James Bond, Hell Boy 2, and Chronicles Of Narnia:Prince Caspian. Some trailers are not available yet, and release dates are subject to change, stay tuned to movieporium.blogspot.com.

In The Name of The King: Action Time

The film features Jason Statham(Farmer), Leelee Sobieski(Muriella), John Rhys-Davies(Merick), Ron Perlman(Norick), Claire Forlani(Solana), Ray Liotta(Gallian), Matthew Lillard(Duke Fallow), and Burt Reynolds(King Konreid).Doug Taylor wrote, Uwe Boll(Alone in The Dark) directed, and Dan Clarke and Shawn Williamson produced the film(IMDb). PG-13.

Farmer has a loving family that brings him great joy, but one day while his wife and his son went to visit other members of the family, Krugs attack Farmer while working. After fighting the Krugs, Farmer hurries to fight off more Krugs in effort to protect his family. The Krugs overwhelmed the town and Farmer lost most of his family, and then he sought vengeance.

This movie certainly did not disappoint on its promises. Action was delivered convincingly, but some of the actions scenes appeared to have an Asian influence. There was wire work that one would normally see in films like Iron Monkey. Jason Statham has a real strong screen presence and he played the hero role very well. As I watched the film I waited to see what Statham was going to do next.

Indeed the film had plenty of action, but some of the scenes induced an awkward feeling. Certain scenes were flat out weird to the point the audience laughed, even though the scene was not intended to be funny. Speaking of which there was some comic relief provided by Ron Perlman as a wisecracking old warrior and family man. Matthew Lillard was very funny as well; he was a joy to watch.

The battle scenes were great. There was plenty of sword combat, and descent special effects along with it. The production was really good, and the castles, costumes, and farm houses portrayed the fantasy element well, and the cinematography added value to the overall presentation of the film.

Liotta is a super-actor. Admittedly I felt strange watching him play an evil wizard, but he is Liotta. After a while, I felt semi comfortable seeing him play Gallian. At times he was more Ray Liotta than he was Gallian, partly because he did not play the role with an accent like the rest of his cast-mates. Perhaps that choice induced some of the discomfort I felt while watching him.

There may be some temptation from movie-watchers to compare this film to Lord of The Rings, but this film is certainly not in that caliber. This is an action fantasy adventure with a formulaic storyline worthy of being described as very entertaining.

Awake: Twist and Turn

Awake features Hayden Christensen(Clay Beresford), Jessica Alba(Sam Lockwood), Terrence Howard(Dr. Jack Harper), and Lina Olin( Lilith Beresford). Joby Harold wrote and directed the while Jason Kilot, John Penotti, and Joana Vicente produced the film(IMDb). Rated-R.

Clay Beresford is a 22 year old billionare with a heart condition, a loving girlfriend, and a very protective mother. Beresford is trying to live up to his father's achievements by making a name for himself as a shrewd businessman. However, he will need a heart transplant in order to live long enough to mimic his father's accomplishments, and to lead a normal life. Possessing a rare blood type, Beresford waits for his friend Dr. Jack Harper to find him a heart donor to match.

On the night of Beresford's marriage he receives news of a donor, then he undergoes the operation, but the anesthesia is administered incorrectly. As Beresford's body is immobilized from the anesthesia, he is still aware of his surroundings through his sense of touch and hearing, and what he heard and felt during his operation left him in shock.

At first the direction of the film was amorphous as the elements of Beresford's life was explained. The lovely girlfriend, the wealthy life-style, and the authentic friendship with Dr. Harper, all appeared paradisaical with the exception of the bad heart and Lilith Beresford's likely dissaproval of Clay Beresford's relationship with his girlfriend Sam Lockwood. While watching the film at that juncture one may ponder about about the real point of conflict. The point of conflict occurs at the beginning of the end.

The story was designed so the climax could not be anticipated. As a result, movie-watchers were probably waiting for the movie to get to the point. Deliberately causing the movie to linger made for an impactful and very surprising climax. Anticipating the complete shift that occured at a very crucial point in the film was difficult to do, not only based on how the story was designed, but because movie-watchers simply expected to see a man who was accidentally left conscious during surgery. Well, movie- watchers saw that and a lot more.

As the end of the film became more imminent, certain scenes involving Clay Beresford attempted to retrace the events prior to the climax. That segment of the film may have left a lot for movie-watchers to figure out. As the sequence of events leading to the climax were explained, Clay Beresford's voice was narrative, and that helped mitigate the confusion possibly experienced by movie-watchers as they saw Beresford talk bout his past by thinking to himself.

Beresford did not only talk about his past. He was physically there but in another capacity, and the transition of those scenes needed to be seamless in order to preclude confusion. Beresford's presence as a tool to explain the past was effective, but the sequence of events in those scenes could have been clarified, possibly by editing those scenes differently.

Jessica Alba's character Sam Lockwood is real easy to fall for because she so sweet and sexy. Her smile is amazing, but be careful, she's gonna get ya. People are not who you think they are in this film. The movie was very interesting, and it is definitely a conversation piece for friends after watching it on the small screen.