Street Kings: Clean Your Mouth Out With Buck Shot

Director: David Ayer
Writers: James Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer
Producers: Lucas Foster, John Ridley, Erwin Stoff.

Starring: Keanu Reeves as Tom Ludlow, Forest Whitaker as Captain Jack Wander, Chris Evans as Paul Diskant, Martha Higareda as Grace Garcia, Cedric The Entertainer as Scribble, Jay Mohr as Sgt. Mike Clady, Terrence Crews as Terrence Washington, Common as Coates, The Game as Grill, and Amaury Nolasco as Cosmo Santos(IMDb). Rated-R.

Tom Ludlow is a veteran detective who does not operate by usual police procedure. In secretive cooperation with Captain Wander, Ludlow often has a license to operate above the law. Ludlow's former partner Terrence Washington, has taken the righteous path, and no longer involves himself in the shady dealings of the police underworld, so he began working with internal affairs to fight the corruption. Captain Wander warns Ludlow that Washington is trying to rat him out, but in a store robbery Ludlow and Washington are caught in the cross fire that involves 3 suspects, one of which is a cop.

From the opening scene I was engaged by the film by Ludlow's action to grab his gun moments after he wakes up. That scene provided the audience a clue of the type of cop Ludlow was. Being a cop was his life, and he fit the motif of the tough cop who lived for alcohol and catching the bad guys with a vigilante flair. Ludlow was a semi honorable cop, and for that reason it appeared movie watchers were in supportive of him executing vigilante justice.

The pace of the film was really good. The story did not lag at all, and the dialogue between the characters helped provide a clear explanation of how each character played a role in the over all goal of the film. Certain parts of this film were predictable, especially the general outline of the events leading the ultimate confrontation in the film, but it was still an entertaining police drama
with funny moments. The end of the film was not as climactic as I would have liked, but it was descent. According to Movies.com, critics gave it a C+, and the fans gave it B+, and I will side with the critics and give it a C+. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.

The Ruins: Don't Feed The Plants

Director: Carter Smith
Writer: Scott B. Smith
Producers: Chris Bender, Stuart Cornfeld, Ben Stiller

Starring: Jonathan Tucker as Jeff, Jena Malone as Amy, Laura Ramsey as Stacy, and Joe Anderson as Mathias(IMDb). Rated-R.

Jeff, Stacy, Eric, and Amy are hanging out by the pool in some hotel in Mexico when they meet a guy named Mathias who tells them about a temple ruin.Wanting some last minute excitement before they leave Mexico, they decide to go with Mathias to the ruin. Upon reaching the location they are met by native men with guns and bow and arrows who surround them and prevent them from leaving the site. They are forced to climb to the apex of the ruin and there the group discovers why they are prevented from leaving.

Admittedly I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Seriously, I did not expect it to be that good, well for what it was. My interests was preserved during the entire film. The most prominent element of the film was the acting talent. This was an intense horror film that featured desperation, and the actors were great at making movie watchers feel their characters' sense of urgency.

The evil that hunted or haunted the group on the ruin was subtle in its presentation but yet its presence as a force of death was effective without being too corny. Given the nature of the evil, presenting this evil in subtlety was just right. One of several setbacks though however, was that the history of the evil that existed on the ruin was not explained. And the other setback was, if the native men with guns knew the evil so well why didn't they just burn it. If the history of the evil that haunted the ruin was explained, these questions would not be an issue. Despite these setbacks this movie will keep your attention with gore, suspense and the element of desperation. Very very entertaining, and in closing Laura Ramsey was great! I give this movie a C+. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.

Leatherheads: Go Bulldogs!

Director: George Clooney
Writers: Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly
Producers: George Clooney,Grant Heslov, Casey Silver

Starring: George Clooney as Jimmy "Dodge" Connelly, Renee Zellweger as Lexie Littleton, John Krasinski as Carter Rutherford, Jonathan Price as C.C Frazier, and Stephen Root as Suds(IMDb). PG-13.

The year is 1925. Dodge Connelly wanted to save his dissolved bankrupt professional football team, but he had no way of doing so until he realized in an epiphany that he if could convince the college football war hero, Carter Rutherford to become a pro he could save his already defunct football team. After completing the deal with Rutherford's manager C.C Frazier, all is going well until news surfaces from one of Rutherford's former war buddies that he is not as big of a war hero everyone thinks, and the reporter Lexie Littleton is under pressure from her boss to expose this. Exposing this fact about Rutherford's service record is problematic for Frazier because there is plenty of money to be made from Rutherford's public persona.

A very stylish, well crafted film that has plenty to offer the movie goer who enjoys films that are historically derived. The character Dodge Connelly is based J0hnny "Blood" Mcnally, a professional NFL player who was active between 1925-1938. Production wise the film had tons of style from the clothe, to the stadium, and to the transportation. The milieu and character of the 1920's was well conveyed.

I liked a lot of things about this film, but something was not right. I could not detect what it was.The script was witty.The pace of the film was right. The acting was awesome but something was missing. Well to begin with, the climax of the film did not occur until the end of the middle of the film. A majority of the film suffered from existential problems in that it questioned its purpose for existing. I felt the film was lost in the wilderness its own craftiness. The Production was great but it had too much of a factor in supporting the movie's livelihood.

The film was also anti-climatic. Comedic but not comedic enough, most of the scenes were witty and funny but they did not hit the mark quite right as they were not efficacious in making an impact. The suicide attempt scene involving the police foot chase was one key example of how other scenes functioned in the opposite direction of making a strong impressive closure. According to Rottentomatoes.com, 54% of critics gave the film a positive review. Metacritic.com reported an average score of 57 out of 100 based on 32 reviews. And according to Movies.com, fans gave it a B, critics gave it a B-, and I will give it a C+. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.

Run Fat Boy Run: The Wall

Director: David Schwimmer
Writers: Michael Ian Black, Simon Pegg
Producers: Sarah Curtis, Cathy Lord

Starring: Simon Pegg as Dennis, Thandie Newton as Libby, Hank Azaria as Whit, Dylan Moran as Gordon, Harish Patel as Mr.Goshdashtidar, India De Beaufort, Maya Goshdashtidar and Matthew Fenton as Jake(IMDb). Rated PG-13.

Dennis desperately wants to regain his former finance's (Libby) love. However she has lost confidence in him because he left her at the altar while she was pregnant. After meeting Libby's new boyfriend,Whit, Whit mentions to Dennis that he is running in a marathon. Dennis, feeling that he could possibly regain Libby's love, decides to run in the marathon. Dennis wants to prove to Libby that despite his reputation of being an irresponsible and unmotivated person, who never finishes anything he starts, that he can actually finish the marathon.

This is an incredibly funny movie. What was most impressive about this film was how the transitions of humor and seriousness worked so well without mitigating the comedic flow of the film. Simon Pegg is funny but he can be dramatic convincingly, and he can return to being funny without any indication of struggle. Persistence and personal reformation were some of the serious aspects of this film, and seemingly the humor comes into play while Dennis is trying to become a better man while working to obtain those two items.

Some of the funniest parts include, Dennis's short lived effort to train in his tight silk running shorts, and his fight with his best friend Gordon. Admittedly those are the parts that I find funny, but there are plenty of funny scenes in this film for everyone. The comedy is fresh and even the parts that are predictable are funny, and that is likely due to Pegg's comedic acting prowess. The guy is just funny. Surely David Schwimmer's directing had something to do with it too. Harish Patel deserves an honorable mention. He was great. This is a film where the loser ends up being the winner, and the winner ends up being the loser. According to Movies.com, fans gave it B-, and critics gave it a C, and I will side with the fans, B- it is. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.

21: Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Director: Robert Luketic
Writers: Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb
Producers:Dana Brunetti, Micheal De Luca, Kevin Spacey

Starring: Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell, Kevin Spacey as Mickey Rosa, Kate Bosworth as Jill Taylor, Aaron Yoo as Choi, Liza Lapira as Kianna, Laurence Fishburne as Cole Williams, Josh Gad as Miles Connoly, Sam Golzari as Cam, and Jacob Pitts as Fisher(IMDb). Rated PG-13.

Ben Campbell is siting alone in the library, and a student named Fisher approached him. Not knowing who the student is Campbell is hesitant at first but later acquiesces, and follows Fisher to a room where he is greeted by his physics' professor and four students. Campbell is persuaded by the group by being told how much fun and money he can have in a rather short period through counting cards in Vegas. Although the offer is tempting, Campbell rejects the offer because of his busy schedule. However, the group seriously needed the genius mind of Campbell so the girl he had a crush on, Jill, was sent to persuade him further but Campbell remained stern in his rejection of the offer. But after deep consideration, Campbell realized through this venture, he could earn the $300,000 needed for Harvard Medical School. Campbell joins the group, and he ends up having an encounter with Cole Williams.

This film had a very odd pace. The story developed rather slowly, but the pace at which the story development was adequate enough to keep me interested; basically I was marginally bored through the rising action. Strange indeed, while as bored as I was I still found the desperation of Campbell real and enticing. I credit the film makers for the infusion of that realism. There were no fancy car chases or elements indicative of a major action film. 21 simply was not that type of movie, although the potential to take the film in that route was there because of the Vegas element. A quick fact about this film, this movie is actually based on the best selling nonfiction book, Bringing Down the House.

The plot development on screen was clean, and I cannot recall seeing any logical problems with the storyline. On another note, Scenes where the opportunity for explosive acting could have been exhibited were rather tamed. Campbell suffers losses, but his anger was tamed, and his anger matched the over all tone of the film. This was a rather mellow film. I wanted more suspense in the key scene where Campbell first met Cole Williams, but again even the suspense in that scene was tamed. The acting was good, the casting was good, the ending was relatively entertaining but the film needed some more drama. According to Movies.com fans gave the film a B+, critics gave it a C, and I will give it a C-. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.