Celluloid Heroes

Edward Norton stars in this film, where he is billed only as The Narrator. We don't actually ever get to hear his name, which is interesting, but strangely, you don't find yourself missing out on that fact (or at least, I didn't).

When we meet him, he is simply a body in motion, moving through airports, living a life that most of us can associate with, finding some measure of satisfaction through filling out his apartment with items in the IKEA catalog, slowly making where he lives into a reflection of what you see on each page.

And then on one of these trips, he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). That's when everything changes.

Read All of "Fight Club (1999) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 30, 2007 in Drama

Doctor Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) has turned up dead, and it seems that the most likely suspect is the one being who can't be a suspect at all. There are two reasons for this.

The first is that the law clearly states that murder has happened when one human kills another human, which leads directly to the second reason. The suspect isn't human. It's a robot. And according to the Three Laws, a robot should not be able to kill a human, which means that there shouldn't be anything to investigate - even if the law were to apply here (which it doesn't).

Read All of "I, Robot (2004) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 21, 2007 in Science Fiction

On January 20, 1960, Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) arrived at Alcatraz to become prisoner #AZ1441. As with many other inmates of the prison, he was sent there because he had a tendency to escape other prisons, and Alcatraz was built to keep people from escaping.

However, according to most records, Morris almost immediately began planning his exit from The Rock. While it may or may not be completely true, on the arrival of two of his former associates, John and Clarence Anglin, Morris accelerated his plans, and on the night of June 11, 1962, they were gone, never to be heard from again.

The events surrounding the event are of course lost, so the details are dramatized for the movie. But that doesn't mean that it's not a good one to sit through.

Read All of "Escape from Alcatraz (1979) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 18, 2007 in Drama

Frank Dux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is determined to fight in the three-day Kumite to honor his teacher. Unfortunately, the military has determined that they would rather not risk their investment in Dux and send two somewhat bumbling military policemen after him (one of these is Forest Whitaker).

While the story is based on the events of the life of Frank Dux, there is some disagreement if these events actually took place or not in the first place. Nonetheless, the age-old story of a man beating the odds is one that most people can get behind, and when he takes on "the man" in the process, it's generally fun to watch. This movie is no exception. Just because there is no evidence of an actual event called the Kumite doesn't mean that there can't be one in the movies. So let's move on.

Read All of "Bloodsport (1988) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 14, 2007 in Action

This movie started in interesting fashion, with a driver picking up a hitchhiker and some relatively minor chit-chat happening until the hitcher asks if the driver is interested in guys (the hitcher himself is a man as well). At that point, the driver kicks him out, and you're left wondering just what is happening here. But that doesn't last long.

Next up, the driver pulls his truck over and opens up the bed of the truck to reveal a girl, bound and tied, and we get to see her dig her own grave, before (presumably) being killed by the driver of the truck. This isn't actually shown, which would probably increase the suspense a bit, but it's really a bit early on to do much more than whet the appetite. Shift to another car load, and you're still wondering what's happening.

Read All of "The Hitchhiker (2007) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 10, 2007 in Thriller

To say that Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote and directed) is past his prime is putting it mildly. Adrian is gone - she passed a few years ago from "women's cancer", and now each year on her birthday Rocky visits sites where they shared a few special moments. We see her here only in Rocky's memories and in the name of Rocky's restaurant, Adrian's.

But when a television computer projects that Rocky in his prime could beat the current heavyweight champion Mason "The Line" Dixon, something in Rocky's "basement" (down in his gut) starts to stir. He wonders what it would be like to fight again. Nothing big, but just a few local fights. So he applies to get re-licensed.

When the papers pick up on it, Dixon's camp gets wind of it and decides it could be the payday that he's been waiting for all these years.

Read All of "Rocky Balboa (2006) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 4, 2007 in Drama

Edward Norton stars in this film, where he is billed only as The Narrator. We don't actually ever get to hear his name, which is interesting, but strangely, you don't find yourself missing out on that fact (or at least, I didn't).

When we meet him, he is simply a body in motion, moving through airports, living a life that most of us can associate with, finding some measure of satisfaction through filling out his apartment with items in the IKEA catalog, slowly making where he lives into a reflection of what you see on each page.

And then on one of these trips, he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). That's when everything changes.

Read All of "Fight Club (1999) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 30, 2007 in Drama

Doctor Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) has turned up dead, and it seems that the most likely suspect is the one being who can't be a suspect at all. There are two reasons for this.

The first is that the law clearly states that murder has happened when one human kills another human, which leads directly to the second reason. The suspect isn't human. It's a robot. And according to the Three Laws, a robot should not be able to kill a human, which means that there shouldn't be anything to investigate - even if the law were to apply here (which it doesn't).

Read All of "I, Robot (2004) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 21, 2007 in Science Fiction

On January 20, 1960, Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) arrived at Alcatraz to become prisoner #AZ1441. As with many other inmates of the prison, he was sent there because he had a tendency to escape other prisons, and Alcatraz was built to keep people from escaping.

However, according to most records, Morris almost immediately began planning his exit from The Rock. While it may or may not be completely true, on the arrival of two of his former associates, John and Clarence Anglin, Morris accelerated his plans, and on the night of June 11, 1962, they were gone, never to be heard from again.

The events surrounding the event are of course lost, so the details are dramatized for the movie. But that doesn't mean that it's not a good one to sit through.

Read All of "Escape from Alcatraz (1979) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 18, 2007 in Drama

Frank Dux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is determined to fight in the three-day Kumite to honor his teacher. Unfortunately, the military has determined that they would rather not risk their investment in Dux and send two somewhat bumbling military policemen after him (one of these is Forest Whitaker).

While the story is based on the events of the life of Frank Dux, there is some disagreement if these events actually took place or not in the first place. Nonetheless, the age-old story of a man beating the odds is one that most people can get behind, and when he takes on "the man" in the process, it's generally fun to watch. This movie is no exception. Just because there is no evidence of an actual event called the Kumite doesn't mean that there can't be one in the movies. So let's move on.

Read All of "Bloodsport (1988) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 14, 2007 in Action

This movie started in interesting fashion, with a driver picking up a hitchhiker and some relatively minor chit-chat happening until the hitcher asks if the driver is interested in guys (the hitcher himself is a man as well). At that point, the driver kicks him out, and you're left wondering just what is happening here. But that doesn't last long.

Next up, the driver pulls his truck over and opens up the bed of the truck to reveal a girl, bound and tied, and we get to see her dig her own grave, before (presumably) being killed by the driver of the truck. This isn't actually shown, which would probably increase the suspense a bit, but it's really a bit early on to do much more than whet the appetite. Shift to another car load, and you're still wondering what's happening.

Read All of "The Hitchhiker (2007) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 10, 2007 in Thriller

To say that Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote and directed) is past his prime is putting it mildly. Adrian is gone - she passed a few years ago from "women's cancer", and now each year on her birthday Rocky visits sites where they shared a few special moments. We see her here only in Rocky's memories and in the name of Rocky's restaurant, Adrian's.

But when a television computer projects that Rocky in his prime could beat the current heavyweight champion Mason "The Line" Dixon, something in Rocky's "basement" (down in his gut) starts to stir. He wonders what it would be like to fight again. Nothing big, but just a few local fights. So he applies to get re-licensed.

When the papers pick up on it, Dixon's camp gets wind of it and decides it could be the payday that he's been waiting for all these years.

Read All of "Rocky Balboa (2006) Review" »
Posted by Chad Everett on March 4, 2007 in Drama