[3.00/10] Cop Out (2010)

Cop Out (2010)

Short review: "Cop Out" is about a cop and his long time partner attempt to recover his stolen property before his daughter's wedding. This buddy cop film marks a new low for Bruce Willis, who seems to have agreed to star in this movie just and only for money. Don't expect much from former competent director and writer, Kevin Smith, whose comedic inspiration must have abandoned him while he directed this tiring movie. The script has all of the originality of a photocopy. It uses every worn out plot line that you have seen hundreds of times before. Bruce Willis is clearly going through the motions, and Tracy Morgan is totally out of his element, playing someone with a responsible job and a stable relationship, since he's a cartoon character. The supporting cast of Sean William Scott and Jason Lee were their usually amusing selves, while the Latino gang villains, led by Guillermo Díaz of The Shield and Weeds fame, are absurdly over the top and clichéd, almost to the point of offensiveness. "Cop Out" is not only tediously overlong, but also an extremely offensive, painfully unfunny, unnecessarily violent lift from a breed of 80's movies that are better left to cable reruns.

• My Rating: 3.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 19% (3.8/10)
• IMDb: 5.9/10

[4.75/10] Remember Me (2010)

Remember Me (2010)

In "Remember Me", our leading man, Tyler Hawkins, is an uninteresting, unambitious person, whose life plods on a tad too long. After being arrested for a boozy fight and carrying a grudge for the cop who did so he decides on a bet to date the cops daughter and this is where surprise, surprise Cupid begins his magic. Even the strong performances all around him didn't help and it was actually an odd thing to watch. It was like everyone was acting around Pattinson, yet he barely interacted with the others, with the exception of Ruby Jerins. Unfortunately, it caused you to not understand or care about Robert's character. In a seasoned actor's hands, this character could have been heart-wrenching and the ending would have left you sobbing for hours. As it was, it was boring and Pattinson's character unlikeable and flat. Pierce Brosnan and Emilie de Ravin delievered solid works though. Also, Ruby Jerins who played Caroline was amazing. Tyler's relationship with her was truly endearing, and the best in the entire movie. While the leads may create enough chemistry on screen the whole film just feels like an overstretched, drama-lacking, that struggles to really grasp attention of the viewer and feels like a film that has been left on continuous play for a painfully long two hours. Curiously, the ending actually feels disconnected from the rest of the movie, as if someone else filmed and edited the ending and it belonged to a different, really good movie. It was good for itself, but it just wasn't the appropriate ending for "Remember Me".

• My Rating: 4.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 28% (4.3/10)
• IMDb: 6.7/10

[4.50/10] She's Out of My League (2010)

She's Out of My League (2010)

Short review: Long and unrewarding, "She's Out of My League", a romantic comedy with a laugh or two at some raunchy topics and a brief moment or two of reflection on self esteem. Otherwise the clichés kick in more quickly than boredom, which itself comes quickly. The script tries to be edgy and obnoxious but fails miserably. If you've watched any modern mainstream non romantic comedy you know what to expect here. It consists of swearing, more swearing and sexual innuendos. Other than the worthless humor we have tons of pseudo drama involved here. Just before the ending there is the formulaic 'sad' part, just like every other comedy movie nowadays. There is a dumb moral to be learnt at the end too. Jay Baruchel was awkward and painfully weird during the entire film, which was kinda annoying. The gorgeous Alice Eve was charming and vibrant and very convincing as leading actress. There was almost no chemistry between the leads though. The supporting cast was mediocre at best. There is nothing smart, witty, entertaining, original or redeemable about "She's Out of My League". It's just another pile of crap Hollywood has put out and will keep putting until people stop paying to watch poor films like this one.

• My Rating: 4.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 58% (5.5/10)
• IMDb: 6.7/10

[6.50/10] Fritt Vilt a.k.a. Cold Prey (2006)

Fritt Vilt

a.k.a.

Cold Prey (2006)

"Fritt Vilt" is the story of 5 friends on a snowboard trip in the mountains. One of them gets in to a little accident, a nasty broken leg and they have to take shelter in a nearby abandoned ski resort. But there is something wrong, something very wrong. This place is abandoned, but not deserted. They are not alone. "Cold Prey" is slightly original for the fact that it's set out in the snow. It's not the first slasher to take this setting, although it's not the most obvious location for a film like this and the film deserves some credit for that. The snow setting also benefits the film as it allows director Roar Uthaug to impose an atmosphere of isolation on the proceedings which helps to keep things tense. Daniel Voldheim's striking cinematography uses both washed-out colors and shadowy lighting well, plus offers several breathtaking panoramic shots of the vast mountains. Good looking and well constructed horror films doesn't really have any scares. There is tension since the horror sequences are well done, but in a weird sort of way its more form over content with the sequences seemingly put together in such away, as to look stunning but draining them of fright. The film does get a bit boring in places and without much story, there isn't much to fall back on. The acting is good, but not great, and some of their fear is completely unconvincing. The writing, while spotty in the dialogue on occasion, flows well ad is never boring. Overall, while it's not bad, "Cold Prey"'s nothing one has not seen before, for the most part. Different setting, different language, same old scenarios.

• My Rating: 6.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (3 Reviews)
• IMDb: 6.4/10

CineMarvellous Preview: Amazing Fan-Made Posters for the Upcoming Superhero Blockbuster "The Avengers"

The Avengers (2012)

Release date: 05.04.2012

CineMarvellous Preview: Poster, Trailer and Plot Details for Chinese Horror Film "Video Cassette of 31 Degrees North Latitude"

Video Cassette of
31 Degrees North Latitude (2010)

"Video Cassette of 31 Degrees North Latitude" is a thriller made a new attempt, video missing from the roll of tape in the mysterious Shennongjia start around 8 without the knowledge of each other backpackers, and began a "escape game." The story happened in 2006, one for shooting a British TV documentary material and temporary structures up to 8 people crew, entered the Chinese at 31 degrees north latitude, the mysterious zone, along with the bizarre incident took place one by one, ultimately, they do not a person can walk out of Shennongjia.

Mainland China isn’t exactly well known for being a power house of Horror movie production, so it was a surprise to discover out of-the-blue that they’ve gone and produced a Blair Witch style video cam docu-horror, titled "Video Cassette of 31 Degrees North Latitude". Looses something in the translation, but watch the trailer below and this actually looks pretty damn good.

Source: Twitch / 24 Frames Per Second

CineMarvellous Preview: Promo Teaser Trailer for Jerry O'Flaherty's "Samurai"

Samurai

Twitch has debuted an early promo trailer for a project called "Samurai" that will be the directorial debut of Jerry O'Flaherty, who has worked for years as the art director on Epic's "Gears of War" video game series. They're developing a samurai vs ninja action movie using hyper-stylized action straight from Zack Snyder's "300". But the kicker is that they're using the Unreal 3 video game engine to render the props and environments. And it's pretty damn impressive to see, although it's not in high def.

This trailer for "Samurai" (watch below) was a "no-budget piece shot in two days with a volunteer cast of five people against a white background. The background plates were created in Unreal with the intent of sharing all of the environment assets between the movie and the game". The project is being produced by Blacklight Transmedia and State Street Pictures.

Source: Twitch / First Showing

[6.00/10] Sex and the City 2 (2010)

Sex and the City 2 (2010)

Anyone who is a longtime fan of the "Sex and the City" series would want to get a fix of time with the four women and their lives, and forgive even the lapses in quality of this movie. That being said, by movie standards, and by standards of people that are not fans, "Sex and the City 2" is almost shockingly inept. Badly-photographed, patchy storyline, contrived plot, corny moments, and unnecessarily shallow. But yet, I enjoyed it a lot! "Sex and the City 2" oscillated between some more serious issues and indulgent arrays of couture, luxury resorts, male eye candy, and snarky one-liners. The film was witty, interesting to a point and exuded lofty aspirations, as it tried to compact the lives of all four characters within the film utilizing omniscient narration, along with a voice over from Carrie. "Sex and the City 2", which is, by the way, an odyssey in length, is shot partly in New York (The New York sequences are perfect. After all, it's where the girls belong) and partly in Abu Dhabi, and provides the movie goers a free trip to the 'New Middle East'. And in our trip we get to see it all: oriental luxury, veiled women, tradition bound men, and a booming economy. The jaw-dropping luxurious hotel is as much a protagonist in this movie as the ladies are. Abu Dhabi was great, until Samantha's arrest. From that point on the plot felt convoluted and rushed. This, about half an hour from the end of the movie, however, didn't ruin the rest of the movie, which realistically deals with life after marriage, life after kids and even the tough reality of the workplace. As you expect, you'd get the sex humour from Samantha, who is funnier than ever. Carrie was a down fall - her character is very self absorbed and not that likable this time around. Charlotte was the innocent gal - adorable and sweet as always. Miranda is the most serious, but also the most charming and likable of all the girls. Overall, if you let the silly situations go and just try to enjoy the film, you'll find yourself laughing hard and having a good time. While "Sex and the City 2" has its flaws, it's highly enjoyable, beautiful to look at, and there are some really funny moments, as well as some touching ones.

• My Rating: 6.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 17% (3.8/10)
• IMDb: 3.7/10

[6.75/10] Ip Man 2 (2010)

Ip Man 2 (2010)

The long anticipated "Ip Man" sequel contained top-notch action sequences from the beginning to the end, yet unfortunately, it turned out it wasn't on the level of the original movie. The plot is generic, as expected - we get to follow Ip Man as he establishes and propagates Wing Chun in Hong Kong after escaping Communist persecution in 1949. Well, plot's not the main problem here, because "Ip Man 2" mostly suffers from poor script and undeveloped characters. Although we have action fight scenes, in the end the movie itself is like a collage rather than one full beautiful artwork. Fight scenes, while more in quantity and still enjoyable, are tainted by the obvious wire-fu on certain scene. And although it looks pretty amazing, it's also very inappropriate, because it just doesn't quite fit the era. The acting from the lead acotrs is passable. Both Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung deliver prime performance for their roles, although chemistry between their characters is lacking. Another big disappointment is the blatant stereotype and one-dimensional characterization of the British colonists and the Twister character. So, to sum up, "Ip Man 2" is nothing special! It's just another modern Chinese martial art movie, that is entertaining and enjoyable, but doesn't come close to the original in term of overall quality.

• My Rating: 6.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
  
• IMDb: 7.8/10

[7.25/10] La Herencia Valdemar (2010)

La Herencia Valdemar (2010)

"La Herencia Valdemar" is the first feature film of Spanish director Jose Luis German, a documentary film-maker, who is also very experienced in advertising. It is an intriguing, well-acted and beautifully-shot gothic/mystery with an interesting premise. The story of "La Herencia Valdemar" begins with the disappearance of Luisa Llorente, an expert on taxation of old buildings that had moved to the mysterious Victorian mansion Valdemar to conduct an inventory of the assets of the property. Maximilian, president of the company he works for Louisa, engages the services of Nicholas Tramel detective to find her. It is not the first disappearance. Not long ago another appraiser called Orquicia also vanished when he was sent to assess the contents of the mansion Valdemar, but the company 'Inmoberance' the fate of this employee seems to bring you not care. The detective goes to the scene and embarks on a terrifying journey into the past. "La Herencia Valdemar" is the first part of two which form the film to be released separately in 2010. It is based on a H. P. Lovecraft's tale. The acting is pretty solid from everyone involved - Eusebio Poncela Oscar Jaenada, Silvia Abascal, Laia Marull and Paul Naschy, all give above average and very credible performances. Technically, the film is near-perfect, especially photography, which is bleak, grim and neat, and suits perfectly to the overall atmosphere of the movie. The costumes are 'Gothically' fantastic! Interior, houses, all dark environments are very detailed and beautiful to look at, accompanied by hauniting soundtrack. The visual effects, most of which are physical not CGI, are surprisingly good. "La Herencia Valdemar" isn't exactly a horror film, but more a mystery movie, with supernatural twist, that is creepy, spooky and consistently entertaining.

• My Rating: 7.25/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 5.6/10

[8.00/10] Woochi (2009)

Woochi (2009)

"Woochi" is a rip roaring fantasy adventure taking place both 500 years ago and in modern day Korea and it's filled with humor, spectacular action, and a touch of romance. Woochi is a Tao wizard from the Chosun Dynasty who is wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit and was banished into a magical scroll and kept for five centuries. He was then summoned in modern day Seoul to help capture the evil goblins that are wrecking havoc on the world. "Woochi" is a breath of fresh air, it's not just a good movie, it's straight out of left field and don't really adhere to any western fantasy standardization. There are no orcs or elves, just the goblins, who don't look like what you'd expect - the three goblins that we see are anthropomorphic animals, that is animals given human features and shape. There's not all that many scenes where we actually see the goblins interact with the humans in their natural forms, but there's at least one stunning fight scene between Woochi and one of the goblins and it's an entertaining, exciting and spectacular fight scene. It's not kung-fu or sword fighting, but more ballet-like action with heavy usage of wire-fu. Overall, the acting is good, there are some annoyances such as the three taoist gods that take up far too much screen time and the actress who serves no real purpose in the movie except to be annoying. But it's worth it for the four main characters of the movie and the story is really gripping. Visually the film is stunning, with the initial scenes contrasting blasts of color amongst a predominantly grey palette, while the scenes set in the past bear a breathtaking use of color and beautiful settings. With its weirdly entertaining story, quirky characters, beautiful visuals and spectacular action scenes, "Woochi" is fun, excitnig and consistantly gripping Korean fantasy flick, that delivers!

• My Rating: 8.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 7.0/10

[6.25/10] Snarveien a.k.a. Detour (2009)

Snarveien

a.k.a.

Detour (2009)

Short review: "Detour" is the debut feature from director Severin Eskeland and yet another well-made, intense and gripping horror movie that comes from Norway. This country is having a horror 'boom' right now thanks to 2006 "Cold Prey" and the more recent "Dead Snow", and "Snarveien" is another proof that Scandinavians are pretty good at making solid horror flicks. This grisly and bloody horror opus concerns Martin and Lina, a young Scandinavian couple driving home to Norway through Sweden. En route, they run headfirst into a roadblock, take an ill-advised turn into the woods, and wind up stranded in the middle of the forest, at the mercy of unseen predators who seem hell-bent on testing the limits of the pair's survival. The acting is one of film's highlights, with Marte Cristensen as Lina being the best. Cristensen gives honest and very emotional performance, and she's consistently believable throughout. Sondre Krogtoft Larsen is also good as Martin - you can often see the fear in his eyes. Production values are solid across the board, and work well in the expansive forest setting. Despite it has two or three really silly moments and it's often predictable, "Snarveien" well-shot and well-acted Norwegian slasher flick, that accomplishes in seventy seven minutes exactly what it sets out to do.

• My Rating: 6.25/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 5.4/10

[4.75/10] Green Zone (2010)

Green Zone (2010)

Those expecting something as great as "Bourne" movies will be sorely disappointed as the only things that "Green Zone" has in common is Matt Damon and the trademark jerky directing by Greengrass. Yes, the hand-held camera-work is great for verite, but there comes a point where you would welcome watching a sequence where the camera stays still. The constant jiggling camera-work becomes profoundly wearisome when it continues throughout the entire movie. You'll be squinting through half the scenes in the movie either because it's too dark to see what's happening or because you're reaching for a bin to throw up in. The overall message is powerful although being several years too late it's a tad predictable to make a real impact. The performances are decent enough. Matt Damon is credible in his role, everyone else does their job well enough. Best of all the actors is Khalid Abdalla who plays Freddy, an injured Iraqi who gets caught in the intrigue and becomes Damon's translator. The film contained only two intensive action sequences, neither which were very exciting. The overall cinematography was unimpressive. On the positive side, the settings were authentic, and there was a genuine sense of danger on the Iraqi streets. In the end, the title is likewise misleading , because the "Green" Zone itself never plays a major part in proceedings. The movie definitely doesn't have the finesse of the "Bourne Trilogy", so don't be fooled and expect any! "Green Zone" fails to excite, intrigue and even makes you cringe when it attempts to shoe horn something meaningful in at the end.

• My Rating: 4.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 55% (6.0/10)
• IMDb: 7.2/10

[5.50/10] Nowhere Boy (2009)

Nowhere Boy (2009)

Short review: This is Sam Taylor Wood's drama about John Lennon's teenage years and relationship with his errant mum, Julia and his aunt, Mimi. "Nowhere Boy" feels a bit overlong and it is mainly padded out with tedious scenes of banal domesticity portraying John's rebelliousness, his mother's immaturity and flightiness, and his prim aunt's strictness. The acting is spot-on, and definitely film's only saving grace. Aaron Johnson, Kirsten Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff, all work together to create a triumvirate of acting perfection - each part is entirely naturalistic and believably-portrayed. Though the first half of the film is slow and flat, the intensity of the second half makes up for it, although the film is let down by a descent into sentimentality towards the very end. "Nowhere Boy" ranges between great and mediocre, but at the end, it's just OK look at John Lennon's adolescent life.

• My Rating: 5.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 84% (6.8/10)
• IMDb: 7.0/10

[4.50/10] A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

The new remake of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" doesn't offer much creatively because it is basically the same story as the 1984 film with better special effects. What mars the first half of the film is an insistence on not developing characters. We assume these are high school kids, who mysteriously are devoid of personalities, and then... they die. The biggest problem of all is that the new "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is not scary at all. Scare tactics all center on sound effects and it gets old fast. No one will jump at fright every time Freddy appears on the screen; maybe some will jump at the surprise. This is silly, outdated, and uncreative. Also, despite the modernist take on the narrative, the script still falls back on carbon copies of the original's most memorable sequences and imagery, lazily recreated with unconvincing CGI. This movie is the first time someone else besides Robert Englund has played Krueger, and Haley is without question the best thing about this movie. Unfortunately, the movie's story falls victim to so many horror movie clichés that Haley's creepiness actually suffers because of it. The acting, while stale, is not too shabby. Rooney Mara gives a decent performance. We don't want the character Nancy to die and we, for the most part, are anticipating what happens next. While in some scenes, she can under-act, for the majority of the film, she does her job. Kyle Gallner is probably the best actor of the teenagers, although that's not saying much. He's a very likable character and very interesting. Thomas Dekker isn't too bad, he's just alright. He's neither annoying, nor really exciting. Overall, Samuel Bayer's version of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" is far from terrible, but it's rather bland, dull and unnecessary remake of Wes Craven's 1984 classic.

• My Rating: 4.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 13% (3.7/10)
• IMDb: 5.4/10