Let me just put this on you right now. I have never read “I Am Legend,” I love the previous incarnations, I’m not a fan of Richard Matheson because I’ve never read his work, I had no bias’ going into this movie, and I looked forward to this loose adaptation of Matheson’s beloved novel. Is that all a plus or a negative? I’m not sure, really. The first hour of “I Am Legend” is fantastic, and I say this as someone who was comfortably middle ground when it came to the film and expectations.
Hatchet: Unrated Director's Cut (2006) (DVD)
Upon a second glance, “Hatchet” really doesn’t play too well. It’s a bit shrill, it’s pretty average slasher fare, and like it or not, the incredibly ridiculous hype really did hurt what was a pretty fun slasher film in spite of it all. David Green has a knack for direction and makes “Hatchet” an utterly hilarious slasher flick that’s helped by the above par production qualities and great performances. Deon Richmond almost steals the show with Parry Shen, and Mercedes McNab continues her dumb blond shtick with surprising competence. The gore effects are simply astounding and I really enjoyed the gruesome splatter and overall creative methods of dispensing of the poor saps that come across the deformed hacker that is Victor Crowley.
Shoot 'Em Up (2007) (DVD)
A man sits on a bench drinking coffee and eating a carrot, a pregnant screaming woman runs by. As does a man wielding a gun prepared to shoot her. Mr. Smith is now involved. Thus begins a sudden mission to protect a newly born child from a massive conglomerate and a surprisingly interesting reason why this child is wanted. I theorized all throughout Davis’s raucous action comedy and really wasn’t prepared to find a devious plot as complicated and absurd as the one explored here. “Shoot ‘Em Up is yet another variation on “Lone Wolf and Cub” with a mysterious warrior leaving a body count in the triple digits to protect a child, and though Davis derives from the concept, “Shoot ‘Em Up” is its own twisted animal. There’s really no point in hating “Shoot ‘Em Up”; it’s a ridiculous, idiotic and fantastical cartoon mixed with a formula video game, and it makes no presumption to pretend otherwise.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
I won’t lie when I tell you that it was a shame to see the Coen Brothers in such a slump. They gave us in no specific order “The Ladykillers,” a now infamous remake of a much better film, and then “Intolerable Cruelty” a week and dull dark comedy that was too glam for the duo. I’m glad to report that “No Country for Old Men” is just where they belong. It’s grit, edge, dark humor, and sheer menace in one package of incredible performances and results in a hybrid that’s basically my favorite film of 2007 and soon may just become one of my favorites of all time. Of course, this is not new for the Coens as “The Big Lebowski,” and “Fargo” currently rank in my top list.
Red Princess Blues, Animated: The Book of Violence (2007)
Okay, so here the dealio: Alex Ferrari, one of my current favorite indie directors is hoping to create his first big budget, or moderately budgeted action thriller, and has with him a pretty good star in the way of the luscious Paula Garces. Ferrari made “Cyn” which was a sort of prequel, and now we have the animated short “Red Princess Blues” which is a seven minute short being shopped around as a potential launching point for a live action revenge action thriller named “Red Princess Blues.” And you know what? I think Ferrari may pull it off.
10 Seconds to Midnight (2007)
Jason Roberts’ science fiction thriller was a thinker, and by that I mean that I simply didn’t get it. At all. I sat there in the end dumbfounded, confused, and ultimately unsatisfied. And then I thought, and thought, and then figured out that perhaps writer Aretha Donnelly was asking the audience to decide for themselves what she was trying to get across.
Harry Potter Interactive DVD Game – Hogwarts Challenge (DVD)
For you parents out there who just can’t make enough this year to give your kids something huge, and don’t poop golden coins that allow you to spend hundreds of dollars on game systems, controllers, and games, there’s always the cost effective alternative of the “Interactive Harry Potter DVD Game.” Setting aside my hatred of the franchise, I dove into the interactive DVD Game of Harry Potter with an open mind, and prepared to do battle with my remote. Here’s the gist: This game allows up to four people to be able to take the role of a young wizard and test your knowledge and reflexes on games that reference the first three movies.