The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Posted on December 23, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

Loosely based on the critically acclaimed comic book from critically acclaimed author Alan Moore, “LXG” tells the tale of Allan Quartmain, an aging adventurer in 1899 who is called upon by a mysterious man named M who enlists him and six other super-powered beings whose powers are parallel to legendry literary characters who must fight a warlord called “The Phantom” who plans to take over the world. Alan Moore presents an idea and concept so ingenious and brilliant, I was stunned upon hearing of it. Take some of the most famous heroes and villains in literary history and turn them into superheroes. What turns up as the end result is a guilty pleasure that kept me entertained all the way through.

Continue reading →

Poison (2000)

Posted on December 14, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

The story in the film and the script is a hefty mess and bears some incredibly wide plot holes that ruin the efficacy of the film. For example, It’s never fully or clearly explained as to why Traci does the things she does to get her mother’s attention. There’s some insinuation that she resents her, or maybe she’s psychotic, but there’s no verification. Even in the end which is somewhat blurry, we’re never truly sure as to her motives with killing all the people during the movie. Her actions during the film perceive her character to be more spoiled than psychotic and threatening, so in the end it remains hazy. Also, the climax of the film seems so rushed and tacked on it begins to feel awkward on the closing credits.

Continue reading →

The Curve (Dead Man's Curve) (1998)

Posted on December 14, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

This film reminded me of my favorite Hitchcock movie of all time “Rope”. Two high class men decide to join together and murder to see if they can not only beat the system, but somehow gain some personal conquest in the process. The problem is I’ve seen so many movies like “The Curve”, it fails to even come close to comparing to “Rope”. What also becomes evident at the start of the film is that the plot is immensely far-fetched; I don’t know if what’s explained in the film is true, and I could care less, but it hardly seems like motivation for murdering someone, of course is there any sensible motivation?

Continue reading →

The Recruit (2003)

Posted on December 14, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

There are those films with big stars that you know are because the actors love the part, then there are the films that actors are in, and you know it’s for simply money. There can be no other explanation for actors such as Al Pacino and Colin Farrell to star in this other than that simple reason. There’s a mood director Roger Donaldson is going for desperately but fails with every leap trudging through the plot with a tried attempt. He attempts to go for the Tom Clancy mood and motif with the murky and sometimes sharp cinematography, but little does he know that the script is the ultimate down fall to this film. There’s nothing to like about this movie from its plot holes to immense lapses in logic; for instance, how is it that Clayton goes from a top computer programmer, to a moon lighting bartender right into the CIA without any training beforehand?

Continue reading →

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Posted on November 16, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

Based on the record-breaking bestselling series of children’s books, Harry Potter lives with his annoying family once more and is visited by a house elf called Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones) who warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts because of ensuing danger; Harry does not heed his warnings and returns once more to discover a dark force sabotaging the beloved members of the school’s faculty and freezing its victims to stone. Now Harry and Ronald must discover the source before it’s too late.

Continue reading →

Ghost Ship (2002)

Posted on November 16, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

There’s been many ghost films over the past decades, and there’s not much original material or horror devices you can inject within the horror genre these days. Especially films that involve ghosts and spirits because it’s all been done to death. This film is no exception applying to that formula, but it does tend to use the tired clichés with much tenacity that I found it hard to dislike this. No matter how hard I tried, it was tough trying to label it awful, because it isn’t awful. It’s far from being scary, but it’s not dull either.

Continue reading →

Minority Report (2002)

Posted on November 13, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

In the movie it’s the future (2054) and we now see Washington D.C. where a system known as pre-crime is born. Pre-Crime is a new law system where people known as pre-cognitive are used as machines which can foretell the future and predict a major crime. Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, one of the best officers who bust the people who commit the pre-crimes. The system is perfect, flawless and it does the job… but what happens when the system turns on you? Now, accused of killing a man in thirty-six hours he doesn’t know, he is now on the run from his own task force and a Government official (Colin Farrell) who wants him at all costs.

Continue reading →