The Girl Next Door
Release Date: 2004
Director: Luke Greenfield
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast: Emile Hirsch (as Matthew Kidman) and Elisha Cuthbert (as Danielle Clark)
IMDB Rating: 6.9
My Rating: 6.4
Length: 108 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $21 million/$30 million
Actually not a terrible romantic comedy, much better than its counterpart Miss March, however unrealistic it was that a smokin' hot porn star would fall for a high school mind. Hirsch was pretty good similar to last week's Into the Wild, the rest of the cast didn't impress that much. An overall decent storyline with a good conclusion, but not a hit that should make anyones' favorites.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black
Release Date: 2000
Director: David Twohy
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Vin Diesel (as Richard B. Riddick) Radha Mitchell (as Carolyn Fry) and Cole Hauser (as William J. Johns
IMDB Rating: 7.0
My Rating: 5.9
Length: 109 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $23 million/$53 million
I was very much looking forward to Diesel's first main series, however, the blandness and heavy emphasis on science fiction and futuristic beings hurt the storyline and overall rating. Diesel was solid throughout, but the scattered plot didn't allow for much character development from the rest of the cast. The film also didn't conclude after losing most of the cast to the desolate planet, and the three survivors heading off to hopeful safety.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury
Release Date: 2004
Director: Peter Chung
Genre: Animation
Main Cast: Vin Diesel (as Richard B. Riddick) Rhiana Griffith (as Jack) and Keith David (as Imam)
IMDB Rating: 6.7
My Rating: 3.5
Length: 35 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: Unknown/Unknown
Dark Fury was a bad transition animation short that attempted to bridge the time gap between Pitch Black and the final Chronicles of Riddick. Stuck in a mercenary ship, Diesel and the other survivers attempt to escape to safety. That was nearly all that took place in the 35 minutes of animation.
The Chronicles of Riddick
Release Date: 2004
Director: David Twohy
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Vin Diesel (as Richard B. Riddick) Colm Feore (as Lord Marshal) Thandie Newton (as Dame Vaako) and Alexa Davalos (as Jack/Kyra)
IMDB Rating: 6.4
My Rating: 6.3
Length: 135 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $120 million/$107 million
Similar to Pitch Black in the amount of sci-fi-themed material, Riddick has slightly more interesting person-to-person action and a slightly better plotline. I liked Diesel's performance better in this film than in Pitch Black, as he related better to others in the storyline. However, the bad finale of the film by it's lack of conclusiveness were what hurt its rating and its relativity of a good series as compared to other science fiction actions.
Love and Other Drugs
Release Date: 2010
Director: Edward Zwick
Genre: Romance
Main Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (as Jamie Randall) and Anne Hathaway (as Maggie Murdock)
IMDB Rating: 6.6
My Rating: 6.2
Length: 112 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $30 million/$96 million
I really wasn't a big fan of this film at all, although it did present a good moral and had good acting by a solid cast. It takes quite a bit for a romance heavy romantic comedy to impress me, and the excessive bed scenes of Gyllenhaal and Hathaway really got old. I did like the theme of being committed to someone you love despite a life-altering disease. The historical theme of the pharmaceutical sales also was slightly interesting, but not something I'd suggest for viewing on a regular basis.
Paranormal Activity 2
Release Date: 2010
Director: Tod Williams
Genre: Horror
Main Cast: Sprague Grayden (as Kristi Rey) Brian Boland (as Dan Rey) and Molly Ephraim (as Ali Rey)
IMDB Rating: 5.9
My Rating: 5.7
Length: 91 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $3 million/$177 minutes
I saw the first installment of this series for some reason in the theatres a few years back, even though I am not a horror fan at all, and the last 15 minutes of that film scared the &$%# out of me. However, I really wasn't even jumpy throughout most of this film. I feel like this is mainly due to the first-person camera effects used in both films, in the first Paranormal a handheld camera was used throughout. In this Paranormal Activity, security cameras were the mode of observing the events, causing the scenes to be farther away and less personal. The budget of both films are ridiculous, making the quality of the film slightly more impressive.
The Matrix
Release Date: 1999
Director: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Keanu Reeves (as Thomas A. Anderson/Neo) Laurence Fishburne (as Morpheus) Carrie-Anne Moss (as Trinity) and Hugo Weaving (as Agent Smith)
IMDB Rating: 8.7
My Rating: 8.4
Length: 136 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $63 million/$464 million
One of the biggest action series's that I hadn't seen to date, I was pretty excited to finally get into the series, especially with the good reception the series has always received. The first film, like most Part 1's of popular series's, did a good job of presenting the themes and giving the sick action sequences that made the film ever-so popular for its time. The storyline tends to be slightly confusing throughout the series, though the latter films do a better job at explaining the difference between the Matrix and the real world. This film did an excellent job of relating new ideas and sequences that made this first installment a classic.
The Matrix Reloaded
Release Date: 2003
Director: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Keanu Reeves (as Thomas A. Anderson/Neo) Laurence Fishburne (as Morpheus) Carrie-Anne Moss (as Trinity) and Hugo Weaving (as Agent Smith)
IMDB Rating: 7.1
My Rating: 8.1
Length: 138 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $139 million/$742 million
The second installment of the Matrix series stayed mostly strong throughout, with only minor tailing off of the storyline and a little too much emphasis of Neo's progression. The whole series is laid out pretty similar, with Neo fending off the Smith's, while attempting to protect the resistance's Zion. This film was basically an action-filled stepping stone into the final piece of the series, as it had no conclusion, hence why Revolutions came out around 3 months later. Another great action that continues and leads to another great film, which is necessary to view soon after.
Date Night
Release Date: 2010
Director: Shawn Levy
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast: Steve Carell (as Phil Foster) Tina Fey (as Claire Foster) and Mark Wahlberg (as Holbrooke Grant)
IMDB Rating: 6.4
My Rating: 7.9
Length: 88 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $55 million/$152 million
Date Night was a surprisingly great film, with very comical acting by Carrell, Fey, and nearly all involved. I really enjoyed the off-the-wall plot in which Carrell and Fey caused all sorts of problems with a mobster and his crooked cops, but was resolved well in the end while also giving a lesson on getting stuck in the same boring routines. I am not usually a Carell or Fey fan in most anything, but they both changed my mind in a good way about their ability to play comedic roles beyond those in dry humor. Overall a hysterical film with some great individual parts, that also stayed mostly clean and interesting.
The Matrix Revolutions
Release Date: 2003
Director: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Keanu Reeves (as Thomas A. Anderson/Neo) Laurence Fishburne (as Morpheus) Carrie-Anne Moss (as Trinity) and Hugo Weaving (as Agent Smith)
IMDB Rating: 6.5
My Rating: 8.6
Length: 129 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $110 million/$427 million
The biggest reason why I rated this film higher and enjoyed it more than the previous films was its closure that previous films couldn't have, as well as the intense futuristic battle scenes throughout the 2ish hours that are unrivaled in most any sci-fi film today. The ability of Revolutions to use those graphics and action while also staying mostly with the original plot and savior themes of Neo and the revolution was what made it near-spectacular. I really enjoyed this entire series as a whole, and definitely recommend a watch or rewatch, although seeing the entire series close together can help its sometimes confusing plot to be understood better.
Domino
Release Date: 2005
Director: Tony Scott
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Keira Knightley (as Domino Harvey) Mickey Rourke (as Ed Moseby) Edgar Ramirez (as Choco)
IMDB Rating: 5.9
My Rating: 6.3
Length: 127 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $50 million/$23 million
I was rather disappointed in this bounty hunter/hitman-type action film, as it was lacking in most of the aforementioned genre. The main theme was centered around getting the necessary money to save a woman's diseased daughter, thus the heist that was played out by bounty hunters was a lame excuse for action in my opinion. The based on a true story aspect of the plot interested me some, but some of Knightley's badassery of being a female bounty hunter was lost in her extremely extensive narration given by her to the FBI. Domino really only broke 6.0 due to its bounty hunter theme.
Miami Vice
Release Date: 2006
Director: Michael Mann
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Colin Farrell (as Detective Sonny Crockett) Jamie Foxx (as Detective Rico Tubbs) and Gong Li (as Isabella)
IMDB Rating: 6.0
My Rating: 6.1
Length: 134 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $135 million/$164 million
Another mostly unimpressive police/mobster/drug trafficking film with an uninteresting romantic sideplot based on the drug trade of Miami. Farrell, Foxx, and crew didn't do a bad job of performing in the film, but the boring plot failed to emphasis the good points and make the film a quality one. Pretty typical average film with some good and bad points.
Another mostly unimpressive police/mobster/drug trafficking film with an uninteresting romantic sideplot based on the drug trade of Miami. Farrell, Foxx, and crew didn't do a bad job of performing in the film, but the boring plot failed to emphasis the good points and make the film a quality one. Pretty typical average film with some good and bad points.
A week of 2 finished series', one excellent, one disappointing, a very good action comedy, and a handful average actions that resulted in a good quantity and quality week, especially compared to the previous ones.
-Jarid Holliday
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