Burke & Hare

Plot:  A black comedy about two 19th century grave robbers who find a lucrative business providing cadavers for an Edinburgh medical school.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Piers Ashworth (screenplay), Nick Moorcroft (screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Bailey, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Smiley, Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Isla Fisher

When two small time crooks discover that the medical school in town is paying top dollar for corpses, they get inventive in helping some of the town's people shuffle off the mortal coil quicker.

Simon Pegg's movies (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) are usually rather formulaic and they have a certain sense of humor.

This movie is not like these movies.  

This is a remake of a 1972 horror movie of the same name, only this one is much more hokey and silly.  

The story of Burke and Hare is real, and the reality is rather disgusting.  However, it's been almost 200 years since the killing so it's ok to mock it apparently.

I'm wondering if they will do the same with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Imagine Airplane but with a very different ending.

Anyway, fair warning that this isn't like the other Simon Pegg comedies.

This isn't a bad film per se, it's just not very good.  If you want to watch a dark comedy, I recommend Big Nothing.  It's one of my personal favorites and this other Netflix blogger indicates that he watched it on NetFlix.  I'm not sure if it is or not, I would have to check.  I own it on DVD myself

2/5 STARS
 

King of New York

Plot:  A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John

Stars:

Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne

This is nothing like Robin Hood.  Christopher Walken plays a bad motherfucker and he is out for revenge.  When the police decide that they are tired of the red tape, the violence escalates into an all out fire fight. 

This is a particularly interesting movie because it has Laurence Fishburne in it when he as young.  Known best from his portayal as a wise leader from The Matrix trilogy, it's cool to see him with a personality and acting like a crazy gang member.

Overall, this isn't a stellar film but it's certainly cool and memorable.  If you like 80's gangster movies this is well worth a watch.  But for the average movie goer, it's not recommended.  It's too slow and there isn't enough action.  It's old school, and it doesn't compare with newer, more slick action films like Training Day.  But it does remind me of Serpico and The Deer Hunter in an odd way.  It's compared to Carlito's Way by IMDB, and while I never got that feel from the movie, the idea behind the plots are similar.

3/5 STARS

Clue

Plot:  Six guests are invited to a strange house and must cooperate with the staff to solve a murder mystery.

Director:

Jonathan Lynn

Writers:

John Landis (story), Jonathan Lynn (story), 2 more credits »

Stars:

Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn

Just in case you have been living under a rock or you were born in the 90's, the classic "who done it?" comedy is available on NetFlix.  It's just a great comedy and it's Tim Curry's finest performance (I haven't seen Rocky Horror...I know...I know...cool your jets, I am going to watch it this weekend).

If you haven't seen it, watch it. 

 5/5 STARS

Fire with Fire

Plot:  A fireman takes an unexpected course of action when a man whom he's been ordered to testify against, after being held up at a local convenience store, threatens him.

Director:

David Barrett

Writer:

Tom O'Connor (screenplay)

Stars:

Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson

Ok, don't let this movie fool you because Bruce Willis is not really in this movie.  He is in it for about 15 minutes, he plays a bit part, he basically sits behind a desk and talks.  He never fires a gun, he never beats up a bad guy.  In fact, he never even breaks a sweat.  He just stands around looking pissed off the whole time.

The movie is really about a volunteer fire fighter who witnesses a mob related assassination and he goes into witness protection until he get's a chance to testify against a very powerful mob boss.

When the police are not able to protect him, he decides that his only course of action is to kill the mob boss and his associates himself.

It's not a bad movie, it's just really hokey.  He uses his volunteer firefighter powers (I'm NOT fucking kidding) to outwit the bad guys and get his revenge.

I wouldn't bother with this unless you are a fire fighter, are attracted to fire fighters or just wanna stare at this hunk for an hour and a half.

  
 2/5 STARS

Parker

Plot:  A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

John J. McLaughlin (screenplay), Donald E. Westlake (novel)

Stars:

Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis

Did you like the movie The Transporter?  This movie is basically the same type of movie.  If you liked that, you will like this.  Jennifer Lopez plays one of the characters, and you get the feeling that she signed onto the project and then the writers started writing more and more scenes for her because her character is all but pointless.  If her character wasn't in the movie at all, the movie wouldn't change...at all.  It's pretty strange, but she does strip down to her underwear at one point and shows off her 44 year old body.

 
 Here ya go.  In case you were wondering.  

An ok movie, nothing great.

2/5 STAR

Solomon Kane

Plot:  A ruthless mercenary renounces violence after learning his soul is bound for hell. When a young girl is kidnapped and her family slain by a sorcerer's murderous cult, he is forced to fight and seek his redemption slaying evil.

Director:

Michael J. Bassett

Writers:

Michael J. Bassett, Robert E. Howard (character)

Stars:

James Purefoy, Max von Sydow, Rachel Hurd-Wood

This movie was freaking awesome.  It is in the same vein as Lord of the Rings in that it's an epic adventure type movie.  It didn't get a theatrical release, but it did have a $40 million dollar budget, so it's got legitimate special effects and CGI.  

The story is pretty basic, an swashbuckling mercenary has a run in with the devil and he avoids begin claimed for hell by hiding away in a monastery.  He eventually has to choose between protecting his own life and the life of the innocent, and he finds himself on a journey to save a young girl.

The acting is good, the action is good, the story is good, everything about it is solid.  It doesn't compete with the hundred million dollar box office hits like Lord of the Rings in scale and scope, but for it's budget they have made a very nice movie.

Moreover, when you compare this to the other adventure flicks on Netflix, this is simple one of the best avaliable.

I recommend it, especially for kids.  There's no nudity, no cussing...just violence.  There is one particularly brutal scene, but outside of that this is almost an PG-13 movie.  I put it's violence on par with The Mummy.  It's mostly him fighting monsters, so if you don't mind your kids watching Pirates of the Caribbean or similar films, it's one that the whole family can watch.  It's far less disturbing than the children deathmatch style of The Hunger Games.

4/5 STARS

Cabin in the Woods

Plot:  Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.

Director:

Drew Goddard

Writers:

Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard

Stars:

Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison |

I actually watched this a while ago and in honor of the Halloween holiday I am going to recommend it here and now.

This was an awesome movie, extremely unusual, but a must see.

Go watch it!

Happy Halloween!

5/5 STARS