Leon the Professional - 1994

This is, to say the least, (excluding Star Wars) my favorite movie of all times. Now, I understand that this is a new blog/review site. So, perhaps you don't even know who I am, and are saying to yourself... "What does this kid know! He's never seen obscure movies like Robot Monster, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 8 1/2, or The Street of Crocodiles. All of which I have seen, and you may have imagined existed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to undermine you, this site is to promote your movie library, But when I say Favorite Movie. It means something. The Professional, or as it is know in the foreign version, Leon, is director Luc Besson's greatest work (in my non-professional opinion.) Luc is the genius that brought you The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, The Transporter series and Arthur and the Invisibles... well they can't all be great.

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So then, now that you know the Director, let me introduce you to the actors. Leon, played by Jean Reno is a "cleaner", a hitman. He lives a solitary life until he comes across a curious young girl named Mathilda, played by Natalie Portman. When Mathilda's father is killed by a bad cop named Stansfield played by Gary Oldman, Leon and Mathilda's lives become intertwined. Mathilda then wants revenge for her little brother which she asks Leon to teach her to be a cleaner. Her revenge becomes her downfall and Leon must move in for the kill.

Jean Reno can do no wrong in my mind, and Gary Oldman is amazing in anything her touches. Oldman is truly one of this generations great actors, right up there with Daniel Day Lewis. Natalie Portman, who can normally can't act her way out of a paperbag, does the proformance of her life, and only at the tender age of 13. (sorry Natalie, but really you're just not all that good, but I do love you in V for vendetta, and you're simply a beautiful woman.) Anyway, The action/crime drama/tragedy/thriller or whatever genre you can think to put it in is going to be at the top of that list. It's just wonderful.

(Rated-R 110 min.)

Dead Rising

Frank West is an independent photo journalist who has gained world reknown for the photos and stories he has given to the world. His instincts are what have given him the fame that he has, but it also gets him into trouble. Frank enters the town of Willamette, Colorado via helicopter. While in the air he spots military barricades that have blocked off the road and have jammed any transmissions from going in or out of the city. While snapping photos, he notices something that he can’t explain. Why are people killing each other? On top of the local mall is a helipad where he forces the pilot to land. “Come back for in 72 hours”, he says as they synchronize watches. Little does Frank know that three days in hell can feel like an eternity.

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Now if you are blessed to own a 360 and are not still entranced by the sheer size of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, then you should pick up Dead Rising. Now our hero Frank West is a man who is real. He is here to get the story and that story is the zombie apocalypse. You can choose whether you want to save people or not. In a lot of cases, you can even set people up for disaster just so you can get the photo op. All of the characters are like this. There Federal agents inside the mall searching for an old man, the reason is beyond you, and they use your small bit of kindness to the point of no return. There is also a mysterious man and woman inside the mall with you who you come across from time to time. Right off the bat you learn that no one can be trusted and the only predictable thing in this mall is the zombies. And there are a lot of them. There can be up to 1000 zombies on the screen at once. And trust me if you see that many, you are probably going to die.
This is the first game in which everything is a weapon. EVERYTHING. Now I know that there are skeptics out in internet land who got here and haven’t read a thing of mine before saying, “That’s not true. I played it. Not everything is a weapon.”. You people obviously didn’t try using everything. If I can pick up a coat hanger and throw it at the zombies, then this game found everything that could be a weapon and made it a weapon. Lawnmower, weapon. Giant Patio Umbrella, weapon. Soccer ball, weapon. For god sake I can fire a Staple gun like a gun and take out a zombie. This game thought of it all when it comes to weapons and I applaud it. Also you can change outfits at different stores. You can fight zombies in a style’n white tux, or take pictures in an undersized boy scout’s uniform. It’s all free and who is going to stop you…other than the zombies.

The one thing that no one really knew about this game before it came out was the depth it actually had. It isn’t all hack up all of the rotting flesh before they kill you. The game has a very good story line. There is a lot going on. The affect of the zombies taking over, really messes some people up. They become the biggest threat in the mall and there are a lot of them. Also the game sport a simple role playing aspect to it that surprised the hell out this reviewer. As you take photos that are worthy of the being any magazine across the country, and decimating your undead foes, you gain Prestige Points (PP). The more you get the more abilities, item slots, and health you gain. The abilities are very important as you work through the game. If a horde surrounds you and you have the ability, you can pick up the cadaver of a fallen foe, and grab by the legs and start spinning. You take out everything around and make some room to make you escape.

Now I did have a few problems with the game. The Cases (Mandatory Events) are good, but I wish there was some more free roaming. Every time you go to have some fun destroying the zombie mass, you get a Game Over screen (The Worst Sight Ever) saying that you missed your deadline for one of the cases. This is not helped by the nearly illegible script that shows up at the bottom of the screen to help you. It shows you the missions that you have and how long you have to get to them. The big problem is that you need a 72” screen just to be able to read it.

This game is a wonder to the zombie game type. It goes up there with Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Fatal Frame as one of the most innovative survival horror games out there. Like I said, if you have a 360 and enjoy all things zombie, pick it up. If you get and hate the story, graphics, characters, and the box it came in, at least you will be able to say that you survived 1000 zombies on the screen at once.

P.S.- This is an old review that I wrote a few years ago that never got posted on the old site.

This game is available on the Xbox 360 and is rated M for Mature

A.I. Artiffical Inteligence - 2001

To begin I want to state this is my least favorite movie of all time, so take the follow with that grain of salt.

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A.i. Artificial Intelligence is the odd combination of the positive filmmaking of Stephen Spielberg and the pessimistic dark theme suited to the original director Stanley Kubrick. The film follow the strange journey of David a newly minted android prototype. What makes David different from others is ability to love, thanks to a hard wired set of programming. He had been give to an employee of the manufacturer to test out. The employee and wife have been suffering with the absence of their real son who is in cryogenic freeze due to a severe medical condition. After saying a key phrase David is permanently bonded to his “mother.” After the family’s real sin is cured it becomes apparent David no long fits into the picture. Since the android’s artificial love is assigned to his mother, he cannot be reprogrammed and will have to be dismantled. Un able to go through with it, his mother abandons him. Thus David begins a hopeless quest to reunite with her. Along the way he is aided by SuperTeddy a thinking robotic toy, Gigolo Joe a android framed for murder, and others. All the while pursued by the company that built him and authorities.
What seems so apparent by the end of the movie is the colossal mismatch of Kubrick material and Spielberg’s direction. It simply doesn’t work. Had Kubrick lived long enough to make this film, or it had been a Spielberg the whole time, it might have been entertaining. The beginning of the film is warm and full of the family movie styling’s of many Spielberg projects. This creates a sense of caring that throws your emotions in the garbage disposal when the glut of the film goes to dark, gritty, and poisonous world outside David’s home. Gigolo’s unjust situation, the hedonistic black and neon cityscapes, and especially the vulgar and disturbing anti-robot rally, work to elevate the hardships of David to sadism. Lastly the ridiculously out of the blue ending is a terrible attempt to cap the movie. I feel that it’s an uneven presentation and unwatchable.

(Rated-PG-13 . 146 min.)

Brick - 2005

Written and Directed by Rian Johnson, a relative new comer to the film industry, and yet this, his second film on record is already easily one of my 20 favorite films of all time. The acting, the cinematography, the direction and the glorious writing. The overall feeling of the film could best be described as a high school drug dealing 1940's detective drama set in modern day with just a hint of comedy. (and yes, that's the "best" way to describe it.)

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The movie follows Brendan Frye, a teenager who becomes obsessed with finding his ex-girlfriend, Emily, when she mysteriously disappears. After following some leads Brendan meets up with the local gang leader, The Pin, and his henchman, Tug. Enter the fem fatal, Laura. She offers twists and turns into the plot that no one could see coming. The ending falls on Brendan to figure out which gang/click in the school would have the infor

mation to rescue Emily and find 

where the Pin's missing brick went off to.

The over arching feeling for this whole film is something from a bygone era of quips and retorts. Personally, I miss those times. Where writing a good story was more important than how much the special effects budget was. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd rock from the sun, the lookout) plays Brendan, his acting is slick and classy. At some point this kid must have devoured the heart of a great actor in order to consume there unholy acting ability. Either that or he took ALOT of acting lessons, because since Brick his talent has risen through the roof. Not to mention the other actors in the film that do an awesome justice to the script. On a personal side note, I'm not one to swoon over actresses, but man oh man! Nora Zehetner is defiantly fitting of the modern fem fatal role. All in all, rent this movie tonight if you haven't already had the privilege to see it. If you have seen it then I'm sure you already own it.

(Rated-R . 110 min.)

River City Ransom - 1989

From the unorthodox union of Double Dragon Style beat’em ups and RPG shops and sats comes one of the most unique and downright fun games of all time. In the quaint mini metropolis of River City, the kids are not alright. It seems the local gangs have all been brought under one banner. They’ve taken control of the local High School and from there other parts of the city. But Slick, the ringleader, crosses the line when he kidnaps Cyndi, as this causes her boyfriend Ryan and his best pal Alex to step into action.

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The most unique thing about the game is how Ryan and Alex start out just barely able to hold their own but grow into gang busting machines. This done by going to the local shops scattered around town and eating food to increase stats, reading books to learn new techniques, and relaxing in a questionably run spa. You gain the money to buy all these helpful items by beating the lunch money out of the gang members running amok around the city. As you progress you’ll need to take down the leaders of the various areas and then take out Slick’s lieutenants. When you’ve trained up enough you can then go and take down the big man himself, save the city, and get the girl.

A great multiplayer game with surprising depth for an old 8-bit game, River City Ransom is game you shouldn’t pass up.
(Available on the NES, Wii Virtual Console, Rated E+10 and on the Game Boy Advanced as River City Ransom Ex, Rated Teen)