THE GRUDGE 3

Director: Toby Wilkins

Stars: Gil McKinney, Johanna Braddy, Matthew Knight, Emi Ikehata, Shawnee Smith, Beau Mirchoff

Year: 2009

Rating: R

Well, you sort of know you're in trouble with a sequel when it's released directly to DVD. Worse, when most of the original cast members and even the original director didn't come back for the latest installment.

That said, The Grudge 3 - the direct-to-DVD release of the third installment in the HIGHLY Americanized version of a popular Japanese horror film series - could have been a lot worse. Sadly, it also could have been infinitely better.

The film opens with the sole surviving member from the Chicago apartment house setting from part two - Jake (Matthew Knight). Jake's entire family was killed off in the second installment - all except his stepmother, who police think did the murders but was really possessed by the ghost of Kayako - and the shock has left the young boy so unhinged and in fear of his life (he knows the supernatural is at work, here), he's been confined to a padded cell by Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith of the ever-growing Saw franchise), the psychiatrist attached to his case. Jake has been put away for his own good, to alleviate his fears - but the kid saw too much of what's going on to believe he's anywhere near safe, and begs to be released ... a wish Dr. Sullivan doesn't grant, much to her regret early on in the film.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment house, the deaths (and weird occurrences in general) have tenants moving out left and right - which leaves the building's manager, Max (Gil McKinney, doing the best he can here, with what he's given to work with, script-wise), stressing over losing his job. His younger sister Lisa (Johanna Braddy), about to move to New York City with her boyfriend (Beau Mirchoff), he's not so worried about ... but the parent-less siblings also have a young sister named Rose, and Rose has some severe breathing/health problems. Max feels Rose is his responsibility, and he can't let anything jeopardize that.

Add into the mix Naoko (Emi Ikehata) - a young, somewhat mysterious Japanese woman who, we learn early on, may hold the key to curing the curse for good - and what's supposed to unfold is a suspenseful and scary thriller that pits the long Japanese woman against one funky pair of mother-son ghosts ... ghosts who are slowly devouring anyone and everyone in the apartment building touched by their rage.

Anyway, that's what is supposed to unfold. But in reality, the suspense is barely suspenseful - and the death scenes are all shot either too dark or too fast, and with (often, but not always) cheesy special effects; it's as if the budget just wasn't there for elaborate gross out-ery (with the possible exception of one fairly interesting sequence featuring Marina Sirtis from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," who plays Rose's babysitter), so the director just used quick cuts and dark lighting to cover the cheese. Worse still, the actors playing both ghosts - the stair-crawling Kayoko, and her cat-boy son Toshio - are not the same as in the first two films, and it shows; hell, the boy playing Toshio, who's supposed to be 8-10 years old, looks at least fifteen in part three - when first seen, seated and with his legs folded into his chest on a stairwell, it's almost laughable how wrong the actor is for the part. Even the makeup on both ghosts is just plain silly - both actors look like they've been dipped in flour, and you can even spot Kayako actually wearing a wife beater (white tanktop) in one "death scene."

Characters doing things that don't make sense, plot logic is thrown out the window in several places, and the death scenes - both in originality and style - pale in comparison to the first two films in this American series (I still say if you want the best versions, see the Japanese originals). Even the ending - which Gil McKinney's performance barely manages to hold together - is still, by the time the credits roll, both ambiguous and silly ... setting up the possibility for a part four that really doesn't need to be made.

Not a horrible film - but surely not a good one. Probably for completist fans of the series only, who need to see it just because they've seen the others and want to know how it all plays out. Other than that - only silly, low budget chills (at best) await. ** - Reel Mediocre

I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK

Director: Chan-wook Park
Stars: Su-jeong Lim, Rain, Hie-jin Choi, Yong-nyeo Lee
Year: 2006
Rating: NR

(in Korean w/English subtitles)

A surrealistic, "alternative" love story set in a mental institution, there is just something so charming and sincere about this film - and, in particular, with the honest and convincing portrayals of its two lead actors (Su-jeong Lim, along with Asian pop singing sensation Rain) - that you can't help but crush on it. After the initial WTF? look that may come over your face, sit back and enjoy ... and realize that you just might be in the process of being taken to a different sort of place; one that makes Dorothy Gale's Oz pale by comparison.

Su-jeong Lim, nothing short of amazing in the role, stars as Young-goon, a girl who works in a factory and -thanks to a psychotic episode - has everyone convinced she tried to commit suicide. She's committed by her mother to the psychiatric ward of a mental hospital, forbidden by her mother to reveal her Big Secret ... that she's convinced she is a killer robot, or cyborg, sent by her grandmother to kill all the "white 'uns" (the doctors and nurses, etc.) in the hospital.

At the hospital, we're introduced to (to say the least) the other colorful and quirky residents that inhabit the mental wards with Young-goon ... and, in particular, to Il-sun (Rain) - a handsome if goofy young man who has all the other residents convinced that he's not only a thief, but can steal anything from you he likes; your habits, your senses, even your very soul. Il-sun becomes fascinated with Young-goon almost from the beginning, and when she learns of his special talent she has a mission for him: she wants him to steal her sympathy. It's the one thing she has, she's been told (by a voice on a radio), that's keeping her from fulfilling her mission to kill all the white 'uns. Il-sun informs her that, of course, he can't steal something of which she gives away freely - that that is not stealing - but nevertheless agrees to observe her and, if he decides he wants it, to steal what she needs to have gone.

But as Young-goon falls ill from not eating (a cyborg cannot digest food, after all), Il-sun starts to care more and more for her ... and an unlikely, sometimes comedic romance begins to blossom between the two.

This isn't a film for everyone - certainly not for those who don't even like foreign films - but for those willing to give it a go, and who actually pay attention to a film when they're watching it, this is a sweet, often funny comedy featuring an unlikely and very realistic pair of young people who fall in love within their own world. It really is to the lead actors' credit that they are so convincing and warm in the lead roles; if not for them, you wouldn't care so much for Young-goon and Il-sun, as you will by the end of the film. Director Chan-wook Park has fashioned a unique love story with a tender heart behind it, and it's a winner that's worth your time to track down and see - a film about finding your reason for existence, your place of acceptance, in this world ... even if that place of acceptance only exists in the arms of another. **** - Reel Awesome

UNTRACEABLE

Director: Gregory Hoblit
Stars: Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Lewis, Christopher Cousins, Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Year: 2008
Rating: R

Untraceable is a creepy, intriguing little film that seems to be aspiring for Silence of the Lambs-type greatness. While it doesn't quite achieve that level of greatness, this is still a tense little thriller with an intriguing premise ... made all that much better by the presence of Diane Lane.

Lane plays Jennifer Marsh, a widow living with her young daughter (Perla Haney-Jardine) and her mom (Mary Beth Hurt) in Portland, Oregon. Jennifer works for the FBI, overnight, capturing criminals in cyberland; as the film opens, she cleverly tracks a guy feeding off his neighbor's wireless internet connection, who steals credit card info and uses it for porn sites and to make purchases. Jennifer, along with her partner Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks), is quite good at her job - at times throwing herself into her work, but she's also very much the devoted mother, still taking the time to make sure Annie has as much of her attention as she can give.

A tip to the local authorities, for the website www.killwithme.com, falls into Jennifer's hands and leads her to the most difficult, downright insane cyber-criminal of her career. She gets on the site, and discovers that someone has set up a live-stream video feed of a kitten scheduled to die. A death that, with each hit the site gets from new users entering it, only accelerates the innocent victim's death. Disturbed when the stolen kitten is literally killed by the American public live, on the internet, Jennifer's life and job are further complicated when the culprit's IP address - or any information on him, for that matter - proves to be completely untraceable. Cloning thousands of IPs from Russia, over which the FBI has no jurisdiction, the criminal just switches over and the site's up and running again, every time Jennifer shuts it down.

When the killer's next broadcast involves a man he's holding hostage - a man who is bleeding to death, and bleeds only faster with each hit to the website - Jennifer knows she has a psycho on her hands that's never going to stop. Not until she and Griffin and the FBI can find him. And worse still, her attempts to do so get the killer's attention - to the point where, one morning, her home and Annie become part of the live feed on the maniac's website ...

This is a creepy, very violent and graphic film that may have you squirming in your seat a la the Saw franchise. With each death the killer sets up online, the method of death and level of pain inflicted only heightens, overshadowing even the fact that the American people are only accomplices to the killer's crime (indeed, at one point when the FBI holds a press conference, asking people to stay off the site, the hits to Killwithme.com only increase a hundredfold). Lane is great as the frazzled FBI agent, determined to get the killer even as he threatens her, and Colin Hanks really shows a maturity in his acting here that's commendable.

While not for the faint of heart, this is a gruesome little suspense film that keeps your attention. Even with the killer's identity being given away fairly early on, that still doesn't stop the surprises from coming - or make the suspense any less taut. I found myself really intrigued with Untraceable, and even its message about the internet and how it obsesses (possesses?) us in so many ways (and yes, the website referenced in the film does exist - as a promo for the film). ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

SKINWALKERS

Director: James Isaac
Stars: Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Matthew Knight, Natassia Malthe, Tom Jackson, Sarah Carter, Shawn Roberts
Year: 2006
Rating: PG-13

Okay, normally give me vampire flicks over werewolf flicks ANY day - but damn, this one was cool movie. Low budget and low-key in its marketing when released, Skinwalkers plays like an indie film that could easily slide over your radar and not be seen ... when in fact it, if you like werewolf or horror or even action flicks, this puppy should be seen.

Jason Behr always seems his best when playing a bad guy, and here he's no exception. The premise of the film riffs a bit from the Terminator franchise - here, the lycanthropes (werewolves, for the uninitiated) started off as a sub-culture of the Native American tribes, and were always true creatures of the land. Some see it as a gift, others a curse ... and it's those who see their lycanthropy as a curse who eagerly believe in the legend that foretells of the first half-werewolf/half-human boy who - if he can remain alive until midnight on his thirteenth birthday - can bring an end to werewolves and lycanthropy for good. And it's such a band of lycanthropes, who want to be cured, who've been protecting and hiding just such a boy (and his mother) since the boy's birth, trying to keep him alive until he reaches thirteen.

That day's coming up in just a few days, as the film opens - but a vicious werewolf named Caleb (Behr) - along with his "gang" of three just like him - are closing in on hunting down the boy, and killing everyone in their path who tries to stop them. Matthew Knight (The Grudge 2) is Tim, the boy who doesn't even know he's a half-breed werewolf, and Rhona Mitra plays his mother, Rachel - a woman who has no clue that the father of her son (long dead) was a lycanthrope. Mother and son live with the brother of Tim's father, Jonas (Elias Koteas), and are surrounded by his family and friends, who all treat Rachel and Tim like their own family ... and when Behr and his cronies come to town to find and kill Tim, having tracked him down, it's (needless to say) one hell of a surprise to Rachel and Tim when they learn the boy is not only scheduled to be terminated - but is also half-werewolf, and the only hope for the future for "curing" lycanthropy.

A shootout turns into a small battle, and Jonas and his daughter and friends (all of them werewolves, as well) end up on the run with Rachel and Tim, trying to outrun Caleb and company until midnight on Tim's birthday - only two days away. Jonas and his crew, however, are curable only because they haven't made their first kill; once you've done that, as a werewolf, you can't go back, so each night these lycanthropes have to lock themselves down. Covered in harnesses bolted to the inside walls of the truck they travel in, it's the only way they can keep from killing when the full moon changes them ... and as the blood-red moon gets a deeper and deeper crimson, the closer it gets to Tim's birthday, the more violent and fast-paced the action and the werewolves get in this film - and the closer Caleb and his gang get to accomplishing their goal of killing the boy.

It sounds more complex than it is; this is a nicely-crafted action pic with a strong cast and engaging enough storyline to keep you watching. Behr and Koteas are particularly good as pack leaders on either side of the "gift or curse" issue, and the special effects and makeup for the werewolf transformations are kept simple and effective. There's even a little love story, between Jonas' daughter and her long-term boyfriend, that's thrown in for good measure.

I really liked this movie - more than I thought I would. It's exciting, often fast-paced, sometimes even sensual, and ultimately entertaining. More fun than creepy or scary, but a great ride nonetheless. *** - Reel Cool

ONE MISSED CALL

Director: Eric Valette
Stars: Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, Azura Skye, Johnny Lewis, Jason Beghe, Meagan Good, Ray Wise, Margaret Cho
Year: 2008
Rating: PG-13

Wow, did this movie suck. So much so, I'm tempted to end my review there, but will press on and at least give you an idea why. An American remake of a popular Japanese horror film (sad to say, I've only seen parts of the original, so far), One Missed Call stars Shannyn Sossamon as one of a group of friends who begin to receive mysterious "one missed call" alerts on their cell phones. The reason the alerts are so mysterious? Because the caller ID on their phones are saying that each missed call came from the cell phone of a friend of theirs who's just recently died - and the date on the call is always a day or two away ... a date not only after said friend's death, but one that hasn't even happened yet! Further, when you go into the phone and listen to the message, it's your own voice you are hearing - your own voice, alas, in the last remaining seconds before you die. And as if all this isn't disconcerting enough ... the date and time the call came in, as listed on your cell, becomes the date and time you actually die - always just a day or two away.

As her friends start to perish in freaky, Final Destination-style incidents, Beth (Sossamon) spends more of her time freaking out ... until she gets her own death notice/missed call, and finally gets off her butt to find out - along with police detective Jack Andrews (Edward Burns, doing his best work with a crappy script) - just why the heck this is all going on. It all involves evil children, accused nannies, a hospital fire, and Margaret Cho as a sarcastic cop. Normally you'd think at least that last one would be entertaining, but this is truly a bad, dull, and not very scary "horror" film from beginning to end. Badly-developed characters, a convoluted storyline without much suspense or scares, and a fairly talented cast totally wasted in order to produce just under 90 minutes of drivel make One Missed Call one film worth missing. * - Get Reel

QUARANTINE

Director: John Erick Dowdle
Stars: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Bernard White, Dania Ramirez
Year: 2008
Rating: R

Much like Cloverfield (a better film, at least in terms of full-arc storyline), Quarantine is seen through the lens of a single camera that tells the film's terrifying story from beginning to end. In other words, prepare for a lot of shaky, jerky movement and a lot of roaming around as the camera tries to capture all that's going on. I know some viewers supposedly had trouble with this set-up in films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, so wanted to at least get that warning out of the way upfront.

That said, this is actually an entertaining, fairly scary film with a great cast. Jennifer Carpenter (the best reason to watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose) stars as Angela Vidal, and up-and-coming TV news reporter an assignment at a local fire station in New York City. Somewhat of a tomboy as a girl, Angela had wanted to be a firefighter at one point in her childhood, so when the opportunity arises to follow a set of firefighters over one overnight shift, she jumps at the chance. Along with her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris, who gives a believable performance considering he's not even on-camera for 99% of the film), Angela goes to the fire station, where she meets firemen Jake (Jay Hernandez) and George (an unrecognizable Johnathon Schaech, buried under a bushy moustache) and gets the grand tour of the entire house while the guys wait for a call. The first fifteen minutes or so of the film consist of a lot of goofing around and both men flirting with Angela ... before a 911 call takes the guys (and Angela and Scott) to a brownstone in the city, to answer a call about an elderly woman who is very sick and acting more than a little deranged.

Making it up to the woman's darkened apartment within the four-story unit, they hook up with a pair of cops and confront the sick lady - who happens to be drooling and foaming at the mouth, and also has what looks like blood on the collar of her nightgown. Now, you'd think this would be a warning to back the hell off, but the firemen and cops move in closer, pushing Angela and her cameraman back ... and in seconds all hell breaks loose when the woman grabs and begins feasting on one of the men trying to help her like a particularly hungry zombie in George Romero's latest.

Attempts to get help for the fallen man (and I won't say who it is here, no worries) - to get him out of the building and to the hospital - prove fruitless when the rescuers make it to the front door ... only to find it being barricaded and boarded up by the cops and the CDC (Center for Disease Control). The authorities are, in fact, in the process of sealing up the entire building - and it becomes really apparent, really fast, that not only are all the residents trapped in the brownstone with a potentially deadly virus ... but also with the very deadly "things" that the virus is turning their former friends and neighbors into.

The film becomes a rollercoaster ride from here, as the group of about fifteen actors try to find a way out while avoiding the rapidly increasing number of those wishing to kill them (in typical zombie faction, once bitten here you turn into one of the deranged, hungry killers yourself). Thankfully, this film isn't (in the end) the stereotypical zombie movie you sort of expect it to be, and the quality of the actors populating the film rise it above mediocrity. Jennifer Carpenter carries the film well, and with all the action seen through her and the camera's viewpoint, the tension and terror and gore remain pretty cool throughout. Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Bernard White, and Dania Ramirez are great in supporting roles, and the film definitely has enough scary moments to keep you both interested and jumping in your seat. Ken Seng's cinematography is excellent; you do get a very claustrophobic feel, being trapped in this brownstone, and the film is lit and shot for both maximum effect and thrills - never do you have trouble seeing what's going on, especially when it's jumping right in your face.

This is a remake of the Spanish film [Rec], which I now admit I am very anxious to see (supposedly it's better than Quarantine, but aren't they all?). Meanwhile, this is a fun, fairly gory, and decently scary claustrophobic little horror flick deserving of your time - if that's the kind of film you like, and can handle the POV (point of view)-type, hand-held-looking camera work. Worth seeing for the excellent ensemble cast alone. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

VANTAGE POINT

Director: Pete Travis
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Edgar Ramirez, Said Taghmaoui, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver
Year: 2008
Rating: PG-13

This truly surprising, truly entertaining action film caught me off-guard; I'd seen a couple of bad reviews of the film, and so even though I thought the premise sounded like a good - and knew this film to have a good cast - I still sort of shied away from it for a time.

Sorry I did. This is fast-paced action thriller with enough surprises and chases and twists in plot to really keep your interest ... if not your adrenaline flowing.

U.S. President Ashton (William Hurt) is attending a counter-terrorism peace summit in Spain. As he makes his way to the outdoor festivities at the Plaza Mayor de Salamanca, his two closest secret service agents - Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) stick like glue to the President, determined to keep him safe. Barnes in particular, as he's just gotten back to active duty after having survived already saving President Ashton's life once before by taking a bullet for the guy. It seems some feel it's too soon for Barnes to be back in service to his commander-in-chief, however - and indeed, Barnes seems beyond jittery as his eyes scan the large group in the Plaza, not to mention the buildings behind it.

Sure enough, gunfire erupts from a slightly opened window across the way, and President Ashton is shot. Barnes and Taylor jump into action - Taylor going after the sniper and Barnes trying for crowd control on-site (also getting to the local American news truck covering the President's arrival, hoping to find some clues on what they've recorded) - and after checking out the video footage of an American tourist named Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker), who'd filmed the entire incident, Barnes ends up in the news truck ... and, going back over the footage with the crew, spots something that sends him catapulting back out of the truck and running through the crowded streets, searching for a killer.

The entire thing takes 23 minutes, and includes a couple of shady/mysterious people whom, so far, we have NO idea as to where they fit in (same with a young Spanish mom and her child, whom Howard Lewis befriends). And when Quaid bolts from the news truck, the clock (and film) stops - then backs up ... and suddenly we're watching the exact same footage of the assassination of President Ashton - only this time, as seen through the eyes and actions of another character in the film.

In total, the same incidents are recounted through eight different points of view ... and slowly, the reality of the situation (compared to, in some cases, the "reality" we viewers THOUGHT we'd seen) come to light, and an entirely different picture of what really went on - or is going on - comes to light altogether. It's an intriguing premise, and here it's played out without a lack of tension in the plot. Car chases, explosions, terrorism, friends who we learn are really enemies, blackmail - it's all here, and viewers will quickly learn, as the film plays on, that you can't always believe what you think you see.

Quaid is perfect as the put-upon secret service agent who will do anything to protect President Ashton - even as he himself cracks under the strain - and in supporting roles major players like Forest Whitaker, William Hurt and even Sigourney Weaver really shine. Edgar Ramirez, Eduardo Noriega, and Said Taghmaoui - each of these men a fine actor given little credit in the business for their immense talent - also are aboard, playing both good guys and bad, and in short the casting of this film is just about ideal (with the exception, maybe, of Matthew Fox, who's kind of wooden in his performance).

Vantage Point is a tense little action thriller with plenty of suspense - a fun, mindless, and totally entertaining 90-minute rollercoaster that will keep you happily on the edge of your seat the entire time. I was surprised by just how much I liked - no, loved - it. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA

Director: Spike Lee
Stars: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Valentina Cervi, Matteo Sciabordi, Pierfrancesco Favino
Year: 2008
Rating: R

Spike Lee's masterpiece opens in New York City in 1983, when a quiet, unassuming salt-and-pepper-haired postal worker shoots one of his customers to death - a man who'd come to his window to purchase a 20-cent stamp. The postal clerk (the really, really underappreciated Laz Alonso, made up as an old man) is arrested without incident, but in his home the police find - wrapped up in the guy's closet - the marble head of an Italian statue that's worth a small fortune, gone missing in Italy since World War II. Meanwhile, in prison, postal worker Hector Negron (Alonso) hasn't said anything since his arrest ... until a young and hungry news reporter looking for his first big break (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gets Negron to speak...

Sending viewers, in flashback, to 1943 and a group of Buffalo Soldiers in Tuscany, trying to push back the Germans in World War II. Soon many of the men are killed - the rest separated - and four of the soldiers (Derek Luke, Alonso, Michael Ealy, and Omar Benson Miller) find themselves on the outskirts of a Tuscan village, where they find a shell-shocked Italian boy who speaks to a best friend of his that isn't there.

The soldiers - taking the boy along with them - soon come across the village of Colognora, where they set up a base amidst the local partisans until they can find a way out. But when orders from their commanding officer, via radio, have the men being forced to seek out the Germans and take one of them prisoner, the ensuing action - along with a recent massacre of innocent citizens nearby that involves the boy, Angelo (Matteo Sciabordi) - all make for a dramatic and compelling war story that all ties in to the elderly postal worker that would shoot one of his customers in New York City forty years later.

This is a touching, well-acted and skillfully directed film. Spike Lee is at the top of his game here, as is the cast led by the four men - Luke, Alonso, Ealy, and Miller - who play the four conflicted soldiers fighting for the very country that regards them as second-class citizens. Omar Benson Miller, as PFC Sam Train, is particularly moving and believable as the "chocolate giant" who befriends and bonds with the boy Angelo the most - but Laz Alonso is truly Oscar-worthy in the film, particularly by story's end.

Clocking in at nearly 2 hours/45 minutes, neither the tension nor drama ever lags in Spike Lee's visionary film, and he gets the best performances from all his cast. Have a box of tissues handy, but it's well worth it; there is some real outstanding filmmaking going on here, and it's a shame Oscar didn't acknowledge that. ***** - Reel Must-See

CHOCOLATE

Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Stars: Jeeja Yanin, Ammara Siripong, Hiroshi Abe, Taphon Phopwandee, Pongpat Wachirabunjong
Year: 2008
Rating: R

(in Thai w/English subtitles)

A truly cool action film by the director of Ong-bak (one of my favorite films, starring the immensely limber Tony Jaa), Chocolate begins as a love story. Yakuza criminal syndicate member Masashi (Hiroshi Abe), in Thailand, has fallen in love with a beautiful Thai woman named Zin (Ammara Siripong), who also happens to be the woman of one of the biggest crime bosses in the country. When their affair is discovered by both sides, Masashi is forced to go back to Japan - while a very pregnant Zin goes into hiding to have and raise her child.

Said child, named Zen (nicknamed "Chocolate" because of her passion for the sweet), is diagnosed from infancy with autism - a real blow to Zin, as she fears her daughter will be subjected to a life of problems and loneliness. But as Zen grows, it becomes quite apparent that her autism comes with a special talent; she becomes fascinated, absorbed even, with martial arts films - and simply from watching them, or studying the young men practitioners of the art in her own home village, Zen is able to mimic their classic moves perfectly. As she grows into her teens, Zen's skills only grow stronger. When Zin is diagnosed with cancer, in fact, the young teenaged boy she has who both befriends and watches over Zen for her, Moom (Taphon Phopwandee), helps Zen to raise money for her mother's medical bills by setting up a sort of sideshow carnival act with Zen. He literally puts Zen in a chair, surrounded by people who, in turn, throw everything from balls to rocks at her - and Zen catches every one before they even get to her. It's a talent that leaves the other kids in awe.

But by the time Moom and Zen are young adults, Zin's cancer is worse and the money situation disastrous. That's when Moom finds a journal in the house, while playing with Zen - a journal that details all the tradespeople in town and the area who've owe Zin money for years ... and have never paid up. Moom takes it upon himself to try and collect the money, taking Zen with him because he's supposed to be watching her - but no one wants to pay, and in fact threaten the teenagers. But all Zen understands is that mom is sick, mom's need money to pay for her treatment/medicine, and these guys owe her mom money ... and when she beats the living snot out of one of the merchants to get mom's money, it begins the quest of Moom and Zen to seek back payments for all who owe Zin.

And when Zin's old crime boss/boyfriend gets wind of the shakedowns (they're his network of people being shaken down, after all), he sets about finding Zin - and a way to get revenge.

The action sequences - especially when you know there were no stunt doubles or CGI/special effects used, are pretty breathtaking; in fact, after the film and just before the end credits (as well as on one of the DVD extras), viewers are treated to the injuries that went into the making of the fairly amazing fight scenes. Jeeja Yanin, who trained for two years prior to the making of the film (as well as remained in training for the entire length of the making of the film) is perfectly cast as Zen; not only can she fight with precision, grace and skill, coming off as an amazing presence for being such a petite, sweet-faced young woman ... but she also does a very good job as an actor, in portraying the young woman afflicted with autism. The fight scenes get progressively bigger and broader (and more crazy) as the film goes on, ending with one hell of a battle that stretches indoors to outdoors and over maybe four stories of a run-down building.

Truly an entertaining film with a good heart and solid action. And it was really nice to see a female kicking some bad-guy butt, for a change. While Jeeja Yanin may not be the female Tony Jaa just yet, she's certainly on her way. *** - Reel Cool

HALLOWEEN

Director: Rob Zombie

Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Tyler Mane, Daeg Faerch, Danielle Harris, Brad Dourif

Year: 2007

Rating: R

You have to give director/writer Rob Zombie credit for trying. This update/remake of the iconic John Carpenter film that introduced the world to homicidal maniac Michael Myers spends its first thirty minutes or so going into much more detail about the little boy that Michael was - and the circumstances that supposedly made him the merciless killer he became. Here, we see Michael's rather messed-up family life - his mother's a stripper, his teenaged sister is a bit of a slut, and even the only "father figure" in the house (it's never made clear whether it's Michael's real dad or a stepfather) is an oily prick who comments on the hot ass of his own daughter (stepdaughter?). We're even introduced to the new baby girl in the house, only called "Boo" here. As if Michael's living with a houseful of dysfunctions who treat him like crap (except for his mom), the kid also has to endure endless bullying at school because of his less-than-attractive looks and less-than-stellar family tree.

It all adds up to Michael (played here, as a kid, by Daeg Faerch in a very creepy performance) beating one of his worst bullies to death in some woods, then on Halloween - while is mother is at work - slaughtering his own family, with the exception of baby Boo. When Michael's mom comes home that night, to find her blood-spattered son sitting on the front porch with the baby, it's the beginning of Michael's nearly twenty years of incarceration in an institution - during which he becomes only more withdrawn and more violent. Eventually, after his mother's death, he stops speaking altogether, only continuing to make mask after mask that he uses to hide his "ugly" face - even shutting down to the point where his own long-term doctor, Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), gives up and leaves the case ... after writing his own tell-all, bestselling book about Haddonfield (Michael's hometown) and the evil it spawned.

Then, as in the original, Michael (in a ridiculously-constructed scene) is able to break out of his room - and, eventually, the sanitarium - at which time he heads back to Haddonfield (with Dr. Loomis on his tail), to reclaim baby Boo ... now a teenager named Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), who lives in Haddonfield and has a pretty ideal life that's about to be shattered all to hell.

I caught myself actually yawning during this film - which, considering it's a horror movie with plenty of blood and violence, is a pretty strong indication of my feelings about it. After seeing a couple of his previous films, I was expecting some real, torturous gore here - but Zombie, mercifully, keeps things neat (by comparison to his previous work, anyway), and like Carpenter goes more for the suspense than the gore. Danielle Harris, a huge part of the Halloween franchise from parts four and five of the previous series, even shows up here as Annie Brackett, Laurie's best friend, in a really nice touch (though I was surprised at the nudity she had no trouble doing for the film!).

But in trying to give Michael Myers a soul, Rob Zombie also robbed the vicious killer of the reason he was so terrifying in the first place. In the original, the horror of Michael's killing his family came from the fact that here was a sweet-face, angelic little boy who no one would have ever suspected of performing such a heinous crime. In this Halloween, Rob Zombie makes Michael a textbook example of exactly the kind of kid that does grow up to be a homicidal maniac, complete with a the kid's torturing and murdering of animals even before he bumps things up a notch to people. He's humanized Michael Myers, all right - but in doing so, he's made him no longer special. No longer the frightening, malevolent, almost supernatural force that was "The Shape" in the original film(s).

It's a real letdown, as is the film. Nicely made and beautifully shot - but not the same. Not the same Michael Myers that we've all grown to know and fear. Stick with the original, which is still infinitely scarier/creepier than this one could ever hope to be. ** - Reel Mediocre

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO

Director: Kevin Smith

Stars: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Mewes, Craig Robinson, Traci Lords, Ricky Mabe, Justin Long, Brandon Routh

Year: 2008

Rating: R

I'll say it flat out to start this review - Zack and Miri Make a Porno is freaking hilarious, and one of the best comedies I've seen in a long time.

It's not for everyone - the nudity and simulated sex might be quite shocking for some, even beyond the movie's controversial subject matter/storyline itself. But if you can get over that - or have had ANY experience with the adult industry or even watching porn movies - this is one film you can both relate and laugh out loud to. It's that good.

Seth Rogen plays Zack Brown, a 28-year-old slacker who works at a Starbucks-like coffee shop in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. He's got a foul mouth and a bad attitude - or so says his boss, Mr. Surya (Gerry Bednob, in a funny-as-hell supporting role), a Hindu with a foul mouth and bad attitude of his own. Zack works at the coffee shop with his friend Delaney (Craig Robinson), who's basically killing time working there until his lawsuit settlement with the postal service kicks in. At home, Zack lives with his roommate Miri Linky (Elizabeth Banks) - his lifelong best friend who is also approaching thirty, and still working a crappy retail job. Both are just sort of trudging through life, with a huge stack of unpaid bills and only each other for company...

Until their ten-year class reunion serves as sort of a wake-up call for Zack. All Miri seems to get from the reunion is the letdown of finding out that Bobby Long (Brandon Routh) - the jock she had the hots for when she was a dork back in high school - is gay. But Zack connects with Bobby's boyfriend, Brandon St. Randy (Justin Long, in maybe the best performance of the film), who happens to be a huge gay porn star out in Los Angeles, where the couple now live. And as Zack and Miri's water and electricity have both been shut off for non-payment, that night Zack gets what he is sure is the idea of his life - he and Miri will make a porno, sell it to everyone on their high school reunion list (after all, Zack reasons, who wouldn't want to watch a porno that has someone they graduated high school with in it?), and pay off all their bills again.

Miri rejects the idea at first - she and Zack have been friends, and only friends, for a whole lot of years - but eventually goes with the flow as it's only business, and the two begin to recruit both a cameraman and other "actors" for the film. Lester the Molester (Jason Mewes, actually looking kind of hot here, compared to how we've seen him before), Bubbles (Traci Lords) - who can do an amazing trick that shows the reason for her name - and boy next door-type Barry (Ricky Mabe), who has a few fetishes of his own to explore, are only a few of those who come aboard.

But when fate almost kill Zack's get rich quick scheme, the gang decides to shoot the movie after hours in the coffee shop ... and Zack and Miri learn some hard lessons about sex, and how it can change the dynamics of even the strongest relationship.

Again, this isn't a film for everyone. But if you're the laidback type, or have had any experience with the kind of film Zack and Miri are making, this film is a riot of a comedy with a simple love story for a backbone. Kevin Smith's unflinching script and direction is very in-your-face and honest; he really brings out the humor and absurdity of the adult industry business without making it a slam at the adult industry business. His characters - gay, straight, or experimenting with both - are never ridiculed or poked fun at, but simply allowed to be. It's a very open-minded script about a very open-minded industry, making for a film to be enjoyed by an open-minded viewer (my only complaint, in fact, was that Routh and Long's one kiss wasn't full-on, and all too brief - but that's nit-picking).

But the bottom line is, I laughed out loud more than a few times at this very funny, well-told tale of a pair of twentysomethings who find a unique solution to their financial problems. It's a comedy with a lot of laughs, a little eroticism, and some real heart. A great - maybe even brilliant - movie. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciaran Hinds, Kevin J. O'Connor, Dillon Freasier

Year: 2007

Rating: R

Daniel Day-Lewis' well-deserved Oscar for this portrait of one of the most evil, soulless of men to ever grace a movie screen is what makes the film There Will Be Blood the incredible achievement it is. Here he plays Daniel Plainview, a turn-of-the-century oil driller who travels around with his young son (Dillon Freasier) and basically makes his fortune (and reputation) ripping off other people, even as he only makes himself richer. Early on in the film, after he's already become a success, Daniel is approached by a young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) who, for a hefty fee, informs Daniel of some land in Texas where he is positive there is oil. Paul's family's goat farm sits on that land, and Paul is sure Daniel can snap up the property and begin drilling. At first disbelieving the young man, Daniel eventually pays him - only to let him know that if he's lying, Daniel will find him and make him pay back more than the money - and then Daniel and his son, H.W., set off to find out if the claims are true.

They are, and even a disaster explosion and the ruination of one of his wells doesn't stop Daniel from becoming rich. If he has to use the local townspeople to do it, all the better, but it soon becomes apparent that Paul's twin brother Eli (also played by Paul Dano) is going to be a problem. He's a young preacher at the new Church of the Third Revelation, and has swapped his family's land in exchange for a $5,000 donation to the church; money Eli never sees, even as he tries hard to get the local people to see just what a monster Daniel Plainview really is.

The absolutely brilliant thing about this film - which, at 2 hours and 38 minutes, never EVER lags or becomes dull to watch - is Daniel Day-Lewis' creation of an utter villain who hasn't a shred of humanity or caring for his fellow man. It's an amazing achievement that Day-Lewis can be so completely convincing as such a monster, yet at the same time make you as the viewer not so much as sympathize with Daniel Plainview (although in a storyline related to his brother Henry, you do) ... as become fascinated at just watching what he's going to do next. It's an all-consuming, mind-blowing performance, and further proof of the actor's immense talent. I've been a huge fan of Day-Lewis for over twenty years, since My Beautiful Laundrette, and as perfect as he was in that film his craft as an actor has only grown to some pretty off-the-charts size; you need no further proof of it than this film.

Now granted, this isn't an uplifting, perky movie that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. On the other hand, it didn't leave me repulsed or angry, either. And the film does just sort of ... end, with little warning, with a truly violent act that proves just how over the edge Daniel Plainview's mind has indeed gone. But what I did feel, after watching There Will Be Blood, was an overwhelming sense of fascination with the character of Daniel Plainview. He's brutal, vicious, and without remorse. And you can't take your eyes off of him. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST

Director: Peter Sollett

Stars: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron, Ari Graynor, Alexis Dziena, Jonathan B. Wright, Jay Baruchel

Year: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Nick O'Leary (Superbad's Michael Cera) is a high school senior who plays in a punk/grunge band called The Jerk Offs with his best friends Thom (Aaron Yoo) and Dev (Rafi Gavron) - both of whom are gay. He lives either in Jersey or a borough of New York City, and has just been dumped by his girlfriend of six months, Tris (Alexis Dziena), with whom he was madly in love. He still makes mix tapes for Tris, which he sticks in her locker at school, and even leaves phone messages on her cell, just to see how she's doing. None of the attention is returned.

Meanwhile, Norah Silverberg (Kat Dennings) hangs out in Tris' circle of girls, but really can't stand the vapid good-time girl. She's pulled most of Nick's mix tapes out of the garbage, not knowing who he is by sight, and is tripping over the great music he's put together for the ungrateful Tris.

When Nick's band plays at a club one evening, Norah - attracted to Nick without knowing who he is - is stuck in a situation where she has to pretend to Tris that she's got a boyfriend. Walking up to Nick, she asks "Could you be my boyfriend for five minutes?" - and invariably opens up a can of worms that makes Tris jealous and possibly plotting a comeback.

Add to this an extremely popular (almost at a cult level) underground band called Where's Fluffy? -a band who never announces ahead of time where or when they're playing, only giving out clues via radio stations instead - and you have a night in which Norah and her very drunk friend Caroline (played hilariously by Ari Graynor), get caught up with Nick and his friends on a drive into New York City, to try to track down just where Where's Fluffy? is playing. What follows is a funny, romantic and engaging road trip/comedy that has a van full of teenagers on a wild night of adventure, all in the name of music.

Cera and Dennings, as Nick and Norah, have great on-screen chemistry and work really convincingly together as a couple. Aaron Yoo and Rafi Gavron (along with Jonathan B. Wright, who plays a beefy hunk that Gavron's character has picked up for the ride) play gay without the slightest leaning toward parody, stereotyping, or femininity; indeed, they play gay ... straight! The film's story is at times crazy and tender, touching and hilarious, and by the end you think you know where things are going, but there are a few simple, sweet twists on the way there.

I really liked this film, which has a great soundtrack, excellent acting, and a smart, funny script. It's a nice romantic comedy that made me think of something that 80's director John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) might have made today. Thoroughly enjoyable. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

DAY OF THE DEAD

Director: Steve Miner

Stars: Mena Suvari, Michael Welch, Nick Cannon, Stark Sands, AnnaLynne McCord, Matt Rippy, Ving Rhames

Year: 2008

Rating: R

GREATLY diverging from the storyline of the original 1985 George Romero sequel, this remake of Day of the Dead carries enough decent acting, action and gore to sustain most fans ... yet somehow still manages to maintain a "made-for-DVD" feel that doesn't elevate it anywhere near the brilliant Dawn of the Dead remake that came before.

Mena Suvari stars as Sarah Bowman, a young officer in the U.S. Army helping her fellow soldiers to maintain order in a small quarantined Colorado town that happens to be Sarah's hometown as well. It seems a pretty rancid outbreak of something resembling the flu is going on, and the military has been called in to cordon off the city, allowing no one in or out. All communication lines have been cut as well, and anyone trying to get their sick loved ones out is simply being rerouted back into the local hospital in town - where, the army assures them, specialists are being flown in by the military to help with the outbreak.

Sarah's own mother is home ill, though Sarah and her younger teenaged brother Trevor (Michael Welch) seem to be immune. Sadly, the same can't be said for Trevor's best friend Kyle (Hugh Skinner) - nor, in fact, the vast majority of the town's citizenship, who all seem to be at the hospital, by the time Sarah gets her there along with Trevor and his hopefully-girlfriend Nina (AnnaLynne McCord). Even a cute, dorky new army recruit who's already crushing on Sarah, Bud (Stark Sands, in a stand-out performance here), is along for the ride. At the hospital, Sarah reunites with her unit commander (Ving Rhames) - but before long all of the patients in the hospital begin, one on one (and including Sarah and Trevor's mom), to go into a few moments' of a trancelike state ... before snapping back to attention as full-fledged, flesh-eating zombies that instantly begin attacking and devouring any living human in the entire building. Sarah and Trevor get separated, with Sarah and Bud getting out with the help of a cocky comrade in arms, Salazar (Nick Cannon) - while Trevor and Nina manage to escape the hospital to hole up in the offices of a local radio station, with the help of a DJ who's survived his own attack.

The rest of the film is about Sarah and her fellow soldiers escaping the city - and trying to get Trevor and Nina out at the same time. The action is fast and bloody, the zombies more limber than ever here (not only can they run, they can also leap through the air and crawl up walls like Spider-Man, now!). It all leads to a governmental secret/cover-up, of course, and in the meantime the zombie deaths and such are all pretty cool ... but in short, this just seems too much like territory already covered, and covered better in previous films both past and remade. Day of the Dead isn't a bad film - it's just sort of the same retread of something already done before - not once, but multiple times. Worth seeing if you're a die-hard Dead or zombie movie fun, okay to skip otherwise. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool

LA BRASSIERE

Director: Hing-Ka Chan & Patrick Leung

Stars: Ching Wan Lau, Louis Koo, Carina Lau, Gigi Leung

Year: 2001

Rating: NR

(in Cantonese w/English subtitles)

Never, ever have I known so much about bras in my life - nor gained more respect for the women who wear them - than I have from watching this very funny Hong Kong romantic comedy, about an all-female bra company who decides to catch up with the times by hiring two male designers (Ching Wan Lau & Louis Koo) to construct the "ultimate bra".

Samantha (Carina Lau) is the head of the company, who decides that maybe a male perspective can shed some new and exciting light on the industry - even as her subordinate manager Lena (Gigi Leung) even goes so far as to threaten resignation if she's forced to hire men. Samantha stands her ground, however, and Lena grudgingly keeps her job ... and, after some very funny (and a couple rather disturbing) male designers pass through interview after interview with her team, she finally hires a former men's underwear designer named Johnny (Ching Wan Lau), and all-out ladies' man Wayne (Louis Koo). Johnny and Wayne's come to work the first day strutting like roosters in a hen-house; both guys - even though Johnny has a live-in girlfriend at home, who's more in love with him than he is with her - totally expect each of the ladies they meet to fall at their feet, and there are some funny moments at what their imaginations envision happening ... compared to what really happens when they arrive. Both men learn, very quickly, that they don't know squat - not only about bras, but about the construction of a woman's breasts, or how to support ones of various shape and size - and after some big-time floundering, Lena and her staff strap the guys into a couple of over-the-shoulder boulder-holders of their own (complete with weighted fake breasts) to give the guys the workout of their life.

Meanwhile, the womanizers find themselves falling for their bosses - Johnny for Samantha, and Wayne for Lena - and the road to convincing these ladies they are after more than just sex is almost as hard as their torturous journey to becoming the best bra designers in the company.

There are plenty of genuinely funny moments in this sincere, very likable romantic comedy. The four leads are great in their prospective roles, and the guys - Louis Koo as studly leading man and Ching Wan Lau as comedy relief - in particular are very authentic in their performances. The story is original, and even if you can sort of see where things are heading it's still an enjoyable (and very funny) journey getting there. I could have done without the extra-small, rapid-fire subtitles throughout the film, but it didn't mar my enjoyment of this frothy, funny film with one of the more unique settings I've seen in a movie in a long time; one worth going out of your way to see. *** - Reel Cool