Writer: Paul W.S. Anderson
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Cast: Milla Jovovitch, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Mike Epps, Christopher Egan, Spencer Locke, Matthew Marsden, Linden Ashby, Jason O’Mara, Madeline Carroll
Rating: R
Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date: January 1, 2008

I think they might be on to something when they say third time’s the charm. The third installation in the Resident Evil series of movies actually was my favorite. Perhaps it was the unique outlook that was taken by the director and writer of the film during the production or perhaps the story just happened to be better. Either way, if you plan to see a Resident Evil movie you definitely need to see Resident Evil: Extinction. If anyone had doubts about Milla Jovovitch’s ability to act and kick ass, this is the movie that will prove the critics wrong.

Based on the popular, ‘Resident Evil’ video game series, Resident Evil: Extinction and its predecessors, Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse set a new standard for zombie movies by mixing the horror genre with that of the action thriller. While the other two are important for telling the story of Jovovitch’s character, Alice, up until the events in Resident Evil: Extinction, this movie stands alone on its own.

While some who may not have seen the first two flicks may want to know more and may be slightly lost by how Alice came to be the way she is (or even what she is for that matter), seeing the first two movies isn’t necessary to understand the overall plot of Resident Evil: Extinction. Either way, this film has brought new life back into a series that had not quite as many critics as it does fans.

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Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, Natalie Dormer, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Gabrielle Anwar
Rating: M (Sex and Violence)
Studio: Showtime
Release Date: January 1, 2008

Once upon a time I was HBO loyal. This is not to say that I never watched Showtime, Cinemax, or Starz. It’s just that when it came to original series that aired on premium channels I mainly watched HBO. In recent years, I have noticed a change and the change is a complete 180.

A few years back, I would say that I only watched the occasional Showtime show. My two favorites were Jeremiah and Street Time, which in the case of the latter, has not yet hit DVD shelves, but hopefully will at some point. However, my real obsession with Showtime started with Queer as Folk. After falling in love with that show it was only a matter of time before I picked up my little The L Word obsession. From there came Meadowlands (which sadly has been canceled), Weeds, Californication, Dexter, and Brotherhood. By this point, anything new that came from Showtime was worth watching, in my opinion, at least once. My obsession with shows on HBO has waned with the passing of shows like Rome and The Sopranos, though Big Love still manages to hold my fancy. Still, Showtime has won my favor in the battle of the premium channels, at least for now.

As for The Tudors, which is the the purpose of this review, I have been watching this show since the first episode. Naturally I couldn’t wait to review this series, which focuses on the possible life of King Henry VIII in his younger years. People watching this show for historical accuracy have scoffed at The Tudors and complained to no end. I must agree that it is not incredibly historical, though some inaccurately say that it’s not historical at all. Regardless, the series is absolutely phenomenal. If you are interested in a dynamic series that offers explosive characters, sex, violence, love, scandal, and drama in a historical setting then you will absolutely love The Tudors.

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Though Serena Ryder is just 24 years old, she is no stranger to the music scene. While not familiar with American audiences, this Canadian songstress is going to make a splash that is set to be undeniably big. With a developed, three octave vocal range, Ryder has the ability to sound how she wants to sound whether she is tough, sultry, or tender in her musical styling.

With lyrics as unique as her voice, Ryder is sure to be one of the smash hits of the American music scene. She is emotional, strong, and calm in her approach, which leaves a lasting effect on the listener. Her voice is uniquely addicting, which is wonderful because she is filling a much needed void in American music and the chick rock scene. While Jewel, Alanis Morrisette, and the once great Sarah McLaughlin have seemingly faded from the scene, Ryder will pick up and revive the genre where they left off.

In celebration of Ryder coming to America with her music, a five song EP has been released. I was offered a copy of the songs for review. The first thing that struck me about Ryder was her voice. Her musical accompaniment is incredibly simple because her vocals are able to stand up on their own with little help. It was her lyrics that really got to me though. Ryder has a way about her lyrics that remind me of the late, great Jim Morrison. One of the many things that made Morrison’s best songs stand out were the elements of poetry found in the songs. He was a poet prior to being involved in music and his poetry was crafted to become his music. Many of Ryder’s lyrics have that same pleasant, literary feel to them.

The name of the five songs on this EP by Serena Ryder, which are meant to introduce her to the US, and some thoughts about each track are listed below.

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Writer: Preston Lacy
Director: Jeff Tremaine
Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Preston Lacy, Bam Margera, Vincent Margera, Chris Pontius
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 26, 2007

I understand the popularity of Jackass. The idea that a bunch of idiots are doing potentially dangerous stunts for laughs can be quite amusing. My interest in Jackass really depends on the day. I have had some laughs off of the first movie, but I never decided to look up the second. When I heard about Jackass 2.5 I did not find myself overly interested.

There is just something wrong with picking up pieces of an old movie off of the cutting room floor to make a new movie. Can you imagine if they would have done that with some of the high quality movies that have been made? I honestly doubt that anyone would spend any time or money on Gone with the Wind 1.5, There’s something about Mary .75, or god forbid, Stuck on You 1.25. No one would watch them and if they did one can only imagine what the critics would bother saying.

This is kind of the idea behind Jackass 2.5. It’s a sloppily thrown together movie that was meant to keep the attraction going without actually taking the time to film a new movie. Apparently, someone thought that scraps would be good enough. Unfortunately, I don’t think it turned out as well as they might have hoped.

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Writer: Scot Armstrong, Leslie Dixon
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, Malin Akerman, Carlos Mencia, Rob Corddry
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 26, 2007

Ben Stiller and the Farrelly brothers (Peter and Bobby) first worked together on There’s Something about Mary. After that movie, both Stiller and the Farrellys skyrocketed in popularity. Despite their success, Stiller and the Farrellys have not had a chance to work together in the nine years since Mary was released. The Heartbreak Kid is their first collaboration since then and I have to say that it’s one that would have been better left behind them both. This movie is so incredibly trite that it could have been described in a one word review. Disappointing.

I would ask for my money back, but I got this one for free. While I am normally a fan of Stiller and his throw caution to the wind, silly, comedic moments, this movie was just uninteresting. I attempted to find something nice to say about this before writing a review about it, but I am still trying to come up with something and the review cannot wait forever.

Instead, I will tell you what I do know about my feelings regarding this movie. It was boring. The laughs were timed wrong. The directing was elementary, at best. At 115 minutes, this movie is way too long. There is not one character that is dynamic, remotely interesting, or relatable. In short, I would have rather clipped my toenails for two hours then wasted my time watching this drivel.

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Writer: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, Jeremy Piven
Rating: R
Studio: Universal Studios
Release Date: December 26, 2007

Political thrillers, especially during the time of war, are always a hot commodity. Of course, that does not mean all of them will be well received or executed. How much you like them will depend on your views on war and the way the war is presented in each specific movie. In the case of The Kingdom the thing that drew me immediately into the story was the cast. With a cast like Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner it is hard not to want to see this movie. When you add in the element of war it made me want to see the movie even more.

The thing that surprised me the most was my reaction to the movie as a whole. I expected to like the movie and I had a feeling the review I gave would be a good one. When I was finished watching the movie I just sat there processing what I had just watched. There was no question of whether I liked it. The question involved whether anyone, myself included, would learn from the powerful message that was offered in the film.

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Writer: Scot Armstrong, Leslie Dixon
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, Malin Akerman, Carlos Mencia, Rob Corddry
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 26, 2007

If you asked me to recommend a movie that made you wish you were drowning on a sinking ship with no way to remove yourself from the agony until the movie was over, my reply would be to rent The Heartbreak Kid. This pathetic comedy makes Titanic seem funny, which for obvious reasons, it wasn’t. Of course, neither was The Heartbreak Kid. I am not quite sure why this movie wasn’t a successful one. It has all of the lackluster elements of a Hollywood blockbuster these days.

Ben Stiller plays the lead role and while I have seen him in good things, seeing him in this makes me think he knew it was going to suck so he decided not to try. Stiller once again teams up with the Farrelly brothers, who he worked with on There’s Something about Mary. With previous flops like Fever Pitch, Shallow Hal, and Stuck on You, it’s shocking that they would even let these two guys direct ever again. While it’s true they had some hits off of moronic comedies in the past, they keep making them and more often than not, they end up flopping better than a set of pancakes at Ihop.

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Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Sean Patrick Flanery, Catherine Zeta Jones, Daniel Craig
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 18, 2007

Fans of Indiana Jones seemed to be quite excited when this particular series of DVDs hit the shelves. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones is a series of movies that offer just what the title says, the adventures of a young Indiana Jones. For one reason or another I just never got into these when they came out back in the 1990s. I suppose I just had better things to do. Either way, I never had any intention of watching these movies when they first aired and I had forgotten all about their existence until I was asked to review this set of movies.

Like most people on the planet I have seen the traditional Indiana Jones movies. When I heard about these again I was the most curious about how they would compare. I couldn’t help but feel like these were made to cash in on the success of the original films. That being said, it didn’t mean that these would be terrible. They could still have a good quality if the writing and acting were above the par I was expecting.

The movies were originally on television, so add that to a possible new nail in the coffin. As most people are able to realize, television movies are usually not of a quality that is even worthy of something that needs to be on DVD. To their credit, I will say that these have since been reedited by George Lucas. I have no idea what the original edits are like as I never saw them. I will just be going off the Lucas edits for the eight movie set that I was given to review.

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Writer: Steven Knight
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel
Rating: R
Studio: Universal Studios
Release Date: December 23, 2007

There are two types of thrillers that are put out on the market. There are the artistic films and then there are the films that are marketed to the general movie-going audiences. Generally these two do not cross paths. However, every now and then there is a filmmaker that has what it takes to impress critics and mainstream audiences alike. David Cronenberg is one of those filmmakers and he has done it with Eastern Promises.

Eastern Promises is a psychologically gripping film that leaves you on the edge of your seat. While this was not originally Cronenberg’s genre, he has entered into it with a style and grace that all filmmakers could be envious of having. Cronenberg creates a strong mob film that is not as much about the mob as it is about traditions, fear, what’s right, and obsession. Eastern Promises could easily be listed as one of the top movies of 2007. Good acting, excellent plotlines, and perfect direction lead to a movie that needs to be seen and deserves to be celebrated.

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Writer: Randall Wallace
Director: Mel Gibson
Cast: Mel Gibson, James Robinson, Sean Lawlor, Sandy
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 18, 2007

When Braveheart first came out it was all the rage. I remember how it was nominated for nearly every possible award that it could have been up for and how it won many of them. I was one of the few people that did not watch Braveheart back then. I was not much of a Mel Gibson fan and once Passion of the Christ was made, my loathing increased. From there, it was pretty likely that I would not see Braveheart for one of a million reasons.

However, I am happy to say that I was wrong. It’s easy to see why Braveheart was as popular and as well received as it was. The movie offers a phenomenal story, good acting, violence, bits of nudity, and amazing music. It’s a total movie package rolled into one. Braveheart was previously on DVD, but brought back for another round with this Special Collector’s Edition to offer some new features and a remastering that it definitely deserved.

Release Information:
Written by Randall Wallace, Braveheart was immediately taken to Mel Gibson. It took him a few years to do anything, but when he did, he decided to direct, produce, and star in the leading role. Whatever he did certainly worked because the movie won five Academy Awards. Braveheart was released on DVD previously but it did not receive the attention that it deserved. There were not many features and the picture was not as good as a movie of this caliber should have been. The Special Collector’s Edition of Braveheart rights the previous wrongs that have been made with this movie on DVD.

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Cast: Carmen Electra
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 18, 2007

Carmen Electra recently added to her aerobic striptease DVD series with two new titles. The first, In the Bedroom, received a middle of the road review. Now we are looking at the second DVD title, Vegas Strip. The idea behind the DVD series is that the normally gorgeous Carmen Electra teaches women how to get in shape by dancing and stripping. While Electra does not actually strip (remove clothing) she does offer a fairly informative DVD that will get women working out and maybe even learning a few sexy moves in the process.

If you like Electra and want to work out, you might find that this DVD and the others in the series are for you. If you’re a man looking for something sexy, I would recommend looking for some other Carmen Electra DVD. While Electra often fits the bill for sexy, this DVD does not include an overabundance of skin or the actual removal of clothing. Depending on your version of hot, she might do a nice little dance at the end, though this really is a matter of perception, as not everyone is going to love it. The dance was not bad though I don’t think it is a good enough reason to buy this DVD, especially if you have no intention of actually working out or attempting to learn the dance.

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